Trumpeter 1/32 Russian Aircraft Weapons First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

I was in awe to see the latest air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons included in the 1/32 scale MiG-29M kit from Trumpeter. Many of these weapons are being made available to older Soviet-era aircraft as they receive avionics upgrades to extend their operational lives. Even the Revell 1/32 MiG-29A or 1/32 MiG-29UB can carry some of these weapons without updates. Wouldn't it be nice if these weapons were available separately for use in other 1/32 kits? Trumpeter has answered the call.

Included in this set:

• 2 x B-17L
• 2 x KAB-500L
• 2 x KAB-500Kr
• 2 x FAB-100
• 2 x FAB-250
• 2 x FAB-500
• 2 x Kh-25ML
• 2 x Kh-25MP
• 2 x Kh-29L
• 2 x Kh-29T
• 2 x Kh-31P
• 2 x Kh-35A
• 2 x KMGU-2
• 2 x PTB-1500 centerline fuel tanks (MiG-29)
• 2 x PTB-1150 underwing fuel tanks
• 2 x R-27AE
• 2 x R-27R
• 2 x R-27ER
• 2 x R-27T
• 2 x R-60MK
• 4 x R-73E
• 4 x R-77
• 2 x S-24B
• 2 x S-25L/S-25OF/S-25OFM
• 2 x UB-8M1
• 2 x UB-32M-57
• 2 x UPK-23/250
• 2 x ZB-500

Most of these weapons are relatively new to Russian Air Force inventories and are finding their way onto many combat aircraft with the appropriate avionics. The MiG-29M was designed from the outset to be able to carry these weapons, and the later model Flankers are capable of using these as well.

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.

My sincere thanks to Stevens International for this review sample!