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 first set is the AA-8 Aphid IR missile. This missile has been in use for some time on Russian aircraft as far back as the MiG-21. Because of this there are a couple of launchers included in the set. Like the rest of the sets, these are molded in grey resin and are absolutely flawless. Besides the missiles and launchers themselves there is fret of colored photo etch which will allow modeling the missile on the launcher in the safe mode with Russian RBF tags. The set comes complete with decals as well. Overall the effect is quite nice. I’ve used this particular set on my MiG-21PFM and can tell you it is awesome, impressive, and adds to the finished model. These are small models in themselves and would look great displayed separately as well.

The second set is the AA-10 Alamo-C which is another IR missile used on the MiG-29 and SU-27. Tied to the pilot helmet mounted sight these missiles are medium range and similar to the US Sparrow. Because it is used on different aircraft, Eduard provides you with both types of launchers. You get four missiles and four of each type of launcher. The set can be posed with the protective cover or the warhead on the missile. Russian RBF flats are included. They are included on a full colored fret of photo etch. Also the missiles and launchers have plenty of stencils on the decal sheet that will add to the realism.

The third set is the AA-10 Alamo-D which is an IR version of the AA-10. Like the rest of the sets, this set is molded in grey resin, which is perfectly cast with no imperfections that I can see. Like the other AA-10 set this one comes with two different launchers. It also has a protective cover on the nose. If you elect to not have the cover on then there is a clear resin nosepiece that can be added. A fret of full colored photo etch is included. The decals are quite extensive and will take a long time to do all the missiles.

The AA-11 is the next missile set. There are four missiles with launchers plus adapters for the MiG-29 and SU-27. Two types of exhaust nozzles are included. The protective cover is provided, as is the clear nose. A fret of photo etch is included. This set does not need to be pre-painted. Decals are included, as is the norm.

The AA-12 is the last missile, which is an AMRAAM type weapon system. This set has four missiles with launch rails. A photo etch fret is included. There is a decal sheet included that have full-length decals for the launchers as opposed to individual stencils.

Overall these missiles are mini-kits unto themselves. I could see these being displayed by themselves. On the model the missiles will add dramatically to the realism. The sets are perfectly formed and the inclusion of decals and photo etch parts makes these kits gems.

The BigSin sets are designed to allow you to outfit your Russian fighter within a budget. In this case the savings amounts to over $13. I think there is nothing better than these missiles for the bottom of your Soviet aircraft.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the review item. You can obtain yours by contacting Eduard directly at www.eduard.com.