Air-to-air missiles (AAMs) are a part of almost every tactical aircraft and some helicopters these days. If you’re anything like me, they tend to be part of the finishing bits we grind through at the end of a build. Perhaps a deeper understanding of these weapons and their integral connection to the aircraft we build will make finishing those missiles a bit easier. This is the first of six volumes dedicated to the history of air-to-air missiles (AAM). In this first volume, the author, Bill Norton, a former Air Force officer and flight test engineer with 40 years of experience, introduces us to a comprehensive history—in six volumes of these weapons.

The Tamiya F-35 kits are some of the best in any scale so it is not unusual to see aftermarket companies produce parts to try and improve them. In this case, Aires has created a replacement set for the F-35A exhaust nozzle.

The Tamiya kit parts are really nice, so what does Aires offer to make you spend a bit more modeling money? Let’s take a look.

The set includes 3 resin parts, which are almost a direct drop-in replacement for the 4 parts Tamiya molded. The instructions indicate where you need to cut to remove the parts from the supports. You do have to trim a small bit off of kit part A5, but that is easily accomplished.

The resin parts are easily removed from the resin supports with a razor saw. I did this outside while wearing a respirator due to the resin dust created. I sprayed the inside of the exhaust pipe with white and did the detail painting following Tamiya’s instructions, since no painting instructions are included with the resin parts.

Background and Historical Notes

From The Kit Manufacturer’s Notes:

Bronco NOGS US Attack Aircraft

In 1970, two OV-10A Bronco aircraft were modified to evaluate their nighttime combat capabilities. The modification was designated NOGS—Night Observation Gunship System. The aircraft received an extended nose section with a turret housing a forward-looking infrared system and laser rangefinder (FLIR) in its lower half. Under the mid-fuselage, engineers mounted a turret with a 20mm General Electric M197 three-barrel cannon, which was aimed using FLIR.

In late 1970, both aircraft were sent to China Lake Air Base for testing, and by April 1971, they were deployed to Vietnam for combat trials. Operating as part of the light attack squadron VAL-4 “Black Ponies,” the aircraft conducted evening and night missions. The YOV-10D aircraft flew in various configurations: either in pairs, paired with an OV-10A, or with an escort of two OV-10A aircraft.

ICM has been releasing quality kits, figure sets, and recently paints to support their vast library of releases. Today, we see a set dedicated to WWI Armored Vehicles. These are water-based acrylic paints that can be brushed as is or airbrushed after thinning with either distilled water or ICM brand thinner. They come in screw top bottles that are wide-mouth and not dropper bottles, so I used my handy pipette to dole out smaller quantities for testing.

What’s Inside the Box

This set includes six 12mL plastic bottles featuring the following colors:

What really drew me to this release was the Aussie option! The Australians started getting the UH-60M in 2023, and traditionally they use it for long-range search and rescue in the Outback and over the ocean, making for some unique configurations. Academy has a long history with the Black Hawk mold, and they’ve taken full advantage of its popularity with new parts. In addition to the A60-001 import model, Academy has everything in this box to fit out a full Australian import version of the Black Hawk. Builds of the M seem few and far between, so I’ve tried to hit a lot of detail in this review for the competitive builder.

For everyone who wants instant gratification, let’s start with the pros and cons, then transition to the details!