To those who model Soviet era and modern Russian aircraft there has been a welcome proliferation of weapons which have emerged on the market, so we have something to hang on aircraft models other than rocket launchers and dumb bombs. Unlike the west, the Soviet and now Russian military is not known for the use of smart ordnance; rare were the pictures of them fitted. But a wide range of smart weapons exist in the Russian inventory for specialized missions and the pictures coming from Syria show smart weapons being used.

A new manufacturer from Russia has come on the scene to offer perhaps the widest range of munitions than we have seen so far on the market – Advanced Modeling (AM). These are multi-media kits cleanly cast in gray, durable resin; the detail is superb.

This set provides a pair of 500kg TV guided bombs (LGB). Most striking is the seeker head – the set provides clear lens which are really clear and the seeker components cast into the front of the bomb. This is the first time I have seen this weapon available in model form. The kit provides the bomb body (already finned), the seeker section with the forward fins cast on, a separate pour block of mounting lugs, clear seeker heads, a PE base plate and a decal sheet. Control fins are very thin but durable.

This kit was pretty quick to assemble, the only hard part being separating the mounting lugs, cleaning them up and attaching them without shooting them into a dark void. The nose section, once removed, slid easily into the recess of the bomb body. The base plates fit well – check the instructions for the right orientation. I left off the optic window until the last step. To paint the weapon, I did no preparatory work. The instructions call out for FS26473. I sprayed the bomb body Model Master Aircraft Gray FS16473, which is glossy. Once dry, I applied the decals without issue; they were easy to work for such small markings and settled down with Micro Sol. I sealed the decals with Future and then applied a flat coat of Testors Dullcoat. A black wash was used to highlight the details. I then brush painted the inside of the seeker head flat black, dry-brushed the details. I painted the camera lens gold with drop of Tamiya Smoke on top, which provided a realistic appearance to replicate the coated lens. When that was dry, I press fit the optic window – it needed no cement and gave a very clear appearance. The only thing missing are the imbedded silver wires of the lens.

Not a bad bit of work, except the mounting lugs, I would sacrifice detail to cast them directly onto the bomb bod. The AM instructions list the aircraft types which carry this weapon, which is everything modern in the inventory. This is a great weapons set, which I highly recommend.