One of the great things I have always found about modeling is that I never fail to learn something here and there. This set of the GBU-39 and the BRU-61 bomb rack caught my attention as, frankly, I had never heard of it. A quick Google and I was hooked and volunteered to review the set.

The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb is just that, a smaller 250 lb. weapon which is a precision guided glide bomb. Its intent is to allow aircraft to carry more weapons and destroy more targets. Think of it this way, a plane has four pylons for example. At a bomb per pylon, that’s four total. Using adapters, at two bombs per pylon, eight targets can be destroyed. Using the GBU-39 with BRU-61 rack, the plane can carry sixteen bombs and destroy sixteen targets. Adding to that, the effective range of this weapon is over 50 miles and it can use multiple targeting systems. To get that long distance, it deploys wings to allow a glide range of over 50 miles. Interesting stuff.

Without question, the F-14 was the Navy's finest long range interceptor ever built. Now retired, the Grumman built F-14 was the best of all Grumman “cats”. It had firepower, speed and presence with its wings fully swept forward or aft. The F-14 job was fleet defense and it used the long range Phoenix, mid-range Sparrow and the short range Sidewinder to accomplish this task, it even had a 20mm Vulcan cannon as a back up. The F-14 came in three variants; the F-14A, the F-14B and lastly the F-14D. The ejection seats used the A and B marks was the Martin Baker GRU-7A. Quickboost has recently made and offers a resin pair of these seats and they are recommended for the Hasegawa kits. These seats are finely cast with no flash or holes.

The set is designed as drop in replacements for the kit landing gear parts for Hasegawa’s recent 1/72 scale Eurofighter/Typhoon. The set consists of 6 white metal parts, a nose gear strut, two main landing gear struts, the nose gear retraction strut and two retraction struts for the main landing gear legs.