Aero Rarities Various Bomb Sets (1/72, 1/48, 1/32)Reviewed by Brad Cancian
Item: Various:
• 10lb Hale Bombs
• 16lb H.E.R.L Light Case Mk.1
• 20lb Cooper Mk1 (capped)
• 20lb Cooper Mk1 (uncapped)
• 20lb Hale High Explosive
• 40lb Phosphorous Incendiary
• 50lb H.E.R.L MkIV
• 65lb H.E.R.L
Scale: 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32
Price: From $12USD to $19USD, depending on set and scalesReview kit kindly provided by Aero Rarities at
https://aerorarities.com/Bombs in the early days of aerial warfareThe history of the use of airial bombs is a book in and of itself; so for brevity, I won’t repeat it here. It is uncertain exactly by whom or when explosive devices were first dropped from airplanes. Before the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the French, Germans, Russians, and Austro-Hungarians were developing aircraft specifically designed to carry and release bombs on a target. Combatants used virtually all types of aircraft, including observation and fighter planes, for bombing operations at some time during the war. The technological choice, however, was to develop large aircraft that could penetrate enemy defenses, defend themselves from aerial attack, and deliver massive amounts of bombs on a target far behind the battle front.
Early bombs were very much limited in size and destructive power by the underpowered aircraft of the day. Early bombs were of a small weight, some less then 10lbs and dropped by hand. By war’s end, bombs of over 100lbs each were being routinely carried by large, multi engine and multipurpose aircraft, able to rain terror and destruction down from upon high.
Blasting onto the Scene!Decent ordnance sets have been hard to come by for WW1 modellers, in particular for the smaller 1/48 and 1/72 scales. We have had to rely on bombs that come with kits (aka Wingnut Wings), or the occasional armament sets (aka Mirage) which are hard to come by and generally focus on German types rather than the more diverse British bombs. This has left many of our British bombers somewhat under-armed for those of us who like to display our aircraft with a full ‘load out’.
Aero Rarities are a brand new company, which have blasted onto the scene with a new line of British bomb sets in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scales.
Our very own forum member, Paul Fisher (PJ Fisher) and his brother have been busily working behind the scenes to get this company ready for launch, and launch they have! Aero Rarities are using magnificent 3D printing technology to create a stunning range of bombs in the three major scales. So far, one can order the following eight (yes eight!) different types of British bombs in all 3 scales:
• 10lb Hale Bombs
• 16lb H.E.R.L Light Case Mk.1
• 20lb Cooper Mk1 (capped)
• 20lb Cooper Mk1 (uncapped)
• 20lb Hale High Explosive
• 40lb Phosphorous Incendiary
• 50lb H.E.R.L MkIV
• 65lb H.E.R.L
The Full Customer ExperienceI’ve decided to take a slightly different tack with this review. I’ll start with running through the web page, which is normally the first contact point that one has with a manufacturer. When you go to the website, you are greeted with a simple, uncluttered, and easy to navigate website.
Here you can select your product type, and scale, and add it your basket with ease. Each page shows multiple images of the product, some reference images, and an excellent history of the development and use of each type of bomb. Outstanding.
The webpage also has some wonderful features and plenty of information to help the modeller. The owners have clearly taken the Wingnut Wings approach with providing an outstanding database of information as part of their website.
Aside from the catalogue, we also get a story about the owners themselves:
We get a lovely “On this day” set of links (those that watch PJ on the site here know that he’s an excellent source of “on this day” information for us all):
Clearly there is more of a history focus here than just a simple product web page. Hat’s off.
We also get an amazing set of product guides, consisting of:
• Colour Profile and Painting Guides
• Product Handbooks
• Super Detailers Video Guides
• Build Showcases
The colour guides are easy to navigate, with links to each type of bomb:
The Product Handbook itself is a nice little gem, with step by step guides to how to best handle and prepare your bombs. For example:
The super-detailer video guide is also wonderfully done. A YouTube hosted video, we get step by step video guides on how to use the products. These videos are so well done, and extremely useful and informative, given the spider web of support gates that 3D printed parts often have. I couldn’t resist grabbing quite a few screen shots. If you want the link, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnw7Tx9EgzE&list=PL3VR4N2HV98JWFdduaeUhlYx_XODp_4-T&index=1And some highlights –
Again, hat’s off for the wonderful production work here, it really showcases the product line and the ease with which one can tackle these interesting and diverse range of bombs and scales.
