The GBU-49 is an American laser guided bomb consisting of an Enhanced Paveway II GPS/INS-equipped guidance section and a 500 lb. bomb. It is one of the weapons of choice for the MQ-9 Reaper and is often carried by USAF F-16s with two GBU-49s on triple ejector racks on the middle wing pylons.

The set consists of two bomb bodies with the tail fins and guidance sections molded as single pieces except for the seeker head (resin) and the nose and aft guidance fins (photo-etch). 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 chose to use the heads with the cover installed as I plan on displaying the bombs on a parked, but armed aircraft.

This is Eduard’s third release of their 1/144 MiG-15. The first was the Czechoslovak MiGs, the second was the MiG-15 bis, which used a different engine, but is generally the same.

The MiG-15 has been used by 44 different countries, including the US Air Force (!) and such world powers as Albania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sri Lanka, and Yemen.

The aircraft on the decal sheet this time are from North Korea, China, USSR, Poland, and two Czechs.

I decided to do the Soviet MiG after checking out the histories of the aircraft. The pilot of this aircraft was Major Alexi Mikoyan. His uncle was Anastas Mikoyan, who was Khrushchev’s number 2 man for many years. His father was Artem Mikoyan, one of the founders of Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) design bureau. I think the pilot was pretty well connected.

At this year's National Convention in Columbus, master modeler John Vojtech provided us with a number of new product samples from his company UMM-USA. UMM, Unique Master Models, lives up to its name by offering an extensive variety of tools, aftermarket detailing supplies, decal sets and the like. (Be sure to peruse John's National Award winning models when you enter the site) .

The Multi-Shape Punch Set is a unique approach to manufacturing small detail shapes with multiple modeling applications. The set comes with a beautifully machined, truncated cone aluminum base that incorporates a soft rubber pad used as the striking surface. Several brass punches (one each of square, round and hexagonal cross section) and a sample sheet of soft, 3mm thick aluminum. At the time this review is being written, John is offering the Punch Set for $20.95, a substantial discount from the $29.99 list price – but I don't know how long this pricing will last).