Three parts are included in this set: the pitot tube and two angle of attack probes. The parts are packaged in a small zip-lock bag, stapled in a folded, heavy paper stock display hanger. The parts are also further sealed in a small envelope of clear plastic film taped to a heavy card stock stiffener inside the bag.

A small instruction sheet is also included that shows the installation.

Application

This pitot tube is designed for the Tamiya F-16. Installation is a simple matter of drilling out the opening in the kit nose part, applying a touch of super glue, inserting the pitot tube – and it is ready for paint. That simple, but what an improvement over the kit pitot tube! Same goes for the AOA probes mounted on either side of the nose, except here the probes fit within pre-formed openings in the sides of the nose. These particular parts are tiny!! Care will be required during installation to avoid loss.

• 32755 HE 219 Seatbelts, $20.00
• 32325 He 219 Undercarriage, $43.00
• 32757 He 219 Interior SA, $30.00

Eduard continues to produce their prolific, super-detailed PE sets for upgrading already good kits into great kits; thanks to Jan Zdiarsky at Eduard for providing IPMS/USA these three sets. Your support of our organization is more than appreciated…and thanks to Dick and Steve at IPMS/USA for passing these on to me to review!

The Kit

The kit is standard injection-molded plastic, molded in four colors across 78 parts. Wall sections are molded in a brick-red coloration; wooden objects, such as doors, are molded in brown; window frames are molded in white; and the roof shingles are curiously molded in blaze orange. All parts are cleanly molded with very little flash evident anywhere.

It seems as if MiniArt uses a standard set of sprues across all their building kits, as this one yielded quite a few extra parts that were not needed for this build.

Thank you to Andrea Lindell of Specialty Press and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me the opportunity to review this truly definitive resource. Author Bill Yenne does not disappoint in the least; rather,he provides a veritable gold mine of data, photographs, and narrative. He provides a wonderful introduction defining what a guided missile is, but also covers early guided missile concepts and development, the evolution of naming conventions, and, of course, the usual inter-service rivalries and territory disputes. For example, the Air Force and Navy viewed themselves as global projectors of air-power, which guided missiles are part of. The Army, on the other hand, viewed such missiles as a logical extension of artillery, whereas the Air Force thought of missiles as bombers! It didn’t stop there either, with surface-to-air missiles considered by the Army as antiaircraft weapons and the Air Force calling them interceptors.

When I received this kit for the review, the box wasn't as big as I’d expected, and upon opening it I also discovered the kit was double-boxed. There’s a nice colorful outside box of typical smooth cardboard and a second inner box of fine white corrugated board. The reason for the smaller-than-expected box is that the hull comes in four pieces – top and bottom front half and top and bottom rear half. They were packed very well with a light foam between the pieces, then sealed in a plastic bag. One side of the box states that the model is 40 inches long and the other side says it’s 42 inches long. I measured the completed model at a little over 42 inches in length.

I really liked the way Moebius handled their instructions. All the parts are named as to what they are, besides having part numbers assigned to them. As a young modeler, this is how I learned lots about the subject I was building.