Eduard 1/72 Brassin AGM-12B Bullpup A
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
The AGM-12 Bullpup missile was developed from a need discovered during the Korean War, where the US Air Force and Navy had difficulty in destroying heavily defended targets that required precision attacks, such as bridges. The AGM-12 was the answer, the first mass-produced air-to-surface guided missile. The Bullpup was visually guided by the launch aircraft, whose pilot used a small joystick to adjust the trajectory through observing a small flare on the back of the missile. The Bullpup was put to good use during Vietnam, but the line-of-sight tracking method rendered the launch aircraft vulnerable and it was eventually replaced by the AGM-65 Maverick and AGM-62 Walleye.
The Set
While model kits on average have improved greatly over the years, the choice of highly detailed weaponry has tended to lag behind. Hasegawa started to address this issue with their weapon sets, but even those were simplistic in detail (although the breadth of subject was impressive). The market was ripe for someone to step in with some highly detailed aftermarket weapons, and Eduard has taken up that challenge with a growing series of Brassin subjects, the latest of which is the Bullpup missile.
The set comes with parts to build four AGM-12B missiles and features a mix of quality cast resin and petite etched brass. Assembly is very simple, and the parts are solidly keyed to ensure an accurate fit of the fins. The large rear fins are in resin, while the small forward fins are brass. The rocket motor end is separate, and as a nice added feature, it comes with a cover plate which is commonly seen on the blue-body training rounds.
In addition to the missile pieces, this set also comes with a small decal sheet that provides all of the various markings worn by the AGM-12B Bullpup. These markings include the stripes on the body as well as stenciling for the fins and body. For those who want to do a training round, some additional research will be needed, as the instructions show just the overall white missile option. The decals are nicely printed and will go a great way to adding that extra bit of realism to these missiles.
Conclusion
This is another great Brassin weapon set from Eduard, and one which will look great hanging under your Vietnam-era aircraft. A quick image search shows this missile hanging from just about every aircraft in that conflict, including A-4s, F-4s, F-105s, F-100s, A-7s, and more. It was also carried by P-3s, should you want to put it on something a bit bigger, and it was also used by many NATO nations as well. My thanks to Eduard for the review copy.