Having gushed over the website, what about the products themselves? Let’s take a look…
A Beautiful Bright BurstThe products took next to no time to arrive here in Australia from the US. Shipping was super fast; the website advised me all the way from the order being raised through to dispatch, and then delivery.
The first taste is with the eye, and there’s nothing worse than receiving a bashed up or poorly packed set of products. Not the case at all here - I was presented with a very nice sturdy little package on my door step. Opening the package, one gets a very neat and well ordered and protected set of goodies wrapped in a combination of bubble wrap and a lovely purple crepe paper. You also get a full colour ordering sheet running through your order and thanking you for shopping with Aero Rarities. A great start!
And here are the products in all their glory!
Clearly the team has a focus on a solid product packaging. It is very professionally done, with a solid glossy card stock backing. The items themselves are in a small bag, stapled to the backing card. The backing card gives us plenty of excellent information.
We also get a little bit of Great War humour here as well – what is not to love about a little WW1 anti aircraft ditty on your product!
Bravo, eh wot!
So, gently prying the staples off we get into the contents themselves. I took 3 of the products (one each in 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 for this review). Now I must apologise up front for my photo quality of the contents; my usual photography set up is packed away as I am moving house shortly, so these were taken in natural light using a simple camera. Thus, the photos don’t necessarily do the products full justice. That is on me, and certainly not testament to any quality lapses on Aero Rarities’ part!
In each bag, we get a lovely little colour guide and decal application guide. We also get a small decal sheet for the coloured rings found on each bomb type.
I started with the 20lb Hale Bomb in 1/48:
The first thing that strikes you (pardon yet another bomb pun) is the delicacy of these little blighters. The detail on the rear of the Hale bombs for example is amazingly fine.
Not only that, it corresponds to the original in all respects, from the fine pin, fins, and stiffeners. Just amazing.
Great care will need to be taken to make sure you don’t damage these extremely fine parts during removal and painting.
Things get even more amazing in 1/72; this time, I delved into the 20lb Cooper bombs (uncapped, i.e. with the transport caps removed, so that the spinner at the front of the bomb is exposed):
These bombs were not big in real life, and in 1/72 they truly are tiny. None the less, Aero Rarities have produced a master piece for such a small scale; look at those tiny spinners!
Don’t worry about those things that look like printing striations on the front of the bombs; these contours are there on the real thing. Amazing.
Lastly, I had to check out the 1/32 65lb H.E.R.L bombs, which are showcased in many of the tutorials and videos. Again, the quality is simply first rate; every little detail and rivet is replicated.
Look at that amazing detail!
Well…. I am blown away!What can I say that the pictures don’t say for me? These truly are amazing products. The detail is astounding, and the quality of the printings are absolutely first rate. My pictures don’t do the quality justice.
From start to finish, we get a wonderful customer experience that engages the modeller. We get an eye catching, whimsical website (what is that cheeky Monkey’s name, I kept asking myself?). It is chocked full of extremely useful tips, data, and a very easy to use interface. The ordering process is easy, and we get informed each step of the way through to the items being shipped. Opening the box we get a well packaged set of goodies, lovingly protected so as to arrive to you safe and sound.
The product is a complete package, from the sturdy and well produced backing cards, the useful information that is provided with each product, and, of course, the excellent bombs themselves.
For those of us who have been longing to ‘bomb up’ our WW1 British aircraft, we now have some first rate products with which to do so.
Aero Rarities have taken a gamble with an initial release of this type of niche subject. Entering with such a high quality package that focuses on the entire modeller experience, from first contact with the website, to delivery, packaging, tips for use, and the product itself, has taken a leaf out of the success of other manufactures such as Wingnut Wings. We must not ignore the diversity within the niche; after all, we get 8 different types of lovely little bombs to choose from. As such, for my money, I suspect their gamble will most certainly pay off.
Aero Rarities are already signalling other high quality products are in the pipeline. For example, it looks like we’ll be getting a nice range of Scarff gun rings in the major scales some time soon. I expect these to be just as high quality as the bomb sets. I for one am looking forward to these.
With such high quality releases, Aero Rarities have the potential to be a significant player in the WW1 after market game. I personally will be grabbing more of their products to add to the stash. As small companies like this generally have small margins, their success or failure will depend on all of us to help support them to greatness. I think their strive for absolute quality is worth our strong support. I for one strongly recommend you all to get your hands on these products and help Aero Rarities continue to flourish!
Highly Recommended!Thanks to Aero Rarities for the review samples – please support those that support our forum!
