Last year I acquired two of the Italeri
1/48th scale WW2 German Aircraft Weapons Set (Kit Number 2691) Click on html or image to view product page at Italeri.com
(Image source:
Italeri.com)
I had not bothered to do anything with them due to other things having priority in the pile of kits I have in "protective custody" and so they sat. I finally had a chance to sit down and inspect the contents of the kit and was both pleased and disappointed at the contents of these weapons sets. If you are looking to bomb up your aircraft model, there are enough bombs in a variety of sizes and shapes to satisfy that need. The kit containes the following items on two parts sprues:
2 X SC 1000 Bomb
2 X SC 250 ZAR Anti-Ricochet Bomb
2 X SC 250 Bomb
4 X SC 50 Bomb
2 X SD 1700 Bomb
2 X SD 250 Bomb
2 X PC 1400 Armor Piercing Bomb
2 X PD 500 Armor Piercing Bomb
2 X 900 Liter Fuel Tank
2 X 300 Liter Fuel Tank
2 X WB 81 Machine Gun Pod
2 X AB 70 Cluster Bomb
2 X AB 250 Cluster Bomb
2 X AB 500 Cluster Bomb
2 X ER 4 Multiple Bomb Rack
16 X Whistles to enhance the noise of the bomb during its fall to the target
If you plan to construct the ER 4 Multiple Bomb Rack you have sufficient SC 50 Bombs to complete one full rack. There are only two of the AB 70 Cluster Bombs included in the kit so a second kit is required to if you wish to load up your ER 4 Multiple Bomb Rack with a full load of AB 70 Cluster Bombs.
The little Whistles provided in the kit are quite small and at a glance I suppose they could pass for the whistles that were often attached to the real bombs to enhance the terror effect during air raids but trying to attach them to the bomb fins will be a challenge as there are no positioning pin holes or indentations on the bomb fins to indicate where they are to be mounted.
The one item that I was very pleased to see was the gun pod containing no less than six machine gun barrels. The fit of the pod is a bit off so when it is assembled there will be a need to sand the edges of the nose cap in order to get the diameter reduced so that it will blend in with the two sides halves of the pod that make up the unit. The very small machine gun barrels are designed to fit in to the three holes in the nose cap and appear to do so without much effort or fitting.
Aside from the soft plastic and some fit issues with certain parts, the kit is a great source for WW2 German aircraft ordnance and if it can be found for a discounted price you could benefit by adding this to your parts box for your future model aircraft projects.