The AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasures pod is used by the US Air Force, the Air National Guard and several US allies. The pod is a modular design that can be configured to address a variety of threats. It is cleared for use on the F-4, F-5, F-16, F-111, A-10, F-15 and C-130.

This set depicts the deep version of the ALQ-131 pod, often seen on an outer wing pylon of an A-10 or sometimes a C-130. The set is very straightforward consisting of the pod, two mounting lugs and a decal sheet.

The Ben Franklin class was composed of twelve submarines, SSBN-640 to SSBN-645 and SSBN-654-659. The class was an evolutionary development from the earlier Lafayette-class of fleet ballistic missile submarines. This class can easily be identified by the fairwater planes' location halfway up the sail; the Lafayettes and James Madisons had the fairwater planes in the upper front portion of the sail. In 1993, Kamehameha was converted to a Dry Deck Shelter/swimmer delivery platform, reclassified as an attack submarine, and given hull number SSN-642; her ballistic missile capability was removed and thereafter she carried only torpedoes as armament. Following conversion, she was transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for the remainder of her operational career. She holds the record for the longest service life of any nuclear submarine—nearly 37 years.

Quickboost, an Aires Resin division, continues to produce quick and simple resin upgrades for a wide variety of subjects. The detail parts are crisply cast and often add to or correct kit items.

This review covers replacement propeller blades for Hasegawa’s 1/32 Fw-190D-9. In overall dimensions, length and width, the kit and resin parts are very comparable with maybe .001 difference in length. The portion that differs is at the propeller base. The kit part starts to widen just a few millimeters from the base whereas the Quickboost parts taper more gradually and better match online profiles of the actual blades.

The Missile

The V-2 was the first operational ballistic missile. It didn’t use an aiming system as such but was launched in the exact direction of the target. The engine was cut off when the missile was at the correct speed and altitude to allow it to coast to the target. The 2150-pound warhead could do a large amount of damage, and, unlike the V-1 there was no way to intercept a V-2. A V-2 was also the first vehicle to go into outer space, reaching an altitude of 100 km. (62 miles).

The V-2 was a “vengeance” weapon, to answer the Allied bombing of German cities. The main targets were London, Antwerp and Liege. Over 3000 V-2s were launched against these cities.

The Kit

This kit is mostly resin, with some PE details for the launch stand.

During the earlier stages of WW2, the German military demonstrated a new approach to warfare never really encountered before – the airborne assault force. In hotly contested battles in places such as Norway, Denmark and Belgium, they proved the effectiveness of a shock force that could appear virtually anywhere at virtually any time.

It wasn’t that long before the Allies took note and created their own versions of this elite force. Two units in the United States – the 82nd and 101st became the first large-scale units to develop the tactics and weapons necessary to serve as effective combat units in areas where they were likely to be surrounded and outnumbered by the enemy with little chance of immediate reinforcement.