Tuesday, May 16

Review: Quick Set 3D Acrylic Interior Detail Sets from Red Fox Studio in May

We are keen to look at more 3D acrylic decal set that improve our aircraft & now vehicles. Red Fox Studios had a laundry list of new items in May. Gary takes a look at just some of them in his review...
Review: Quick Set 3D Acrylic Interior Detail Sets from Red Fox Studio in May
Reviewed: May 2023

Red Fox Studio continues its steady release schedule of new cockpit detailing sets in all the popular scales. The Red Fox "Quick Set" product is designed for upgrading model aircraft cockpits. It has an acrylic plastic, non-flat surface with a 3D effect.

Two sets in 48th scale we are looing at this time..
It is best glued with cyanoacrylate, but PVA or other glues can also be used. The product can safely be washed with both oil-based and acrylic paints and moderately ester-based paints. It can also be minimally bent or sanded.

Another set in 32nd, and in 24th we have for review...
This time around I'll have a look at four of Red Fox's most recent sets in 1:48, 1:32 and 1:24 designed for some of the very latest, and not so latest, kits.

F-35A Lightning II 
Quick Set 3D Acrylic Instrument Panel
From: Red Fox Studio
1/48th scale
RFSQS-48140
For the Tamiya kit
price: €17,40
Designed for the brand new Tamiya 1:48th scale F-35A Lightning kit, this Red Fox set provides detailed replacement parts for the cockpit main instrument panel, side consoles and for the weapons bay, which is very prominent feature of the F-35A Lightning.
Shown with my 1/1 scale hand in comparison...
As with most 3D decal sets some preparation of the kit parts is required. The Red Fox instructions clearly layout (in blue) where raised detail needs to be removed. 
This set has a total of 29 parts.
Red Fox seems to now be including options for both powered on and powered off displays in their new sets. This is a welcome addition as it provides flexibility for the modeller to display their model in flight or on the ground. 
The F-35 glass cockpit is very simple (by design) when compared to more traditional cockpits and as such the number of screens and consoles are reduced.
The F-35 weapons bay (note it is NOT a bomb bay as much more than bombs can be carried) is a very busy part of any F-35 model. Tamiya provides a very detailed bay and Red Fox have included no less than 16 parts for inclusion therein, most consisting of switch and connector panels.
Numbers denote part while colours are pointed out in AMMO shades
The parts are printed with Red Fox's usual high resolution with almost all of the symbology on the powered-on version of the main screen being readable with the naked eye. The parts are only held onto the backing paper very lightly so care is needed when handling to ensure none end up being eaten by the carpet monster.

Closer in shots at angles showing the depth of the decals


EF-2000A Eurofighter Typhoon
Quick Set 3D Acrylic Instrument Panel
 From: Red Fox Studio 
1/48th scale 
RFSQS-48141
For the Revell kit
Designed for the Revell 1:48th scale EF-2000A Eurofighter Typhoon, which dates from 2006, and has been re-boxed by Revell several times over the years. 
This Red Fox set provides detailed replacement parts for the cockpit main instrument panel and side consoles.
The set includes 24 parts for the single seat Eurofighter. Being a fifth-generation combat fighter, the Typhoon cockpit incorporates a large number of colour MFD's which, like any computer screen, look very different when powered on or off. In recognition of this Red Fox has included both on and off versions in the set for no less than eight of the cockpit screens.
One of the practical challenges of any pre-painted cockpit parts is for the modeller to closely match the shade of colour chosen by the manufacturer. Red Fox helps take the guess work out of this by specifying which colour to use, in this case Ammo by MiG #0207. Using the very handy conversion chart we can see this corresponds to (BS 626) / FS 36314 RAF Camouflage (Barley) Grey, which is readily available in most model paint ranges including Mr.Color and Tamiya.
The Typhoon features a glass cockpit without any conventional instruments. It is dominated by three full colour multi-function head-down displays (MHDDs), the formats on which are manipulated by means of softkeys, XY cursor, and voice (Direct Voice Input or DVI) command). The printing on the Red Fox panels is as usual very sharp however the visible pixilation of light colours such as grey is quite distracting.
The decal below...


F-35A Lightning II 
Quick Set 3D Acrylic Instrument Panel
 From: Red Fox Studio 
1/32nd scale
RFSQS-32133
For the Trumpeter kit
price: €19,43
Designed as a direct drop in fit for the Trumpeter 1:32nd scale F-35A kit (03231), this Red Fox set provides detailed replacement parts for the cockpit main instrument panel and side consoles.
This larger scale set incorporates a modest number of parts (12) including two sets of options for powered on and off displays. Plastic part preparation is required to remove raised detail prior to attaching the Red Fox acrylic parts.
One of the benefits of larger scales like 1/32nd is that any extra detail we add can be really appreciated. So it is with this Red Fox set as we can see that the screen display is easily readable without the need for much magnification. It's here that the new generation of 3D decals excel and surpass anything previously offered in PE or normal decals.
The real thing below for comparison (screens turned on).


Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10
Quick Set 3D Acrylic Instrument Panel
 From: Red Fox Studio 
1/24th scale
RFSQS-24003
For the Trumpeter kit
price: €20,57
This set was designed for the massive Trumpeter 1:24th scale Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10
This Red Fox set provides detailed replacement parts for the cockpit main instrument panel, cockpit side walls and floor.
Compared to the crude clear plastic parts offered by Trumpeter in this very large scale, the Red Fox set is a quantum leap in detail and quality. Seventeen parts cover all the major components on the 109G-10 cockpit area.
Late war Luftwaffe cockpits were typically painted in RLM 66, a very dark grey. Fortunately it seems in this larger size the pixilation problem with non primary colours (like greys) is not as pronounced as in 1:48th or 1:32nd scales.
A side view shows the 3D depth found in the Red Fox detail sets. This along with the ease of use (almost like cheating) remains the main drawcard of this new technology.
The real thing for comparison...

CONCLUSION - Red Fox 1:48, 32nd & 24th Quick Set 3D Acrylic Interior Sets.
Another welcome set of releases by Red Fox. They are earning a well deserved reputation for thoroughly researched upgrade sets. The main benefit I find with these new 3D sets is how easy they are to apply.

Red Fox is based in Hungary and have partnered with MiG Ammo for worldwide marketing and distribution.  These are from this list of new May items. We will be reviewing some more of these very soon...

Gary Wickham

Thanks to Red Fox Studio for sending these to Gary to review...For more details or to purchase these sets you can visit the Red Fox website and Facebook page.
You can see more of Gary's model making on his website Scalespot.com