F-104C Ejection Seat with Safety Belts - 1:72 Quickboost by Aires

[Julien]

QB72 409 Lockheed F-104C Starfighter Ejection Seat
1:72 Quickboost by Aires

The F-104 Starfighter had a bot of a chequered history with ejection seats. These were made initially by Stanley Aviation. The C-1 seat initially fitted was a downward firing seat due to the Starfighter being a high level interceptor. This presented problems with low altitude ejection and 21 USAF pilots died due to this. The C-2 seat was then developed which fired upwards. However the aircraft still had to have a forward speed of over 104mph to work correctly. Many export Starfighters were fitted with Martin Baker seats to overcome this limitation. In addition the first F-104G's for Denmark, Italy, Turkey and Germany were delivered with this seat, before they were changed to the martin Baker one.

Airies have presented us here with the Stanley C-2 seat, complete with seat cushions, harnesses and the foot plates.

The detail that Aires have managed to accommodate in this seat is very good. The structural details are pin-sharp, whilst the seat cushions and fabric harnesses look just like the real thing. The parts are superbly cast in grey resin and there are no traces of bubbles or flaws in the resin. Overall this is a superb item and can be highly recommended for use in any F-104C kit.

Designed to be used with Airfix, Hasegawa, Heller, Italeri and Revell kits.

Highly recommended.

Review samples courtesy of

distributed in the UK by Hannants Ltd.