Developed as another Sidewinder for the U.S. Air Force, the AIM-9J was the follow-up to their E-model, and was based on the U.S. Navy AIM-9B. The AIM-9J first saw service in the skies over Vietnam in July 1972 during Operation Linebacker. It introduced the use of some solid-state components, and being equipped with a longer burning motor, the AIM-9J could remain in flight for 40 seconds. Hercules/Aerojet produced 6700 of the missiles, both new, and from re-purposed AIM-9B missiles. The AIM-9J measured 10 feet in length, 22 inches across the rear fins, had a diameter of 5 inches, and weighed in at 170 pounds. The AIM-9J was considered the first missile capable of use in a dogfight as it could be launched at up to 7.5g. This missile is credited with aerial victories over one MiG-21, and two MiG-19 aircraft during the Vietnam War launched from F-4D Phantom II’s of the US Air Force.

Eduard has come out with several photo etch sets for the 1/32 Scale HK Mk.IV Mosquito. This set provides new replacement interior panel parts, control levers, side panel parts, bulkheads, rudder pedals, bomb sight, and other interior details. The best part about this set is that most of the panels are pre-painted and ready to be placed with a sticky back adhesive already applied.

The instructions are quite adequate to provide detailed information on part numbers and placement.

Hauler, a small company out of Czechoslovakia, continues to add to its list of quality aftermarket and modeling supply products; this time with a package of eight U.S. Army 75mm ammunition boxes in 1/35th scale.

The package contains a single baggie containing all the resin parts needed, mounted on backing blocks. Four of the boxes are empty with separate lids, with the other four made of solid resin. All contain fine wood grain and represent standard USA ammunition crates. Delicate ‘rope’ handles are included for all of the crates, but stencils and/or decals are not.

Short History

The History of the Eagle is as described by Great Wall Hobby: The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 aerial combat victories. Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas' design in 1967 to meet the service's need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. The Multi-Stage Improvement Program (MSIP) is a joint program carried out by Boeing and the USAF's Warner Robins Logistics Center in Georgia. Under MSIP, upgrades were progressively incorporated onto the production line and then retrofitted to earlier production aircraft.

This bridge kit is part of Academy’s nine kit series of models of Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions. These kits are simple assembly with a limited number of parts, but are good instructional models exploring Da Vinci’s inventions.

The kit does not require any painting or cements for construction.

The arch bridge designed by Leonardo Da Vinci uses a self-supporting arch concept to distribute weight through the full curve of the arch.

The plastic parts are molded in brown plastic and include three plastic sprues plus 2 base pieces. The kit includes 24 plastic parts, instructions, and a lightweight cardboard box to store the parts. The kit has two levels of assembly, Elementary and Advanced depending upon the span length of the bridge. The instructions include some information about bridge types and design.