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In-Box Review
135
Airborne 75mm and Jeep
British Airborne 75mm Pack Howitzer & ¼ Ton Truck w/Trailer
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by: Kevin Brant [ SGTRAM ]

Introduction

Continuing with their British Airborne jeep and gun theme, Bronco has released another combination set with the jeep, trailer, and Airborne 75mm Pack Howitzer. While the Jeep and Trailer in the kit have been reviewed prior, the 75mm Pack Howitzer is relatively new.

The 75mm Pack Howitzer was developed by the US Army looking for an artillery gun that could be moved in and around difficult terrain. Also known as the M116 and M1 Howitzer, the gun was also used by other countries, including the British Airborne. The gun being light enough to transport by glider, the British Airborne equipped two airlanding light artillery regiments. It should be also noted that the gun stayed in service until the late 1950’s.

Contents

25 sprues of molded plastic, including jeep body and figures
1 small sprue of clear plastic
3 small frets of photo-etch
2 small sheet of decals
1 brass barrel end
Instruction booklet

Review

Opening the box, it is packed with parts, and your spares bin will be happy, more on that later. The kit from Bronco is very well molded, no visible flash, no sinks marks, and only a few ejector marks that will need to be cleaned up, mostly on the bottom of the jeep. As with the previous releases of the Airborne equipment, the detail is superb with great surface details and lots of fine plastic and photo-etched details.

The Jeep and Trailer are the same as the previous releases, and if you want more information on them you can find the reviews at:

Airborne Troops in ¼ Ton Truck
6pdr and ¼ Ton Truck

And a build log:
British Airborne 6pdr with 1/4ton Truck and Crew

The parts that are new to this kit are for the 75mm Pack Howitzer, which is also available from Bronco on its own with crew. As with the rest of the kit, the parts for the gun are all well detailed with photo-etched parts as well. The instructions show the gun assembly over 6 steps, and they do look well laid out, and should assist the builder in building the gun. Like the 6 pdr from Bronco, there looks to be some small and finicky bits, so care and studying of the instructions are probably a good idea. Also a nice touch is the inclusion of a brass barrel end for the gun.

As for your spares bin, the kit is loaded with extra bits of stowage and weapons. This includes the 75mm ammunition tubes for stowage on the jeep. There is also some British Airborne packs and wicker baskets. I believe these may be part of the British Airborne Equipment set released by Bronco not that long ago. You are also going to find some extra bits like tires, etc, as the kit seems to contain more tires then can be used on the jeep, trailer, and gun.

Of the four figures included in the kit, two of them are from the previous Bronco 6pdr and jeep kit, including the driver, and the other two look like they are from the Bronco Airborne troops and jeep kit. The figures are well done, nice detail and should complement the kit, if built from the box. The kit, as with the past kits from Bronco, even includes an insignia sheet of decals for the figures.

The decals for the jeep and trailer look to be very well printed, and look to represent an Airborne Light Artillery Regiment. The paint and marking scheme includes two different options for the jeep, and one for the trailer.

The instructions for the kit are almost identical to the previous releases, but for some minor changes for the 75mm included in this kit.


Conclusion

Overall this looks to be another great Airborne kit from Bronco, this time with the 75mm Howitzer. The moldings, like previous releases are very well done, with lots of detail. This kit does provide another option for Airborne fans and with lots of extra bits could lead to a big diorama if combined with some of the other Airborne kits of a large convoy heading to the target or in conjunction with the upcoming Horsa kit. As a fun kit to build or for British Airborne fans I definitely recommend this kit.
SUMMARY
Highs: Great subject, great detail, lots of stowage items, great for spares bin.
Lows: Same figures as previous releases, some ejector marks, gun could prove to a little finicky to assemble.
Verdict: Highly recommended.
Percentage Rating
85%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 35163
  PUBLISHED: Nov 03, 2014
  NATIONALITY: United Kingdom
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.35%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 87.97%

Our Thanks to Bronco Models!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Kevin Brant (SgtRam)
FROM: ONTARIO, CANADA

I am an IT Consultant and father, with a passion for plastic models. I mostly prefer 1/35 Armor and 1/48 Aircraft. My main interests are anything Canadian, as well as WW2 German and British Armor and Aircraft. I have been building models since I was a young kid, got away from it for awhile, but r...

Copyright ©2021 text by Kevin Brant [ SGTRAM ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Good review. Very useful. It might be of interest to say that the 75mm M1A1 is the Vision Models kit. The bands on the 75mm rounds are still too thick. One example of the round: LINK or here in WWII: LINK Sorry, not meaning to be too nit picky. Grant
NOV 03, 2014 - 12:04 PM
Grant Thanks for the clarification, I was unaware that it was the older Vision kit. Kevin
NOV 03, 2014 - 12:26 PM
I do know more than a bit about this kit and its predecessors. Please do not think that Bronco have just included the original Vision Models kit in the box. Considerable work was done to ensure that the finished model is representative of the guns used by British Airborne forces Although the basis of the 75mm howitzer is the Vision Models kit, many of the parts have been retooled to provide all the necessary British Airborne modifications. These newly tooled parts on the Bronco originated sprues are intended to replace or add to the original Vision Models parts. sk
NOV 03, 2014 - 01:29 PM
Thanks for the added info. Grant
NOV 03, 2014 - 01:55 PM
Do wish Bronco would issue the PAK separately and also in a US version. 165th Signal Photo Co.
NOV 04, 2014 - 02:01 AM
The PAK on its own with a gun crew has already been announced.
NOV 04, 2014 - 03:34 AM
The original Visions pack 75 is a pretty good model, for plastic. It just needed a couple of tiny detail parts, but mainly the prominent weld seam down the middle of the trail legs, which Archer took care of.
NOV 04, 2014 - 03:42 AM
I converted the original into an airborne version with the Resicast kit, still to finish it off. Only gripe was the locked open breech which I hope Bronco have fixed. Al
NOV 04, 2014 - 05:57 AM
   
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