Background

The Soviet Fugasnaya Aviatsionnaya Bomba [FAB] were general purpose bombs generally used during WWII. The weights are in kilograms.

Contents

The three Brassin releases from Eduard come in the usual distinctive highly protected packaging that makes Eduard a cut above most of the other companies. There are two layers of foam protecting the resin parts from excessive movement during transportation. The photo etched fret is tucked away behind card firmly held in place by tape. The decals are also tucked away inside the instructions.The three releases from Eduard include:

648 376 FAB 100 Soviet WWII Bombs
12 x resin parts [six bombs]
1 photo etched sheet
1 x small decal sheet.
1 x instruction sheet

648 377 FAB 250 Soviet WWII Bombs
5 x resin parts [two bombs]
1 photo etched sheet
I x small decal sheet.
1 x instruction sheet

648 378 FAB 500 Soviet WWII Bombs
5 x resin parts [two bombs]
1 photo etched sheet
1 x small decal sheet.
1 x instruction sheet

The resin parts are really well cast and the level of detail is superb. The bombs are attached to the casting block via four thin attachment arms that should be simple enough to remove. The timer rods are attached directly to the casting block. Some of the fine points where the timer props fit are slightly bent, but it’s easy enough to straighten them. A small 1.4 mm hole needs to be drilled out at the front of the bomb to fit the timer rod. The rear timer rod is attached to the bomb. The slots for the photo etched stabilising fins look consistent and clean so there should be no problems attaching them.
The photo etched parts include stabilising fins, sway braces for the fins and the small prop for the timer to the front and rear of the bombs. The FAB 250 and 500 bombs have etched marks on the fins making the location of the sway braces easier to fit accurately. The FAB 100 bombs have a small etched sheet that requires rolling into a tube. The stabilising fins are attached to the tube. You will have to put a slight twist on each of the blades of the fans and also bend the sway braces to fit to the fins. The water slide decals replicate the painted written information providing information on the type of bomb on the front of the bomb casing.
The instructions are clear and concise with paint reference numbers using Aqueous and Mr Color paint numbers.

Conclusions

Although the release of these bombs follows the release of Eduard 1/48 scale Pe-2 Peshka, these bombs can be used on any appropriate Soviet aircraft of the time. The bombs in the kit are very good, but these releases are much better looking because of the resin detail and the finesse of the photo etched parts. Some of the photo etched parts require care in creating the shapes needed, but there are plenty of online tutorials and publications to help you with this.