Trumpeter 1/32
US Aircraft Weapons I

I was pleasantly surprised to see this set announced a few months ago. I had been hinting for a while that these nice selections of weapons included in many of the 1/32 scale kits from Trumpeter, Academy, and Hasegawa, be released as separate weapons sets to support many of the older (or unarmed) aircraft kits in 1/32 out there. At long last, Trumpeter has answered the call!

These weapons trees have appeared in a variety of kits, though I recognize most of these from their A-10 Thunderbolt II and A-7 Corsair II kits..

Included in this set:

• 2 x external fuel tanks (used on the A-10)
• 1 x LANA pod (used on the A-7)
• 2 x AIM-9 w/launch rails
• 2 x AGM-12 Bullpup
• 2 x AGM-45 Shrike
• 2 x AGM-62 Walleye
• 6 x AGM-65 Maverick
• 2 x AGM-88 HARM
• 2 x AGM-84E AARGM
• 2 x GBU-8 HOBOS
• 2 x GBU-10 Paveway II
• 12 x Mk.82 Slicks (with and without fuse extenders)
• 12 x Mk.82 Snakeyes
• 6 x Mk.117
• 2 x Multiple Ejector Racks (MERs)
• 2 x Triple Ejector Racks (TERs)
• 2 x Triple-Rail Maverick Launchers

I was wondering what to do with the HOBOS bombs that I had acquired from previous projects until I was thumbing through a nice reference from IsraDecal on the IDF's F-15s. There were Eagles bombed up with HOBOS! Now wouldn't that make an interesting loadout!

These are typical weapons from the 1970s and 1980s within the US military and many are still in use among allied nations around the world. Do check your references as you wouldn't want to arm your aircraft with weapons it was not certified to carry in real life.

Conclusion

The beauty of these weapons sets is that you can arm up your aircraft in a way not available straight out of the box that will make the final project more noticeable. As with any weapons, if you slap them together with a little paint and some decals, these won't help you. But if you treat each weapon as a detailed model of its own right, they'll really pop on under wing wings of your next project.

Definitely recommended!

My sincere thanks to Stevens International for this review sample!