The AIM-54A Phoenix retired in 2004 after 30 years in US service. It left the Navy not long before the plane that carried it, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. The weapon, at the time, provided the Navy with its only long-range air-to-air missile. Only three were fired in combat by US forces; none achieved a kill.

Today, the Phoenix remains in service with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which acquired them before the Islamic Revolution and the fall of US ally Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The current government has reverse-engineered the AIM-54 and has fielded it to arm their Grummans.

This modeler is mostly a WW 2 builder, so to me the Phoenix, at more than Mach 4 for the AIM-54A/B and Mach 5 for the C model, is simply cool and interesting. Its long range and ability to track multiple targets astounds a guy who thinks that eight .50 MGs on a P-47 means serious business.

My F-14A Tomcat needed claws, and Reskit has a good reputation from online reviews. In any case, since Hasegawa wants you to buy an extra set of munitions for their kit, why not instead support the Ukrainian economy while scoring four very nicely detailed missiles?

The set includes all parts needed for four weapons, plus decals that have the carrier film cut very close to the markings. The Phoenix is big enough to demand some stencils, and Reskit more than delivers. Instructions appear with Gunze and FS callouts for painting.

Though there are many little fins to cut off and glue onto the missile bodies, it doesn't appear that I'll break things when I break out the razor saws. Reskit molds the resin well, with tiny attachments for small parts.

Overall, this set really delivers the goods, with very crisp detail and careful design.

Reskit shipped my kit from Ukraine very quickly, given the circumstances they face currently. Very real missiles are falling there.