AGM-78 Standard ARM

Published: June 24, 2015
Company: Eduard

When the United States first started its bombing campaign in North Vietnam, it discovered that its ability to combat the sophisticated air defense system was very limited and early on it became apparent that the AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile had a number of serious limitations, particularly in its range, small warhead and limited seeker. In effort to overcome some of these limitations,… more

GBU-8/B HOBOS

Published: June 13, 2015
Company: Eduard

The GBU-8/B HOBOS (Homing Bomb System) was developed in the late 60’s by the U.S. Air Force in an effort to improve the accuracy of its bombs. ; The HOBOS consisted of an electro-optical guidance system fitted to a MK 84 2,000 lb. bomb and was intended as an alternative to the then new laser guided bombs. ; The advantage of the HOBOS was that once the seeker was aligned with the target and… more

GBU-10 Paveway I

Published: May 31, 2015
Company: Eduard

The GBU-10 Paveway I is one of the United States first precision guided weapons put into service. The GBU-10 is actually the combination of a standard Mk. 84 2,000lb bomb with the Paveway I guidance system. Developed in the late 60’s and early 70’s it was used extensively in Vietnam. While the MK. 84 bomb is still around, the Paveway I guidance package has been replaced by improved versions… more

F-35A Lightning II

Published: May 30, 2015
Company: Hasegawa

This is the first kit of what I expect will be a number of F-35 kits from Hasagawa and represents the U.S. Air Force version of the Joint Strike Fighter. The Marine F-35B and Navy F-35C are sure to follow.

As a new Hasegawa kit, the fit of the parts is excellent, however, a couple of the engineering decisions in the parts breakdown can cause some issues if you are not careful, but even… more

MiG-15 Landing Gear

Published: May 20, 2015
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

The set consists of 5 one-for-one replacements for the kit landing gear on the new Eduard MiG-15 kits. The nose gear is a single casting of the strut and the nose wheel, and incorporates the spoked effect on the tire seen on the kit part. The main gear each consists of a main gear strut and the retraction/extension actuator. As with the other SAC sets the parts are finely cast and need minimal… more

Mi-26 Halo Landing Gear

Published: May 17, 2015
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

This set is designed for the Zvezda/Revell Mi-26 Halo helicopter kit. The set includes seven replacement pieces, a nose strut and three pieces for each main landing gear. As with most SAC sets the replacement parts are one-for-one replacements for the kit parts and have been cast to fit the existing mounting holes on the kit.

The nose gear simply pops into the hole for the kit part and… more

F-16 Air Brakes

Published: May 16, 2015
Company: Eduard

The set consists of two finely cast reproductions of the F-16’s speed brakes in the extended position. Installation of the speed brakes is very straight forward once they are removed from their respective casting blocks. I labeled the gluing edge of mine with a ‘L’ and a ‘R’ as they are not interchangeable. To install each one, you will need to cut off the molded speed brakes once the fuselage… more

F-104G Mask (Hasegawa)

Published: April 20, 2015
Company: Res-Im

This is a masking set for the Hasegawa F-104G. The masks are cut from yellow tape, similar to Eduard masks and the set includes masks for all three sections of the Hasegawa F-104G as well as masks for each of the tires. There are three separate masks for the three windscreen panels and there are two masks for both of the other two sections of the canopy. As with Eduard’s masks, the masks for… more

MiG-19 PM (Farmer E) Missile Rails Nose Parts and Pitot Tube

Published: April 20, 2015
Company: Master Model

The MiG-19PM was designed as missile carrying aircraft, so the powerful cannons that had been carried by earlier versions of the MiG-19 were deleted. The MiG-19PM’s weapons were the early air-to-air missiles developed by the Soviet Union and were carried on four underwing pylons.

The missile pylons for theMiG-19PM include a rounded extension from the front of each pylon which looks… more

A-4B Skyhawk Undercarriage Doors

Published: April 19, 2015
Company: Quickboost

This set consists of six resin replacements for the gear doors of the recent Airfix A-4B Skyhawk kit. The new doors are one-for-one replacements of the kit parts.

The parts are cast in a tan colored resin and are delightfully thin. All six doors are attached to a single casting block, but the attachment points are very thin and easily removed. Once removed the only clean-up is to… more