Widespread deployment of unpowered aircraft by the major combatants marked World War II like no other conflict. The United Kingdom had several glider designs, but the Airspeed Horsa was the most common.
Large and ungainly looking, the Horsa could carry up to 28 troops, a jeep, or an artillery piece. Employed in all major Allied airborne assaults, the Horsa proved maneuverable and robust.
Bronco’s kit opens up numerous diorama possibilities, given how many kits of vehicles and figures are available in the same scale. Despite the Horsa’s relative simplicity, Bronco included plenty of detail. The cockpit is missing only wiring and plumbing. The cavernous troop cabin includes optional seats to fit along the sides, stepladders, and hanging straps.
A small photo-etched fret provides straps to stow the ladder, details for the cargo door, and optional shelves to replace the plastic version on the rear bulkhead. There’s even a metal counterweight to keep the glider on its toes.
Decals provide markings for three gliders, all in identical Royal Air Force camouflage with invasion stripes. The stripe dimensions and placement vary slightly, so pay attention when choosing. The instructions incorrectly call for Tamiya dark yellow (XF-60) for the brown; it should be flat earth (XF-52). Also, the marking profiles show the RAF fin flash facing the same way on both sides. But the red portion should always face to the front of the aircraft. No detail color callouts are included.
The large fuselage comprises multiple sections. Decent fits aid assembly of the large plane, but care and clamps are needed to prevent gaps.
Numerous large ejector-pin marks complicate construction. They are easy to remove if you find them before applying glue; test fit, trim, and test fit again.
I didn’t join the fuselage frames to the floor as suggested in Step 5. Instead, I combined steps 5 and 6, trapping the frames between the floor and the lower fuselage, which includes alignment slots.
Don’t forget to install the nose weight. It’s just barely sufficient to keep the tail up.
You’ll need to open holes in the floor for seating in the forward half of the fuselage; they’re present in the aft section.
The instructions warrant careful study. Precise part placement can be hard to discern from the drawings. For example, I never figured out how part C30 fit. (It can’t be seen anyway!)
Step 17 shows the struts for the stabilizers fitting an incorrect hole in the fuselage, but the next drawing shows the right spot.
Before painting, decide which cargo door option to use. And don’t forget to install the overhead frame supports before attaching the roof. Ask me how I know!
Because of the model’s size, I left off the outer wing panels until after the center section was mounted on the fuselage. That allowed for easier handling while cleaning up this critical connection. Once the roots were secure, it was a snap to level the wings.
Bronco includes masks for both the inside and outside of the windscreen and cabin windows, but many of them are slightly undersized.
I painted the underside of the extensive airframe with Tamiya spray-can semigloss black, then airbrushed highlights with Tamiya dark gray. To paint the upper camo, I made paper masks by enlarging the instructions on a copier.
The decals went on OK, but I encountered silvering around the fuselage numbers.
After flat-coating the beast, I attached the cargo door so it was level with the included ramp, and added support wires using EZ Line.
Bronco’s big Horsa took a bit of work — I spent a little more than 55 hours on it — but it wasn’t difficult.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the April 2016 issue.
Bronco’s big Horsa is constructed of a large number of structural components and panels, almost like the real thing. There are a several ejector-pin marks — a necessary evil — that will require scraping or filling.
The cockpit is simple just like the real thing, but Bronco includes most items and the structure really looks the parts. The control wheels are movable once trapped by the floor.
With all of the independent elements, it is easy to misalign parts of the skeleton. I used the lower fuselage as a jig while assembling the interior hoop frames. Don’t forget to install the large nose weight provided with the kit; it provides way to steady the parts during drying.
I left the upper frames off until the floor was constructed so they didn’t interfere with the fit of the forward and aft sections. I also attached the cockpit framework at this time because it is the same color as the rest of the interior.
As mentioned, many interior panels have ejector-pin marks — some are “innies” and some are “outies.” If you choose to open the cargo door, the interior of this door is not visible.
Be sure to paint the interior of the cargo floor however, because it’s visible through the troop door window.
I started the wing center section, while the interior framework was drying. It features a lot of structural details that won't be visible unless your glider is … well ... deconstructed after landing in a diorama setting. Bronco includes plenty of detail so you could break the glider at any point.
Test-fitting the wing-box parts revealed ejector-pin marks interfering with bulkheads. I removed them with a motor tool.
Clamps ensured correct alignment during gluing. I built the center-wing assembly section by section.
