Bronco 1/72 Blohm und Voss BV P.178 Torpedo Jet Bomber w/LTF5b

The Blohm & Voss P.178 was an experimental jet-powered dive bomber designed during World War II by Blohm & Voss. The bomber had an unusual, asymmetric configuration.

This asymmetrically-designed dive bomber had one Junkers Jumo 004B turbojet located under the wing to the starboard side of the fuselage. The pilot sat in a cockpit in the forward fuselage, with a large fuel tank located to the rear of the cockpit. Beneath the fuel tank, there was a deep recess in which an SC 500 bomb could be carried within the fuselage, or an SC 1000 bomb which would protrude slightly out of the fuselage. Two solid-fuel auxiliary rockets extended from the rear, used for take-off. Two 15  mm (.60 in) MG 151 cannons were located in the nose.

Perhaps Bronco is trying to restart what has been a quiescent Luft '46 market as few if any new kits have been done over the years. I am not sure if this subject has been produced by either short run or resin kit, but this one is neither. This is the third boxing of this kit that I have seen, though I've not gotten review kits in any sort of logical order (as in by kit number). Research shows that there are at least six, though I'm not sure if they have all been released.

There are five grey sprues attached in two major sections along with a clear sprue. Typical of current 1/72 aircraft kits, the interior is well done, but Spartan, with a tub, seat, control stick, rudder pedals and an instrument panel. This sits atop the nose gear well piece. The instructions show 10 grams of weight being needed, but finding room for it will take a bit of work and most will pack weight behind the cockpit.

The wings are two upper and lower halves and there is some wheel well detail provided. Main gear is properly beefy with a separate oleo scissor and retraction strut. Same goes for the nose gear. The model can be built gear up and separate gear door sections are provided for that option.

The nose is separate from the rest of the fuselage, and this may well mean other similar aircraft will be offered in the future. There is a small bomb bay area in the back with a separate door that effectively seals off this area. A four piece engine will fit under the right wing and both wings have large tabs that go into slots in the fuselage. Where this kit deviates from the other two releases is by what is carried underneath it. In this case, it is the Italian LTF5b torpedo. As a result, where in other releases there was a bomb or a torpedo/bomb sprue, in this one there is a sprue for the LTF5b. This sprue also includes the torpedo attachment pieces.  One of the last steps is attaching the forward fuselage piece, but I'd do that prior to gluing the wings in case the seam needs attention. Both a single piece and multiple section cockpit covering is provided.

Bronco instructions are superbly done with some color coding and 3D drawings to help install parts. There are fictitious markings for two aircraft provided. The standard sheet with a ton of markings is also included and that is where you'll find things like data markings, insignia and split swastikas. The two aircraft are the German box art plane in RLM 70/82 over RLM 76 with RLM 71 mirror wave camo on the underside and this same pattern in white on the upper surfaces. The lower wing tips are yellow. The Italian plane is painted in a splinter camouflage of Green, Brown and Tan on the upper surfaces with a Light Grey underside. Similar to the way some G.55s were painted. It has a white fuselage band. Of course, you can paint these any way you want and mix markings as well if you wish. That's the draw of Luft '46 kits like this.   five aircraft. Most are in a splinter scheme using late war colors and all of them have yellow bands or

 I have always liked Luft '46 subjects and still have quite a few kits from a decade or so back when these were really hot items. I like that we are seeing new ones and perhaps it will help the genre take off and become popular again.  I built the bomber version about a year ago and found that it went together very well, as you can see by the rather large image to the left. The biggest issue was finding room for the nose weight. 10 grams will not fit in the front of the nose so you have to pretty well cram weight everywhere you can forward of the main wheels. This includes the forward part of the torpedo. As you can see, it can be done, though Bronco also includes a clear tail stand in case you were unsuccessful!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blohm_%26_Voss_P.178

January 2016

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