Quickboost

1/72 - BAC Lightning Air Intake For the Trumpeter kit

Stock Number: QB 72 209

Reviewed By  Jack Wade, IPMS #45604

MSRP: $6.50 Website: www.quickboost.net This is another nice direct replacement part from Quickboost. It is cleanly molded and free of casting imperfections. It comes on a pour stub that is easily removed leaving the part ready to attach. Compared to the kit part, the Quickboost replacement has a longer trunk and eliminates a ridge just inside the ring. Also pictured here is the Aires exhaust set (reviewed elsewhere on this site) which, in my view, is essential for making the Trumpeter kit look right as this area is poorly designed. Although not as visibly lacking in authenticity as the exhaust, the intake is nicely upgraded with this Quickboost part. The kit nose ring is too short to meet the rest of the kit supplied intake trunking, leaving a gap that you can make out just inside of the intake (picture at left). The longer trunk on the replacement goes back to meet the kit supplied trunking and eliminates the wide gap (picture at right). There is also a stepped ridge on the kit part that is eliminated with the replacement part. The down side of this product is that the fit around the outside of the ring is less than perfect and requires sanding to make it fit correctly. To be fair, however, the kit ring requires some adjustment in this area as well, but not quite as much. The kit part is pictured below on the left and the Quickboost part is on the right.

I painted the ring in two tones of silver per my references. Once fitted to the model there is a discernable improvement of the view down the intake, but it is not quite the level of improvement as required in the exhaust area. It is an improvement none the less and a fairly affordable one at that, so I would certainly recommend the product although I would not place this part at the top of my list of necessary improvements for this poorly designed base kit. Many thanks to Quickboost for supplying the review sample.