Paul R. Brown
Reviews By Author
|
GBU-12Published:
The GBU-12 is an American laser guided bomb consisting of a 500 lb. Mk. 82 bomb combined with a laser tracker and fins for guidance. First entering service in 1976, it was used extensively in Operation Desert Storm by US F-111’s, F-15E’s and A-6E’s. F-111’s used it to great effect in hunting down and destroying Iraqi armor (tank plinking). After Desert Storm it has been used extensively in Afghanistan and other conflicts. The set consists of four resin bomb bodies with the tail fins and nose guidance sections molded as single pieces except for the seeker head and photo-etch nose and aft guidance fins. Two options are provided for the seeker head, one with the seeker head exposed and the other with the plastic ground cover in place. I choice to use the heads with the cover… more |
|
Brassin MiG-21MF Exhaust NozzlePublished:
The first kits of Eduard’s long awaited line of 1/72 MiG-21’s have now been released and along with them a whole slew of photo-etched and resin accessories. This set provides resin and photo-etch replacement parts for the kit’s exhaust. The set consists of 3 resin parts and 3 photo-etch parts. The resin parts replace the aft turbine blades, the exhaust tube and the exhaust nozzle while the photo-etch parts make up the afterburner assembly. The exhaust tube depicts the corrugated interior of the tube adjacent to the afterburner assembly and the smooth tube leading to the nozzle. Separating the exhaust tube and the nozzle from their pour stubs was easily accomplished as the cut points are very clear and the resin is fairly thin. Removing the aft turbine blade part from its pour… more |
|
AN/ALQ-184 (short) ECM podPublished:
The AN/ALQ-184 electronic countermeasures pod is used by the US Air Force and the Air National Guard on tactical aircraft including the F-16 and the A-10. The pod is a self-protection jammer and is available in either two or three band versions. This set depicts the shorter version of the ALQ-184, so presumably it is the two band version and it is often seen on the centerline pylon of USAF F-16s or an outer wing pylon of the A-10. The set is very straightforward consisting of simply of resin cast pod. The casting is outstanding and includes several small antennas on the nose of the pod. I used a sharp razor saw to remove the pod itself from the pour stub as well and then cleaned up the stub attachment points with a fine sanding stick. Eduard includes markings for just… more |
|
Su-33 Flanker D Landing Gear (Zvezda)Published:
This set is designed for Zvezda’s new tool Su-33 that was released in 2016. The set consists of three parts, the central portion of the nose gear strut and both main gear struts. The nose strut is a drop-in replacement for part C59, the central nose strut and its retraction arm. On the other hand the main gear struts replace several parts as the casting reflects the main gear struts (C81 & C82) with their respective side brace connector (C77 and C78) and an actuator (C74 & C75) already attached. On my set there is a small triangular connection cast between the center of the actuator and the main gear strut, which I assumed was supposed to be there as a brace, but after checking several online photographs of the Su-33 main gear; I discovered that it should not be there, so I… more |
|
AN/ALQ-131 (deep) ECM podPublished:
The AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasures pod is used by the US Air Force, the Air National Guard and several US allies. The pod is a modular design that can be configured to address a variety of threats. It is cleared for use on the F-4, F-5, F-16, F-111, A-10, F-15 and C-130. This set depicts the deep version of the ALQ-131 pod, often seen on an outer wing pylon of an A-10 or sometimes a C-130. The set is very straightforward consisting of the pod, two mounting lugs and a decal sheet. The castings were very crisp with no flash anywhere. Take care in separating the mounting lugs from the pour stub as they are very tiny and prone to launching themselves into the unknown (I am still looking for one of them). I ran the bottom of the surviving lug over a piece of sandpaper… more |
|
AN/ALQ-131 (shallow) ECM podPublished:
The AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasures pod is used by the US Air Force, the Air National Guard and several US allies since the 80’s. The pod is a modular design that can be configured to address a variety of threats. It is cleared for use on the F-4, F-5, F-16, F-111, A-10, F-15 and C-130. This set depicts the shallow version of the ALQ-131 pod, often seen on the centerline pylon of USAF F-16s or an outer wing pylon of the A-10. I was also able to find a photo online of one mounted under the forward fuselage of an Australian F-111. The set is very straightforward consisting of the pod, two mounting lugs and a decal sheet. The castings were very crisp with just the slightest hint of flash between the lower blade antenna on the nose and the main body of the pod, which… more |
|
Shenyang J-31 Gyrfalcon (Airshow China 2014)Published:
The J-31(FC-31) is a twin engine “fifth generation” fighter currently under development by China’s Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. First exhibited at the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2014, the aircraft is very similar in size to the F-35 Lightning II, and appears to be designed for a similar mission. The airframe has a number of features that that are look like those on the F-35 (such as the humped fuselage sides and forward swept intakes) and the overhead planform of the two aircraft is very similar (other than 2 engines for the J-31 and 1 for the F-35), while the side profile is similar to a shortened F-22. As the jet is still in the early stages of development, a lot of questions remain about its actual performance and capabilities, as well as to what the final version will look like… more |
|
Soviet Rockets RS82Published:
The RS-82 rocket was an unguided air-to-ground rocket developed by the Soviet Union in the 1930s and used extensively in World War II. The rockets were pretty small, only around 3 inches in diameter and 24 inches long and like most early air-to-ground unguided weapons, their accuracy was questionable at best. As a result they were usually fired in one salvo. They were used on almost every aircraft flown by the Red Air Force during World War II and there are a lot of photographs on the Internet of various aircraft with them mounted under the wings. Brengun continues its line of aircraft weapons/accessories with this set, which provides 8 missile/launch rail sets. The missile bodies are molded as part of the launch rail with a separate photoetch fret of the missile fins (4 per… more |
|
Japanese 250 kg BombPublished:
Brengun continues its line of aircraft accessories with this set of two 250kg Japanese bombs from World War II. The set consists of two resin bomb bodies and a small photo-etch fret with the fins and fuse propellers. As you would expect with Brengun the resin castings are outstanding and easily removed from the casting plugs at the aft end of the bomb. My set had a little flash one the sides of the bombs from the casting process, but it was very thin and easily removed and the bomb bodies were quickly cleaned up. The bomb fins are easily removed from the fret with photo etch scissors. Take care to cut them as close to the fin as you can to minimize having to try and clean up the attachment points after removing the fins from the fret as they are fairly small and very thin. I… more |
|
Ka-27 Helix Seats with Safety BeltsPublished:
The Ka-27/Ka-29 Helix helicopter family is a follow-on to the Ka-25 Hormone helicopter. Like the Ka-25, the Ka-27/29 has contra-rotating stacked rotors eliminating the need to a tail rotor to counter torque. Like most helicopters, the Helix’s cockpit is very visible and unfortunately, the seats included by most kit manufacturers do not bear any resemblance to those of the actual helicopter. This set from Aires, part of its Quickboost line, seeks to remedy this by providing very nicely detailed seats with the harnesses. The set includes four seats, which allows you to outfit two kits as there are only two seats in the front cockpit of the Helix. The seats are not identical, they each have different configurations for the lap belts, as unless the helicopter is at an airshow, on… more |