Aires/Aerobonus resin. 1:48 Academy F-4B Phantom

[Shar2]

McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom

1:48 Aerobonus Resin from Aires

The Academy F-4B Phantom released last year seems to have been received very well by the modelling community, both for its accuracy and the way it builds. So there shouldn’t really be any need for aftermarket items. Well, while this could be true for the modeller who just wants to build out of the box, it wouldn’t be for the detail freaks out there. These new sets from Aerobonus have been released just for this occasion.

Wheel well set, - (4579). The set comes in a blown plastic box on a cardboard sleeve. The parts are protected from bouncing around and breaking by a thick foam pad. The first thing that strikes the modeller will be the sheer amount of detail Aires have managed to get in the nose wheel bay. As far as I can see everything is there, pipes, electrical cables and boxes. Cleaning up doesn’t look too onerous with one simple moulding plug on the top of the bay that needs to be cut and sanded away. The locking yoke 2/3 of the way forward will need some cleaning up as it has a thin web of resin stopping it from breaking away. The main bays look quite plain in comparison, but if you look around the sidewalls you will see plenty of detail that will look great brought out with a pin wash. The bays are connected to their mounting blocks at one end and will be a doddle to remove. Since any damage will be on the inside of the wing nothing will be seen. Other than that the bays look like they’ll be drop in replacements for the kit items. Of course you can’t have the wheel bays without any doors, so these have been provided as well and are a great improvement over the kits parts. Each has finely recessed detail on the outside of each door and some very fine riveting on the insides. Whilst there isn’t a huge difference the resin items have just that bit more finesse which may make the difference to the particular modeller.

Auxiliary air intakes – (4578). The auxiliary air intakes on the underside of the fuselage of the kit have nothing behind the doors so at certain angles you can see straight into the kits internals. To prevent this and allow for even more detail to be added, Aires have released these resin parts. Each bay is crammed with detail including the engine trunking, pipework and actuator slots. Whilst these may not be seen very well when fitted and have the doors in place at least you’ll know that no-one will be able to see inside the model not matter what angle it is held. Unfortunately Aires quality control has failed again as one of the actuators in the set was missing from the start, so check before opening.

Pylon set (480 055). These new pylons are a complete replacement for the kits parts. The only difference with these pylons is that they are not fitted for the sidewinder rails and adaptors. What you do get, is a nicely rendered bomb adaptor plate with crutch pads.

Conclusion

These are some very nice bits of resin that could prove very useful in adding that little bit of zing to the completed model. The wheel bays and auxiliary bay will benefit from some very careful painting and highlighting but will pay dividends in the completed model. Highly recommended.

Review samples courtesy of

distributed in the UK by Hannants Ltd.