The kit
This set consists of 128 light grey plastic parts spread over two sprues. This is a reboxing of the Italeri kit (kit number 177) under the Testors name, as
evidenced by the "Made in Italy" printed all over the poly bag, as well as the Italeri, "Made in Italy 1989" and the number 177 molded onto the sprues.
Thirteen different missiles can be made as listed below:
| Missile |
No. of
Copies |
No. of Parts
per MIssile |
Kit Part
No.s |
|
| AIM-7F Sparrow
|
2
|
1
|
no part number
|
| AIM-9L Sidewinder
|
4
|
1
|
no part number
|
| AIM-54 Phoenix
|
2
|
2
|
1, 2
|
| AGM-62 Walleye
|
2
|
2
|
11, 12
|
| AGM-65 Maverick
|
2
|
2
|
26, 27
|
| AGM-84 Harpoon
|
2
|
2
|
34, 35
|
| AGM-88 HARM
|
2
|
1
|
no part number
|
| AIM-120 AMRAAM
|
2
|
1
|
no part number
|
| Aspide
|
2
|
1
|
no part number
|
| Exocet
|
2
|
2
|
3, 4
|
| Kormoran
|
2
|
6
|
36, 37, 38 (x2), 39 (x2)
|
| Matra R550
|
2
|
1
|
no part number
|
| Sea Skua
|
2
|
3
|
45, 46, 47
|
Also included in the set are parts to make two of each of the following other items: AIS ECM Pod, AGM-88 HARM Missile Pylon, LAU 10/D Rocket Pod, LAU 61/A Rocket Pod,
LAU-68B/A Rocket Pod, Matra 155 Rocket Pod, Rockeye Mk 20 bomb, Mk 61 Nuclear Bomb, Mk 82 GP Bomb, Mk 82 Laser Guided Bomb, Mk 83 GP Bomb, Mk 83 Laser Guided Bomb,
Mk 84 GP Bomb and Mk 84 Laser Guided Bomb.
Instructions come as a four-page booklet. Only the subjects consisting of more than one part are shown in the instruction sheet, though all subjects are present
in the painting guide. There is no decal sheet so it is up to the builder to either attempt to paint all the stripes or find an alternative decal source.
| For the most part the moldings are acceptable but not great. Some of the missiles have raised panel lines, and most
of them have some detail around the fins and engraved lines separating the missile body from the head, but there are a few noticeable oddities. The AGM-65 Mavericks
are totally devoid of any detail whatsoever. The AIM-7 Sparrows (right) have two strange protuberances on the front of the missile that I have never seen on any other
manufacturers' version of the Sparrow - electrical conduits maybe? I had to check the web to see if I could find any pictures of Sparrows with them, but I failed. Also
one of the Sparrow missiles is missing the tips on two of the rear fins. |
 |
 |
On the Sea Skuas (left), the slope from the thicker forebody to the narrower tail is too steep and should have
more taper. There are a few injector pin marks that will need to be filled. The majority of the wings and fins are a tad on the thick side. |
My plan was to build one of the Aspides for my "Missiles of the World" collection. This proved to be problematic. Closer inspection showed that the fins were
slightly off from each other. The foreward most fins were the most obvious with a couple of them located slightly further aft than the other two. Also the front
end of two of the fins where they meet the fuselage were not completely cast and exhibited a small notch in the leading edge. And to make matters worse, one of the
fins was noticeably smaller than the other three.
I decided that I would try to make at least one good Aspide from the two. My solution was to remove the one small fin from one Aspide and replace it with a fin from
the other Aspide. The notches were filled and sanded - not an easy task considering the small area in which to work.
For those desiring a better looking Aspide to add to their aircraft models it would probably be easier to use an AIM-7 Sparrow, remove the foreward fins and add your
own cut from plastic sheet. If you don't want to go through all the trouble of replacing the fins, you could use the existing Aspides but make sure that they get
mounted with the bad fins facing up to the wing where they would be partially hidden from view.
Conclusion
This kit is a bit of a disappointment. The lack of detail and no decals seriously undermine its value. When comparing the subjects in this set with those that are
in common in the various Hasegawa sets, it is obvious that the Hasegawa representations are much better and having decals in the Hasegawa kits is a big advantage.
In my opinion this set's value comes from the subjects that can not be found in the Hasegawa releases - which are mostly the bombs and rocket pods. As for the
missiles, outside of the R.550, Exocet and Kormoran, the Hasegawa missiles are better representations.
Addendum: 12/April/2020
Most of this set has now been eclipsed by many newer products that have come on the market since this set was first released circa 1990, some 30 years ago.
There's not much inside that makes this set worth purchasing.
|
