Aero Bonus | 1/32 50lb Wheeled Fire Extinguisher
Reviewed by Guy Wilson
Here's another quick look at an Aero Bonus resin airfield accessory. This time, their 50lb CO2 flightline wheeled fire extinguisher.
The kit arrived in a plastic envelope with a stiff card insert for strength.
Unfortunately this caused a problem as the "T" handle had been squashed and misshapen and needed to be dipped in hot water and twisted back into shape.
The envelope contained an instruction and colour call-out sheet in typical Aero Bonus style with parts list on one leaf, rudimentary instructions on the opposite leaf and colour call-out and decal placement advice on the rear.
The resin comprises the smaller items, the main gas bottle, the framework, extinguisher nozzle and wheels all on separate pour stubs. Aero Bonus also supply a short length of silicon tube to use as the hose.
There is a small decal sheet offering a number of white bands, a data plate and "Carbon Dioxide" stencils.
Assembly is a little tricky with no locating tabs. The instructions are more suggestions than directions so some thought is necessary to get everything to line up squarely. Couple that with the twisted resin due to the poor packaging and getting a neat, realistic looking result is a challenge.
Additionally, without reference images to refer to, some of the placement of parts amounts to guesswork.
Aero Bonus provide a shaped cap to cover the regulator on top of the gas cylinder but I used a slice of this to add as a holder for the extinguisher nozzle. I also fabricated a clip from metal foil to locate the top of the nozzle handle. Lastly, the bands that secure the cylinder to the framework look super but they do leave a gap which needs bridging to resemble bolt threads.
Less experienced modellers might find this little kit a challenge but it does provide a neat background accessory for those larger scale jets.
A lick of paint came next. I primed the resin in white then used Vallejo "Red" for the extinguisher and Citadel Miniatures Chaos Black for the nozzle.
The decals are very thin and conform well to the model but I'd advise caution and copious use of water to help position them. They do like to fold in on themselves too so watch out for that because if it happens, there's next to no way to retrieve them.
The tyres were hand painted in Vallejo "Black-grey" and the various brass components were again hand painted with various metallic shades from the stash.
With a little bit of help this little kit builds up into a nice model. It is a great basis for a little extra detailing and will look neat next to an aircraft model.
© Guy Wilson 2013
This review was published on Friday, April 26 2013; Last modified on Friday, May 17 2013