Reviewed by Dave Williams

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New from Black Box are these 1/32 scale sets of GBU-12 and GBU-16 laser guided bombs. In recent conflicts, the 500lb GBU-12 and 1000lb GBU-16 seem to be seen more often than the 2000lb class GBUs commonly found in kits like the Tamiya F-15E and Academy F/A-18C, so until now, making accurate current weapons loadouts for these aircraft has been a challenge.

Each set contains four complete weapons, with each weapon consisting of eight parts in tan resin. The parts breakdown for one bomb consists of a nose guidance unit, seeker head, four nose fins, the warhead body, and a one-piece tail unit.

The overall casting and detail look good, although there were a few easily fixed holes in the tips of some of the fins. Also, the long probe on the nose guidance package is a little fragile despite the resin shields used to protect it, so be prepared for the possibility of a broken probe or two in the box (especially in the GBU-12 box, which seems a little tight for the contents. The bombs are Navy-style with the rough thermal protection exterior cast onto the bomb surface.

One very nice feature of the parts breakdown is that the warhead is a completely separate section, meaning that the bombs can easily be “converted” to the smooth USAF-style GBU by simply filling and/or sanding off the textured surface. While the USAF doesn’t use the GBU-16, the GBU-12 is a very commonly seen load on F-15E strike Eagles and F-16C Falcons. Another nice feature is that the separate seeker head can be placed in the “drooped” position is it is commonly seen on parked aircraft.

One item that will need some care is the removal of the waste resin from the GBU-12 tail unit. Close inspection of the part reveals that the fins correctly extend past the base of the tail unit. Some careful cutting will be needed to preserve the rear of the fins while cutting the excess resin from the base of the tail. The instructions are generic to both sets and show the fin rear flush with the base, which is correct for the GBU-16, but not for the GBU-12. I’ve included a picture of the GBU-12 tail with the waste area blackened out for reference.

In summary, this is a good, and much needed, ordnance update for your modern big scale aircraft.

Recommended.

Review sample kindly provided by Jef of Black Box

Dave Williams
IPMS/USA 19050

Black Box and Combat Series products are available online from the Black Box web site.

Text and Images Copyright © 2004 by Dave Williams
This Page Created on 31 August, 2004
Last updated 31 August, 2004

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