Aires

1/48 F-105 Wheels and Masks For the Hobby Boss kit

Stock Number: 4414

Reviewed By  Charles Landrum, IPMS# 26328

MSRP: $14.95 Website: www.aires.cz Hobby Boss has released a 1/48 scale down of the Trumpeter 1/32 F-105D. The kit offers a lot of detail and recessed panel lines, but has some shape issues. One unattractive detail is the boxy main wheels with soft hub detail.

Aires has released a replacement set of main wheels, a new nose wheel and vinyl masks. The resin is crisp, imperfection free, and the tires subtly flattened - these are not True Detail Tires. If these wheels look familiar, they should since they are a direct copy of the Monogram F-105 wheels. As far as I can tell, Aires assembled a set of Monogram (now Revell) wheels, cleaned them up and cast them as replacements for the Hobby Boss kit. Even the size of the mounting hole is the same. In comparison to the prototype, the wheels of the Monogram/Revell kit are a perfect replica. I have included an image from Michael Benolkin's Cybermodeler website (www.cybermodeler.com) to demonstrate the fidelity. While the main wheels are what really need to be replaced, Aires also includes a crisper nose wheel and vinyl masks to paint the hubs. If you have the Hobby Boss kit this is an easy fix that will greatly improve the look of their F-105. My thanks to Aires for the review sample.