IPMS Detail Review: Aires 1/32 F-105 Thunderchief Wheel Well Kit

Aires

1/32 F-105 Thunderchief Wheel Bay Kit
For the Trumpeter kits 2201 and 2202

Stock Number: 2076

Reviewed By Rich Marchiafava, IPMS# 39230

MSRP: $52.99
Web site: www.aires.cz

Aires aftermarket resin products have been all the rage for a while now and I’ve always heard how their casting and detail is second to none. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I received this kit -- it was superior to other aftermarket wheel wells in every sense of the word. Molding was clean and very crisply detailed and, when compared to my reference photos, completely accurate from the plumbing right down to the number of fittings. This kit comes with the two main wheel bays, the nose well (which is also superb) and all the main gear fittings. The set also comes with the gear doors as well as photo-etch screens for the auxiliary intakes in the main wells. Once everything is painted, washed and detailed, they look very impressive.

During assembly I saw for myself how easy Aires products are to work with. Be warned, though, that you do have to have some skill to assemble everything -- no installation instructions were present in the kit. You need to remove the wheel well fairings inside the source kit’s wing halves and line them up. There was also a half-square notch that I left in my wings to help align the wells but, other than that, everything else must come out. You will also need to remove the thick pour plugs on the main wheel wells. Use caution when removing these plugs. I got a little heavy-handed and sanded through the bottom of one of mine as well as my finger! If you sand through yours, add a little piece of sheet styrene and it’s as good as new. I am very happy with the kit and can’t wait to start my next Aires project.

I’d like to thank Aires for providing the IPMS this review sample.

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