Monday, June 6

Preview: In time for D-Day - Gecko Models new 1/35th scale WWII British landing craft assault [LCA]

The 6th of June is perfect timing we think, to announce Gecko Models new tooled 1/35th scale WWII British landing craft assault [LCA] kit to the public. We have a look at the craft & the kit in CAD to see what Gecko have done with their release & what it gets right (so far) in our preview...

Preview: Gecko Models new 1/35th scale WWII British landing craft assault [LCA]

WWII British landing craft assault [LCA]
Gecko Models
1/35th scale
Kit No #35GM0080
The kit consists of plastic injection parts & Photo-etch metal.
The Subject: WWII British landing craft assault [LCA]
The LCA (Landing Craft Assault) is the basic landing craft of the British Army. Drawn and produced in 1939, this craft is the English equivalent of the American LCVP and can contain between 30 and 35 soldiers according to their equipment and missions.

Indian troops embarking from the cruiser HMS Kenya in a landing craft assault (LCA 346) to take over from the Royal Marines, South of Ramree, Burma.
The shell is made from plywood and it has a flat bottom, which allows a docking nearest dry sand. Armor plates may be added to ensure good resistance to the landing craft. But because of its weight, speed is its weak point. It rarely reached the theoretical 8 knots.

LCA (Landing Craft Assault) containing Winnipeg Rifles head for the Normandy Juno beach - June 6, 1944
Soldiers leave the LCA in the same way as the US LCVP, but before the landing crawl, the men must pass through a double-armoured door that offers additional protection to its occupants.

A newly completed LCA (assault landing craft) ready for launching, 1942.
The British LCA is widely used by British and Canadian troops during the Normandy landing, but also by the American Rangers during the assault of the Pointe du Hoc.

Royal Navy Landing Craft LCA-1377 carries American troops to a ship in a British port, during preparations for the Normandy invasion, circa May–June 1944.
The new kit from Gecko Models:
Gecko Models new 1/35th scale WWII British landing craft assault [LCA] is a new tooled kit, some would say very well timed to have its reveal on D-Day, 6th of June, where it was most famously used in many of the landings on the beaches of France during WWII in 1944. 
The kits CAD drawings show some of the features of this kit. The first thing we noticed was not the boat, but the wooden stands that it is perched upon. We think they will be included in the kit. The rigging of the boat is included in ropes from the sides of the craft, while the life buoys for any overboards are also here.
Looking from the front of the craft you can see the armoured front with large bolts screwing the plates together, the rope-work mooring fenders and the wooden panelled hull of the boat nicely. The BREN gun for protection behind the armoured pate is also conspicuous.
The kit looks small enough for most people to be very interested in and it could fit with the stands on land dioramas as well as small water scenes also.

The kit will be available we estimate, in August 2022.

You can find out more about Gecko Models kits on their Website