Monday, August 29

Starting small scale - Bronco’s DFS glider incoming – but not in the scale you were expecting.


Bronco Models new 72nd scale kit of the DFS230B-1 Light Assault Glider IS however still pretty detailed for that scale, and as you will see in our preview there is lots to like about this new small scale glider…

DFS230B-1 Light Assault Glider
Bronco Models
Product No# GB7008
1/72nd scale
available in September from Bronco’s Distributors worldwide

In 1936, the German military put forward the idea of the direct use of the glider to transport and to launch an attack with combat troops. It put forward the concept of  an "assault glider". DeutscheForschungsanstaltfürSegelflug, or DFS for short. By 1937, the Luftwaffe had three fully developed three prototypes to choose from, and it picked the DFS-230A to become the Luftwaffes standard light assault glider.  The glider used a high wing monoplane with strong wing support hybrid structure. The rectangular fuselage used steel tubing structure and flax mix, which made the aircraft's costs low and production easy. 
The glider could accommodate 8 heavily armed soldiers and 2 pilots, and it was towed by another aircraft, often a Bf-110. The glider dropped it's landing gear after take off, and to land, the glider used it's extending centre line landing skid. 
Type B-1 aircraft can abe depicted in this boxing with the addition of a self-defence MG-15 machine gun. This gun was also supposed to be used when landed to suppress any enemy ground fire. DFS230-B final output numbers were a total of 1020. DFS-230 on May 10, 1940 raid Belgian Fort Eben-Emael opener successful, also has participated in the battle of Crete, and a number of other airborne operations.

 CAD Drawings of this forthcoming kit.





The heavy losses of Crete led Hitler to put large scale airborne glider operations on hold, and after the ditching of the German airborne troop concept by the Germans, the DFS-230 operated only as a transport plane. One later, small scale airborne operation using this glider was successful however, the German Paratroopers of Operation Eiche (German of “oak”) was the raid on Gran Sasso by Otto Szkorzeny and his special forces troops to re-capture Mussolini from his prison in the Italian Alps.

The feature set of this kit - the written text is from the box art...
This kit has been begging to be made for such a long time – the crossover between aircraft and Infantry modellers has long been obvious to me at least – it will be a great big aircraft and hopefully full of detail as well – this one will be a winner.

This kit will be available in September from Bronco’s Distributors worldwide