Special Hobby have released a set of resin replacement SE.5a wheels as part of their CMK - Quick & Easy range. The wheels will obviously appeal to anyone building Eduard's beautiful new-tool kit, but are equally applicable to earlier models from Roden and other manufacturers.

The wheels arrive in a card-backed clear packet with a small sheet of instructions. The new wheels are straight replacements for the kit parts, so instructions will be almost superfluous for most modellers used to aftermarket upgrades, but the generic notes on working with resin will be useful for newcomers.

The casting in the sample set is perfect, with no blemishes visible. The parts are clearly CAD produced and the detail is phenomenal, with Palmer Cord maker's text around the tyre, plus a tiny air valve and even a spoke visible through the opening in the canvas cover. The resin wheels give a much more clearly defined impression of the covered spokes, while the covers are slightly more "domed" and the tyres slightly "fuller" than on Eduard's styrene wheels.

Preparation should be quick and simple, with three small casting points and a wafer of flash under each wheel.

Conclusion

CMK's Quick & Easy SE.5a wheels look to be very worthwhile upgrades over the standard parts in Eduard's kit. At 5.20 Euros, they won't break the bank and their simplicity to use makes them an ideal first upgrade to try for anyone new to using resin correction sets.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.