ICM 1/72 Soviet Modern Air Armament
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Overview
Hanging stuff under the wings of aircraft is one way to add realism
to your models. To that end, several manufacturers have produced weapon
sets that expand on what you might find in kits. While the majority of
these sets are geared towards US weapons, newer releases are focusing
on those weapons from the other side, Soviet and Russian weapons. As these
weapons are used by a great number of nations around the world, it is
good to see these new sets come available.
The Kit
 This
latest set from ICM provides three types of modern missiles: the R-77,
the Kh-29T, and the Kh-31P. Starting with the R-77, this is the Russian
equivalent to the AMRAAM or MATRA Mica (although the R-77 has greater
range and maneuverability), and is designed for the MiG-29M, Su-27M, and
MiG-31M. The missile is innovative in many ways, but the most noticeable
feature is the latticework fins on the rear missile body. These have almost
no drag when in a neutral position, but slight turns dramatically increase
drag, allowing the missile to have incredible maneuverability over its
56-mile range. The kit missile comes in two pieces, with a main missile
body and a separate piece incorporating the lattice rudders and rear nozzle.
A separate AKU-170 ejector rack is also provided, which is good as the
R-77 is only found on those racks. The general shape is quite good, and
the only real issue is with the lattice rudders, which have no lattice
to them. There really is no way for these to be made in injection plastic
anyway, as the lattices are very thin, but nevertheless they are very
visible, so some thought will be needed to produce something that looks
realistic.
The next missile is the air-to-ground Kh-29T. This is a massive weapon
designed for penetrating hardened shelters. In fact, the missile is the
largest ASM designed for tactical fighters, with a warhead of over 700lbs.
The basic K-29 missile comes in two varieties, a laser-guided version
and a television-guided version. The Kh-29T is the latter, and it is dominated
by a large hemispherical clear dome on the nose, behind which sits the
camera. This is connected to a screen in the cockpit, allowing for the
launch aircraft to drive the missile straight onto the target. Speaking
of which, this missile can be carried by wide range of aircraft, including
the Su-17M3/M4, Su-24M, Su-25T, Su-27M, Su-34, MiG-27M/K, and MiG-29M.
The laser-guided variant was even used by the Iraqis during the 1980s
with Mirage F.1Cs. The kit missile is made up of two pieces, with one
half incorporating three of the fins and the remaining half only one.
The nose is solid, so the more fastidious modeler will want to replace
that with a clear dome, but overall the missile is quite well detailed.
Like the R-77, the Kh-29T comes with its own rack, allowing for a complete
package, ready to mount to the wing.
The final missile in the set is the Kh-31P. The Kh-31 is a ramjet missile
with a solid fuel booster. The booster is mounted inside the ramjet and
it is jettisoned when it burns out. This keeps the diameter of the missile
down while providing the strengths of the ramjet. The ramjet is fed through
four circular intakes mounted in a cruciform arrangement. These are covered
by conical covers while on the ground, and are blown away when the missile
launches. Those intake fairings extend back to include the control fins,
making for a very distinctive missile. The Kh-31P is an anti-radiation
version of the base anti-shipping Kh-31A missile. Externally these two
are identical, and both are designed to be carried by the MiG-29M, MiG-29K,
Su-27M, and Su-34. The kit missile is split into two halves, with one
half having two of the intake/fin fairings. The remaining two of those
are separate pieces. The Kh-31 is designed to fit onto the AKU-58M ejector
rack, which is the same as that used by the Kh-29T. However, only one
set of these racks is provided in this kit.
Conclusion
While these weapons are a welcome sight, they all could stand some additions
and corrections to improve their appearance. Other than the lattice rudders
on the R-77, though, these additions should be no problem and the end
result will be some excellent weapons to hang under your latest Sukhoi
or Mikoyan aircraft. And if anyone can think of a good way to make realistic
1/72 R-77 lattice rudders, by all means let me know! |
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