1:48 AGM-130

A glide bomb they added a rocket to

The weapon came about as a direct development of an older guided bomb with a television and infrared sensor in the nose. The designers hung a rocket motor under the body and the range was multiplied at a stroke, without the warhead having to be changed. An operator sitting behind the pilot watches the picture from the sensor over a data link and can adjust the point of impact in the last seconds, or divert the missile elsewhere. The carrier became the two-seat tactical bomber derived from a heavy fighter, for which this combination made it possible to attack fortified installations from a distance where the air defenses could no longer reach it. Guidance over a data link had one more advantage: the crew did not have to continue toward the target and could turn back before the weapon struck.

The execution of the casting

The components are cast in a mold, have a closed smooth surface without pores and sharply drawn edges of the fins. A shape like this, a store with a longitudinal motor, would be produced only with difficulty by injection into a metal mold, because the parting line would run through the most visible place. The division into body, lifting surfaces and tail section also allows the weapon to be assembled with the fins in the transport and in the deployed position.

Practical advice

Cut the casting gates off with a fine-toothed saw or a cutting disc, and never break them. Wash the finished moldings with lukewarm soapy water and let them dry, otherwise the remains of the mold release agent will reliably prevent the paint from adhering. Use super glue for joining, and two-part epoxy on larger areas.