Bomb Trolley US Bombs 500lb AN-M64 (6)

Published on
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$21.12
Product / Stock #
175232
Company: Videoaviation - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: Videoaviation - Website: Visit Site

Videoaviation is a small company out of Italy manufacturing big things. In this case, they provide large scale modelers the items missing from many of our 1/32 models to bring them to life, particularly in a diorama setting if you have room!

This set is simple but detailed. In it you have parts for the cart, the bomb adaptor trailer, and six A/N (Army/Navy) M64 500 Lb. HE bombs. The fuse and anti-roll lugs are integral with the bomb body. Once you remove the pour disk from the bomb body tail, drill a hole in the extreme center and install the aft fuse propeller and extension rod NOW verses later like I did. It’s hard to install with the fin assembly in place.

The fins themselves need to be carefully removed from the pour stub with a very fine razor saw, that way you won’t break them off. These simply slip on the tail of the bomb, and line up perfectly with the mating surface. Best bomb fins ever; thin, scale-like, and durable if you drop them. (I know).

After assembly I used gray primer on the resin parts, then sprayed the bombs with Tamiya OD 2 spray. Later, for touch up after doing the yellow live bomb marking rings over three or four times, I painted the bombs dark Vietnam Vallejo green, which matched the Tamiya OD2. The rings were the usual chore to paint for me, but I prefer them that way. I’ll get this all down someday…

The decals went on splendidly, snuggling down and drying fast. I coated the bomb with Testors acrylic flat coat, then installed the fuse props on the nose and tail, making a very realistic early fuse setting.

The cart was an interesting build. Remove all the casting blocks and sand them down. I painted everything with primer first, then assembled the nose wheel and axle to the steering fork. This was superglued to the steering handle shaft, which I had made from wire as the resin version broke and just looked amateurish after repair. I used the broken parts to bend the wire bar, then superglued the handle “T” to it. Easy.

The lift pump handle or brake, I can’t tell which, was a simple clean up and glue item. Same for the wheel/tires on the back. The tow ring was a bit fragile, but it was ok in the end after careful sharp knife work.

Painted overall dark OD green, with a flat finish, black tires, and all was well.

The trolley bomb adaptor was probably a wooden item. I had a bit of a chore cleaning out between the stanchions, but it came out ok. Using the light/dark brown wood grain effects, plus an overwash of Tamiya clear orange, made it all sing.

This is just the thing for a diorama item. The bombs were the best I’ve seen from most places, as PE individual fins are never a good idea. Too many curing superglue problems.

Excellent job Maurizio! The finished product captures the field modification of the actual bomb cart, and the bombs are my next accession for the B-17 kit sitting on the shelf. Extreme thanks to Videoaviation for sending the set to IPMS USA, and to the IPMS stash keepers Dave and Dick, for sending them to me.

Box cover

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