1:32 AGM-62 Walleye II ER missiles (2 pcs) with AN/AWG-16 data link pod (1 pcs)

The Walleye II ER and the data link pod

The Walleye was among the first weapons a pilot released and then no longer had to care about. It had no motor, only short wings and a television seeker that memorized the contrast of the target before release and then glided to it by itself. The II version moved the weight into the two-ton class and the letters ER mean an extended range thanks to a larger lifting surface. The weapon saw combat over Southeast Asia and later over the Middle East as well, and it was carried above all by carrier-based attack aircraft of the US Navy.

According to the name, the accessory contains two bombs and one data link pod, that is exactly the arrangement an aircraft really carried. The pod made it possible to watch the picture from the seeker and to correct the path in the last seconds of flight, so without it the stores look incomplete.

Why handle it with an accessory: in 1:32 even small things such as lifting lugs and connector covers are visible on weapons, and a molded plastic part cannot give those. A casting also has no parting seam across the whole side, which saves long sanding.

Before you start: check what racks your kit offers. The set covers the armament itself, and the racks under the wing and the fuselage usually belong to it from the kit.

How the weapon worked: the operator found a contrasting point on the target on a screen, locked the weapon onto it and could release. The system went on watching the difference of light and shadow and steered by it, which worked splendidly on bridges or buildings and failed, conversely, in fog and over an even water surface. It was one of the first solutions that showed a pilot the target through the eyes of the weapon itself.