Developed as a follow up to the B and C models of the Sidewinder, the AIM-9D featured a Nitrogen cooled Infrared (IR) seeker and utilized the Hercules MK 36 solid-fuel rocket motor. Philco-Ford and Raytheon produced about 1000 of the missiles between 1965 and 1969. The missile was 9 feet, 5 inches long; 24.8 inches across the rear fins, and had a diameter of 5 inches. Weighing in at 195 pounds (25 pounds belonging to the warhead), the missile could travel at over Mach 2.5 with a range of 9.7 nautical miles. The AIM-9D is credited with aerial victories over twenty-two aircraft during the Vietnam War (8 MiG-21 and 14 MiG-17’s) being launched from F-8E/C/H Crusaders and F-4B and J Phantom II’s of the US Navy.

One of the latest releases from Eduard in their Brassin line is an exhaust nozzle meant to replace the kit provided one in the Tamiya 1/72 scale F-16CJ Fighting Falcon. The set consists of two resin parts and a photoetch fret that can be used to dress up the appearance of the Tamiya kit. The F-16CJ Block 50 release by Tamiya follows their impressive renditions first rolled out in 1/32 scale, and later in 1/48.

History

The C-17 was funded for development in 1984 and the first one was delivered in 1991 to the USAF for testing. The C-17 was originally designed to replace the C-130 and augment the C-5 and C-141. As we all know the C-130 and the C-5 are still going and the C-141 has been removed from service and has been sent to the boneyard for scrapping. The initial order was for 120 units and that was bumped up in 2002 following the attacks of September 11th to 180. Although the USAF is the main user there are many other countries that utilize the C-17.

The Kit

The kit is molded in light gray plastic. Several of the parts had a grainy texture to them and several of the sprue attachment points were thick and difficult to remove. The construction is fairly straight forward.