1:72 GPU-2/A 20mm gun pod (1 pcs)

The GPU-2/A 20 mm weapon pod, 1:72 scale

This part from Reskit represents an American 20 mm cannon pod under the designation GPU-2/A. It is made as an accessory for models of combat and support machines in 1:72 scale that carried such a weapon on an outer station. The package contains no aircraft kit; the pod is fitted to a model obtained separately.

Why reach for a separate store

Weapon pods in boxed kits are either left out entirely or handled as a two-part molding with a visible seam along the whole length. A separately produced piece gets around that problem and the modeler spends less time on it with filler. At the same time it opens up the chance to build a machine in a configuration the box contents do not cover.

The background of the real subject

Pods with a cannon of the smaller caliber were used where an aircraft or a helicopter needed direct fire support without building the weapon into the airframe. They were carried on close support tasks and in counterinsurgency fighting, where a quick response over the terrain mattered. On a model such a store immediately gives away what the machine was made for.

Practical notes

• Check that the station on the wing will carry the fitting without tilting.
• Finish the pod separately; access to the lower surface is then better.
• Darken the muzzle of the barrel and reckon on light dirtying around it.
• Fit the stores in the last stage of the build, so they are not in the way.

It suits a modeler who works out the armament according to a particular deployment, not according to the contents of a box.