Neil Stokes is a noted Soviet armor enthusiast and this is at least his third photobook in this series, with prior books covering the Su-76; KV; along with the Su-85 and Su-100 on the Battlefield. He has also authored KV: Technical History & Variants; a 560 page beast published in 2010 by Airconnection. Neil is an active member of AMPS (Armor Modeling & Preservation Society) and you can find him on www.amps-armor.org .

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 installed as I plan on displaying the bombs on a parked, but armed aircraft.

Masterpiece Models manufactures and sells resin assembly kits at their Vancouver, Washington fabrication and casting shop. Their kits include Dinosaurs, WWII, Vietnam, Scifi, and aircraft bases. Each kit is cast to order.

Background on the Hellcat

From Masterpiece Models website: The Mark 49 Hellcat Armored Walker was developed after the 3rd World War in 2046 as a forward attack and reconnaissance Vehicle. The need for walkers after the War was due to the amount of rubble strewn thru the landscape, tracked vehicles tended to bog down in the rubble making maintenance and mobility an issue. The first Walkers developed in 2099 were quite ungainly and had limited range and power. Later on in 2112 after advanced fusion drives were developed and fitted to the walkers did they become a more practical weapons system with more power and almost unlimited range.