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Plusmodel Aero Line Series 1:72 C-119 Boxcar Wheels - Early #AL7039 Introduction This small review presents us with an easy enhancement to 1:72 scale C-119 Also, this set has a new layout, presented in a clear bag. What’s on the box bag In the clear bag, the content is visible for inspection, 10 light grey resin parts and a small vinyl type white paint mask. Set detail is very crisp and it will upgrade the detail, comparing with the Kit’s plastic wheels. Italeri C-119 Main wheels Italeri C-110 front wheels The main wheels are composed by a complete unit containing the tyre and front hub. The detail is delicate, and it will show under a layer of colour. Also worth of note is the tyre groove pattern and the tyre maker logo, perfectly detailed on the tyre. The rear rub is moulded as separate part. The front wheels, despite the small size, presents a magnific detail, especially the groove pattern on the tyre. The last part is a small vinyl pre-cut paint mask. Should you prefer to paint the wheel first and then the tyre, you have two sets available. Also, if you prefer to paint the tyre first and then the centre rim, also two sets are at your disposition. Conclusion This set will provide an accessible and efficient way to detail and enhance the wheels of Italeri’s 1-72 C-119 early version. Our thanks to Plusmodel for the review samples and all the support given. To purchase this directly, click THIS link

Resin Continental 760x100 wheels and plywood decals Proper Plane Catalogue #’s wheels (RW-002), decals (PDW-1234) Price: $15.00USD per set Proper Plane is carving itself a very nice niche in the world of WW1 aviation modelling. We are used to seeing their superb hand-carved wooden, laminated propellers, such as reviewed HERE, but now they have turned their attention to the resin wheel replacements, possibilities of plywood decals. Continental 760x100 wheels This particular set is a direct replacement for kit wheels, and not just for WNW kits, as is obvious from the list of aircraft that this product is compatible with. As well as a rake of subjects that Wingnut Wings has chosen to release, there are obviously ones which they haven’t tackled, such as the Albatros D.III which is a Roden kit. Here is a list of compatible machines onto which this set will fit… The set itself comprises just two resin wheels in light grey resin, each on its own casting block and secured to it by means of a thin resin web which will be easy to remove and clean-up. The wheels are cast with the inward facing hub, meaning you will still need to use the kit’s outer hub plastic parts, and these of course can differ from aircraft to aircraft. The ridged tread on the outer wheel is clearly evident, and of course the ‘CONTINENTAL’name is present on the wheel, as well as the wheel’s size. This set is a perfect drop fit replacement for your standard styrene parts and minimal effort is required to press them into service. A lovely little addition to your next project! Plywood decals Our next new release from Proper Plane are a set of four different plywood decal sheets. These are presented in a very neat little cardboard wallet with the company logo emblazoned across the black material. Opening the little tab, we now have four different styles of plywood grain decal, each sheet being 105mm x 148mm, so not too large. The decals are designed by Dave Douglass, who has researched Albatros types and is au fait with exactly what the ply should look like. Each set contains 4 different grain types, typically seen on these machines, and they are also printed onto a clear base, meaning that you will need to add a suitable base colour to your model first, and any shading as you see fit. From this, you can make the ply look as pale or as rich as you deem fit for your model. Of course, you can also add a clear yellow/orange mix over the decals once applied, to add to their warmth. These decals are suitable for both 1:32 and 1:48 types. I don’t know if there is a plan to make a set suitable for 1:72. My sincere thanks to Proper Plane for the review samples seen here. To purchase directly, click the link at the top of this article.

1:32 F-104 undercarriage wheels early Eduard For Italeri kit Catalogue # 632045 Available from Eduard for €11,25 Bunny Fighter Club price: €9,56 Eduard has jumped on the new Italeri 1/32 F-104 Starfighter and gone to town! A total of 28 sets have seen the light, including two Big Sin sets that include all you need to spice up your Starfighter. (Almost) All of these sets are or will be reviewed here on Large Scale Modeller so you can decide for yourself whether you need or just plain want it The early wheels The significant difference between the early and late rims on the F-104 wheels are the spoked or smooth hub. Most F-104’s had the late spoked wheels, but the earlier F-104C and A types still had the smooth hubs with 9 round holes. The insides feature the brake system. The Goodyear tires between the early and late types are different too, so make sure you buy the right ones’! The nose wheel is a one-option open styled hub, whereas with the late type nose wheel you get the option to opt for a closed version. The real deal! What do we get? Six pieces of resin, packed in the typical Eduard blister packaging with a piece of foam to protect them during transport. Also included is a sheet of wheel masks. You might think: the hubs are separate so why not paint first and glue later?? I guess this is just a matter of personal taste. I like to glue as much together as I can, because I don’t want to mess with glue once and risk my paint job. The main wheel hubs: Inside brakes on the main wheels: Main tires: Nose wheel hub: Nose wheel tire: Mask: The resin is as sharp and crisp as we can expect in this material. Visible in one of the 9 holes in the main wheel is the air valve. The Goodyear logo’s on the tires are sharp and clearly readable. And the inside brakes are works of art. The hexagon bolts look like you can twist them right off. You can just make out the flattening of the weighed tires. When studying photo’s of the real thing this looks to be right. Conclusion When modeling an early F-104A or C this is really the way to go. On a kit this size you really want some detail in a visible place like this. The casting and mastering is first class, which makes this little set another step towards a show stopping 104. Very highly recommended My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample. To purchase directly, click THIS link. Jeroen Peters

