The Mk. 82 is a 500 lb. general purpose bomb used extensively by the United States and its allies since the 1960s. The Mk. 82 is the smallest bomb in the Mk. 80 family of weapons, but it also the size most commonly used. The bomb can be fitted with either low-drag or high-drag tail assemblies and can be configured as a laser guided bomb with the appropriate guidance and tail fins.

This set provides six Mk. 82s in the low-drag configuration most commonly used with medium to high altitude deliveries. The set includes 3 options for the nose, a standard impact fuse, a 6 foot fuse extension to ensure above ground detonation and a conical nose cap to ensure some ground penetration before detonation. The bombs are molded as a single piece, there is no assembly so once the bombs are removed from the pour stubs and the attachment points cleaned up, it is on to the painting stage. As the decals are for a live weapon, the instructions call for painting the bombs olive drab. I have seen photographs of training rounds that are either painted blue or sometimes gray, so there are options, but you will need to paint your own nose bands in blue (on gray bombs) or another color to indicate that the bomb is an inert bomb with no explosive.

As the noseband are right at the front edge of the bomb, I recommend decaling the bombs before installing the desired nose, or trimming off the clear film on the inside edge of the yellow band decals to ensure that they lay down flat. Testors Model Master Insignia Yellow is a very good match for the yellow nose decals and I used it on a couple of bombs where I could not get the ends to meet. After decaling and a quick shot of clear flat, the desired nose units can be superglued on and accordingly and you are done. As the Mk. 82 was so widely used, I have lots of kits they can be installed on, but right now they are earmarked for a Navy F-4 that is waiting to be painted.

Another great set from Eduard. It is easy to prepare and looks great when finished. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Eduard for the review sample and to IPMS-USA for letting me review it.