Quickboost

1/48 Upgrade Parts (cockpit bulkhead and radio) For the Tamiya Fi-156 Storch

Stock Number: QB 48 197 Fi-156 Storch Bulkhead QB 48 199 Fi-156 Storch Radio Equipment

Reviewed By  John Lester, IPMS# 36807

MSRP: € 3.30 (about ~ $4.20US) for each Website: www.quickboost.net Quickboost provides simple, drop-fit resin (and occasional PE) details for a huge variety of aircraft kits in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scales. These parts are usually direct replacements for specific manufacturer's kit parts. That is the case for the two sets of rear bulkhead details for the Tamiya1/48 Fi-156 Storch reviewed here. What You Get QB 48 197 Fi-156 Storch Bulkhead provides the rear bulkhead and four MG 15 ammo drums. It replaces either Tamiya's part #F-31 or #G-10. QB 48 199 Fi-156 Storch Radio Equipment provides one rear bulkhead with two radios and assorted equipment, and is a direct replacement for kit part #G-9 (which is itself an optional part). Casting is first-rate: I found no flaws at all on my samples. The resin sands easily, takes paint well, and is not at all brittle or otherwise fragile.

Detail is excellent and clearly superior to the kit parts, especially the too-shallow kit radios. The reference photos I was able to obtain show that the bulkhead set, at least, is pretty much on the money for accuracy (in particular, see page 16 of Squadron's Fiesler Storch in Action). I was not able to find images showing the particular radios depicted in the radio set - in fact, I wasn't able to find pictures that exactly match the equipment at all, though I did find gigabytes of pictures of German WW2 radios. (Having said that, I will undoubtedly receive thousands of images of the exact equipment in my eMail as soon as this is published). Whatever - both Tamiya and Quickboost depict the same equipment in the same layout. Quickboost just does it much nicer. Assembly and Finish Whichever set you use, it will be affixed to the cockpit floor (kit part #F-45) in assembly step 6. After a quick scrub with a toothbrush and some dish soap, I primed the resin pieces with Krylon sandable primer from a rattle can. When that was dry, I painted the bulkheads with Tamiya's XF-22, their version of RLM-02. My particular model will depict a Swedish aircraft, so I used the rear bulkhead without the MG-15 ammo drums. I used the back of a hobby blade to score along the top of the part, then snapped the excess casting block off. I also had to sand extra resin from the back of the bulkhead - there are a number of small alignment pegs on the inside of the kit's fuselage halves with which the excess resin would otherwise interfere when it comes time to close it all up. I also needed to thin down the back of the cockpit floor (#F45) so that the bottom peg on the bulkhead could easily slide in place. None of this was particularly difficult or even tedious - just be careful with the sanding so you don't take too much off. Though not using the radio bulkhead in my first Storch (I have 3), I did put on a basic layer of paint as may be seen in some of the images. The detail looks really nice, even after being mauled by someone as bad as I am at painting details. The radio set, if used, will really jazz up the interior of this kit - and it will be quite visible under that big greenhouse canopy. These parts were made specifically for the Tamiya kit. I'm not sure they'll work quite as well for the old ESCI/Sunrise Storch/Criquet kit, since it's engineered differently, and the fuselage is somewhat thinner than the Tamiya). My ESCI kit impacted a wall at a high rate of speed and is no longer available for me to test that assumption. Conclusions I'm already a fan of Quickboost parts. The various sets let you upgrade specific parts of your model with highly detailed, superbly-produced replacements at a very reasonable cost in both money and effort. That said, if you are planning to build a Storch without the rear machinegun and ammo storage, and without the radios, the Bulkhead set won't really add anything. Otherwise, I can highly recommend either set to all but the most beginner-level modelers. They are easy to use, easy on the wallet, and look much better than the kit parts when installed. Quickboost also have a set of exhausts (QB 48 182) and main gear skis (QB-183) for the Tamiya kit. Many thanks to Quickboost for the review samples.