Aires does not identify from what engine the exhaust nozzles belong to. Early build RA-5s were fitted with General Electric J79-GE-8s whilst late build ones used General Electric J79-GE-10s. I may be wrong, but they look to be J79-GE-10s when you compare them with pictures that I found on the net.

The parts are cast in mid-grey resin reminiscent of the type used by Cutting Edge. The casting really is excellent too and once painted and treated to a wash and dry brushed the cast-in detail will really stand out. The parts in my sample were perfect with no mis-casts or pinholes.

If you intend to incorporate the parts into your Trumpeter kit (that supplies the entire engine from intake to exhaust) you will be in for some grinding, filing and sanding to make them fit into the kit pieces as the external diameter of the resin part is greater than the kit parts.

Are Aires parts better than Trumpeter's? A resounding yes! That exhibit far more and far superior detail.

Assembly instructions are by way of black and white exploded view drawings on a small instruction sheet that also carries a "part map" to help you identify the pieces. No painting instructions are provided apart from a colour photograph of the kit's parts on the box top.

Packaging is by way of the resin parts being placed in a plastic zip-loc bag which is then wrapped in a small square of bubble wrap. The bubble wrapped package is then placed into a flimsy cardboard box. The photo-etch fret is placed into a plastic bag that also contains a piece of stiff cardboard to prevent the fret from bending.

Nice stuff from Aires. If you are going to build the Trumpeter kit, inclusion of this set is well worth the added expense.

Recommended

Thanks to Aires for the review sample

Text and Images Copyright © 2005 by Rodger Kelly
Page Created 26 September, 2005
Last updated 26 September, 2005

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