1:48 FAB-500 M-62 bombs (2 pcs)

The Soviet five-hundred of the 1962 pattern

The designation FAB-500 belongs to a high-explosive fragmentation aircraft bomb of the five-hundred-kilogram weight class, the most common heavy store of Soviet frontal aviation. The M-62 suffix refers to the 1962 pattern. It came about at a time when armament was moving under the wings of fast jet aircraft, and its shape shows it: a slimmer body, aerodynamically cleaner transitions and a tail cone designed so that the bomb causes no trouble when hung on an external pylon.

Where you will meet it

In photographs you will most often see it under the Sukhoi Su-17 and Su-22, and further under the Su-24, Su-25 and the MiG-27, that is, under aircraft intended for the support of ground forces. It was, however, also carried by bomber types, where it was counted in dozens.

What you get

The package contains two castings. The tail section calls for the most work: on this class of bomb the ring joining the fins is a prominent element that in plastic kits tends to be simplified or missing altogether.

• 1:48 scale, resin.
• A pair of pieces for symmetrical loading.
• Also suitable for filling out an ammunition trolley at a field airfield.

Soviet munitions were painted practically: dark green or gray predominates, set off by narrow colored bands that marked the type of filling. Those very bands liven up an otherwise uniform surface more than any shading, so keep good masking tape for them. Peel it off right after the last coat has dried, while the edge is still sharp and the paint has not hardened fully.