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AN/ALQ-184 (short) and AN/ALQ-131 (shallow) ECM Pods (648363 & 648362) 1:48


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AN/ALQ-184 (short) and AN/ALQ-131 (shallow) ECM Pods (648363 & 648362)

1:48 Eduard Brassin

 

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Electronic CounterMeasures (ECM) has become a staple of modern air warfare, with survivability of an attack as important as being able to take out the enemy.  Rather than build all this complicated electronics into each-and-every new design, a pod that takes up one pylon on the host aircraft can provide all the necessary equipment, and as it simply needs to interface with the avionics, it is much easier to change or adapt without hacking about the aircraft's structure.

 

As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card.

 

AN/ALQ-184 (short) ECM Pod (648362)

Developed from the AN/ALQ-119, this modern pod is usually seen on an F-16, and is more tubular in shape than the above, although it does have a gondola under the main body for additional equipment.  There is a single resin part in the box, with four small PE plates that affix to the port side of the pod, with a spare of each just in case.  There are no shackle or crutch pad details moulded into the top of the pod however, so if your kit (or aftermarket) pylons don't include these, you might need to consider fabricating some if an accurate connection is needed.  This pod is also covered in stencils (with some printed silver included), which are catered for on a separate sheet, with a page of the instructions devoted to their placement, with paint colours called out in Mr Color codes.

 

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AN/ALQ-131 (Shallow) ECM Pod (648363)

Flown on a number of Cold War and modern jets such as the F-4, F-15 and F-16, as well as the doughty A-10 since the 1980s, this box is designated by Eduard as "Shallow", even though it differs little from the "Short" -184 model below, mainly because there is a "Deep" variant with more internal space available to pack additional equipment into.  The set contains just three resin parts on two casting blocks, with the largest being the body, which resembles an aerodynamic tube with an angular box-like extension along most of its length.  The two smaller parts are the pair of shackles to which the pylon grabs on to hold it in place on the aircraft, and these are attached on the top surface of the pod.  A decal sheet is included for the myriad of little stencils that cover the slab-sides (with some printed silver included), and colour call-outs are in the usual Gunze codes, with a choice of all-over Olive Drab, or Olive Drab with grey undersides.

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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