1/32 Meteor F.4 wheels for HK Kit Eduard Catalogue # 632041 Available from Eduard for 11,25€ Bunny Fighter Club price: 9,56 € We're big Eduard fans here at SP&R, they always seem to know exactly what the particular short comings of a kit are and are usually first across the line in correcting them. The HK kit has been largely well received since its release, we reviewed it earlier this year. We noted several short comings that could be improved (although the undercarriage and wheels weren't one of them!). Fisher and Profimodeller have dealt with most of these and we recently reviewed Eduard's excellent cockpit upgrade. Hot on the heels of this release comes another comprehensive upgrade dealing with the Undercarriage and wheels. Let's get down on the deck and see what's included. This set deals with the nose and main wheels and their related mudguards. The upgrade comes packaged in a plastic blister pack with plenty of foam to protect the parts, this is successful and upon opening it you find the more delicate parts sandwiched between yet more foam. Included are 17 extremely fine flash free Pale grey resin parts and a small set of masks for the wheels, Eduard's clear and concise instruction form the header. I wouldn't describe the wheels and undercarriage of the HK kit as a particular weak point or fault and I struggled to think how they could be improved, upon opening this upgrade set all became clear! One thing I did notice in my original review of the HK kit was that the nose wheel was of the plain hub type seen more on later Meteor variants, period photos clearly show early Meteors had what I would describe as a Spitfire type nose wheel which was spoked and dished. I attempted to correct this on my HK kit using spare parts from the Tamiya Spitfire. You can view the build thread here. Eduard have done a far better job than I possibly could have and I'll be replacing the nose wheel on my kit. The nose wheel is cast in two halves and incorporates some very fine detail on both halves including the wheel nuts and tyre valve, one side is very deeply dished and once removed from the casting block will give a perfect representation of the early type wheel I described earlier; Small locating tabs are incorporated on each halve to perfectly align them when fitting to the tyre. The tyre has perfectly cast tread all the way round with no seam and should need very minimal cleaning up, the side wall has ribbed detail and very clear lettering for the Dunlop branding and even the tyre pressures are readable! To round it off the tyre has a subtle flat spot for extra realism. The main wheels are equally catered for, the HK kit wheels were a good representation to begin with but these take it to another level, the real wheel is a multi-part split rim type and all the nuts that hold it together are crisply cast and they have real depth; again locating tabs are provided to align them with the tyre. The tyres have tread detail to match the nose wheel which again has no seam to clean up, this time they are branded as Goodyear tyres, I'm not sure how accurate this is but it will certainly add plenty of interest and look great with some subtle dry brushing to make it stand out. These again have flat spots although the side wall isn't noticeably bulged. Moving onto the mud guards, admittedly the kit parts could be improved as removing the seam on them does destroy some detail and their thickness isn't quite to scale. The Eduard parts are lovely and thin and naturally seamless, the raised lip along the edges is ridiculously thin as is the raised detail for the rivets. Care will be needed to accurately remove the kit mudguards to allow these to be seamlessly blended with them, while you're at it the front undercarriage leg could use some more compression as the kit part causes the finished kit to sit a little high and gently heating and bending it is one solution to this. The supports for the mudguards are given as separate items and are extremely thin, again a big improvement over the kits. The last piece is a very small block of resin which I believe represents the towing hitch on the main gear. Instructions This is a simple set and construction is therefore straight forward, Eduard's instructions are their usual clearly illustrated type with various colours showing what is to be cut, glued or removed. That said it doesn't explicitly show where the kits mudguards are to be cut for removal but this should be fairly obvious after comparison with the new parts. Conclusion Another winner from Eduard, a simple and Straight forward set that has a big impact on the final sit and appearance of your "Meatbox" As I said at the start, the undercarriage and wheels aren't a particular weakness of this kit but the detail HK are able to offer is restricted by the limitations of injection moulding, Eduard can offer even more detail using 3D printing technology that reaches the parts injection moulding cant. A worthwhile upgrade to an already excellent kit. Highly recommended Our sincere thanks to Eduard for the review sample. To purchase directly, click THIS link. Ben Summerfield