1:48 20mm Mark 4 Gun Pod

1:48 20mm Mark 4 Gun Pod - an accessory from GAS HANS

This item is not an airplane model but an accessory set in 1:48 scale from GAS HANS. The Mark 4 is an American 20 mm gun pod. It hangs on an underwing or under-fuselage pylon and its job is to give an attack aircraft real firepower against ground targets where the built-in armament is not enough or is missing altogether.

What the accessory is for

Gun pods belong among the most often overlooked elements of the stores. Yet it is precisely they that in period photographs tell a machine prepared for a strike mission from an aircraft in patrol configuration. A model with empty pylons looks unfinished and an accessory of this kind moves it a level up without any need to cut into the kit itself. In 1:48 scale the pod is big enough for its surface texture and color markings to stand out.

Usage tips

Before you mount the part, try it dry and check that the mating surface sits on the shape of the particular pylon. Apply the paint before you attach the pod, while you still have access to it from every side. It comes out best when, after spraying, you gently pick out the engraved lines with a darker shade. Choose the glue according to the material of the part: cyanoacrylate glue belongs on resin and printed parts, plastic cement on polystyrene.

Who the set is for

• Modelers building American attack aircraft in 1:48 scale
• Builders who want to give a model a strike load instead of empty pylons
• Collectors of accessories for armament and stores
• Builders of dioramas with a machine prepared for a combat flight