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First: Sincere thanks to Lucky Model for sending us this most excellent kit, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for once again believing in my ability to deliver within a deadline….
Modern Russian aircraft have been making a surge in the marketplace of late. The SU-24, SU-25, SU-27, MiG-29, MiG-23 and MiG-25 have been released by a variety of manufacturers. Regardless of manufacturer, one thing that all these kits can benefit from is the addition of really accurate armament.
In case you didn’t know Eduard is from the Czech Republic, a former member of the Eastern Block. They have access to the information and the real items.
This BigSin set consists of five separate types of air-to-air missiles. The, R-60/AA-8 Aphid, R-27ER/AA-10 Alamo-C, R-27ET/AA-10 Alamo-D, R-73/AA-11 Archer and the R-77/AA-12 Archer. This is the Russian equivalent of the Sparrows, Sidewinders and AMRAAM in the US inventory.
The F-4 Phantom II is perhaps the finest jet of its time. It could carry a variety of ordnance. In addition to heat seeking and infrared air-to-air missiles it could carry bombs, and lots of them. The Phantom is an iconic airplane with legendary performance and capabilities.
What would a Phantom be without the ability to shoot down other airplanes and bomb the enemy back to the stone age? Just another pretty, no wait we are talking about a Phantom here, just another ugly loud smoking airplane.
With that in mind and Academy’s release of the F-4B and F-4C it is essential that you include ordnance and lots of it. Enter the BigSin set. This set is EVERYTHING you would need to arm up your Phantom. The set contains five sets, one set of Sidewinders, one set of Sparrows and three sets of Mk.82 Bombs. You can literally fill every hard point on the belly of the Phantom.
I love the Eduard FW-190 series of models. I’ve built seven of them so far. The stuff in the kit is nice but there are limitations to what can be done in plastic. That is where the Brassin range comes into play.
In this set are two wheels with predrilled holes, unfortunately they are just as loose as the kit offerings. I would have loved if they were molded with smaller holes with the angles set already. Oh well the detail is really nice. They are molded in light grey resin with flawless detail molded on. You also get a masking set for the wheels. Just another great idea from Brassin. You have to be careful as the wheels are sided. So be careful when you take them off the resin pour stubs to not get them mixed.
The beautiful detail and masking material makes this just a perfect little upgrade set. If you like FW-190s then these wheels are as good as it gets.
Highly recommended
The Wild Weasels flew specialized missions in Vietnam using first the F-100, F-105 and finally the F-4 to take out SAM targets. Their exploits are stuff of legend. One of the things that made them so effective was the Shrike anti-radiation missile. The missile was used all the way up to Desert Storm by F-4Gs.
Molded in light and dark grey resin, you are provided with four missiles. My examples were perfectly formed and no blemishes noticed. The best thing about these resin pieces is that there are no mold lines and they are perfectly round. Included in the set is a fret of photo etch for the exhaust nozzles. Decals round out the missiles. These are perfectly formed. The instructions are simple enough with the color call out and the decal placement easy enough to understand.
Construction is pretty straight forward. The detail on the missiles is impressive to say the least.
