The GBU-11 is a 3000-lb. laser guided bomb primarily used in the Vietnam era made by adding laser guidance and fins to a M118E1 bomb. Eduard has now given us an option of attaching this bomb to all the wonderful new 1/48th scale Phantoms among others.

Eduard’s set consists of enough parts and markings to make two of the large bombs. The set includes two tail units, two main bodies and a block of two different types seeker heads. The parts are cast in Eduard’s dark gray resin and are perfect. The bomb fins are super thin so be careful of them. Preparation is simple. Sand the main body and tail unit casting blocks off and join them. I used a little putty due to my sanding. I smoothed it with lacquer thinner. Pick which seeker head you need and cut it free from the casting block. Then sand the back smooth. Lastly, drill a hole into the center and attach to the rest of the bomb.

I primed the set with Alclad gray and let it dry overnight. Painting is simple as you have a choice of olive drab or well, olive drab. I used Tamiya and coated in two sessions to get even coverage. I then added gloss coat. You have two choices of markings and I chose the first. The decals went on with some encouragement especially the yellow ring but settled in the end. A little wash to bring out the excellent casting and a blue band right behind the seeker head was followed by several Dull Cote sessions and we’re done.

This is a great addition. If you wanted to model some of the later Vietnam missions where destroying bridges was the goal, these are the weapons used and are first class with both excellent detail and ease of use. Recommended.

My thanks to Eduard for the opportunity to review this great weapons set.