Here are the Horsa's forward walls, floor, and cockpit assembled and painted. Dry-brushing and washes emphasized the molded detail. Oh my, it's very, um, green.
The rear fuselage construction is similar, but without much of a floor. I held the fuselage together with the bulkheads in place, and added glue to one side. If you don’t hold the parts together, there’s enough play to cause possible alignment issues later.
There aren’t any color callouts for the interior, so I guessed. The pilots' seats include molded on belts. I picked out the buckles and grommets with a silver pencil after painting and an application of Flory Models dark dirt.
The cockpit parts add a bit of color to the very bland interior. Decals are included for the instrument panel and has molded detail front and back.
There aren’t many parts in the cockpit, but that’s not Bronco’s fault — the real Horsa was a very simple machine. The cockpit floor's fit was flawless.
I left the instrument panel off until nose is in place because the placement is vague on the model and the instructions aren't too clear.
I added only one half of the nose so I could more easily align the center section brace, the small arc at the very front of the nose. I chose the left side because the fit was keyed by a cutout for the cargo door. Only installing half of the nose allows access to add more nose weight later if needed.
In order for the many fuselage panels to have a hope of fitting well, the bulkheads have to be carefully aligned with the corresponding slots in the fuselage panels. I started assembly with one segment on each side of the fuselage to “pin” the bulkheads in place.
Hmm. Despite dry-fitting, the center section doesn't want to sit level on the mounting tabs.
The culprit appears to be the wing-root fillet on this side. I must not have “squeezed” the fuselage cylinder tight enough during assembly. I removed the fairing completely.
Much better! With a kit this large, any small misalignment in the wing center section will be very apparent at the tips.
All of the forward fuselage panels are in place. The bulkheads create a reasonably rigid structure and aid alignment.
The interior is visible, especially if you pose the forward cargo door open.
Bronco includes a full set of seats for the troop compartmen. Because I opened the large cargo door, I opted to only install the seats at the rear of the bus leaving the front open for a larger load.
If you plan to pose the rear troop door open, install it before you add the roof.
Pesky raised ejector-pin marks are everywhere — here they interfere with the fit of one of the wing ribs. They’re easy to get rid of — just keep an eye out and test-fit every part and subassembly.
Because Bronco molded the Horsa in sections to get great detail, joining the individual segments can be a bit of work. The fit is good and the resulting small seams are easy to fill. Wing and tail alignment is aided by the kit's engineering.
The other side was similar, but I ended up with a bit of a fit problem near the rear door. I suspect it was my fault, but don’t tell anyone …
Rick Atkinson's The Day of Battle and The Guns of Last Light were the perfect size to support the fuselage and serve as a jig to align the big, heavy wings. The books were a good read, too!.
Even with the complex assembly and huge size, Bronco did a good job with the fit of the wing. I used only a little filler on the seams. Treat the wings with care, though; the weight puts a lot of stress on the joins and can easily open them again. They are also capable of damaging your workshop as you swing the model around!
Oops! I blew it. I neglected to install the Y-brace on the center skid during assembly. Then, I pushed a little too hard test-fitting it after the fact and I broke one of the retaining pins. Now what?
A quick bit of work with a drill bit and some plastic rod fixed the skid. It even allows for easy adjustment during installation, so actually I meant to break it. Yea, that’s it.
My paranoia associated with leaving one side of the nose off in case I needed extra weight was unnecessary. I attached the remaining parts and the Horsa balances just fine using only the included ballast.
This is one BIG kit! I'm not too proud to day I'll use a spray can to blast the initial black coat onto the lower three-quarters of the model.
Usually, I paint the interior color onto the exterior canopy frames first to give the appearance that the inside is painted. However, there are prominent frames molded on the inside of the Horsa's canopy that look odd if they aren’t painted. I masked off the ones that had any depth — too bad I forgot that Bronco supplies interior masks for these same frames as well as an exterior set. Oh well.
A quick shot of Tamiya cockpit green took care of this little detail.
Only the interior frames that are actually molded above the surface were masked and painted. For the rest, I used the standard “paint the interior color first” method on the outside of the canopy.
If you look closely, you can see the molded frames extending into the inside of the canopy. It's easy to miss painting these, but a nice added touch if caught.
Bronco includes masks for the exterior of the cockpit and the other windows. The cutouts include the small vent openings and other details. I decided to trim the “hinge” area from the cockpit vent windows, reasoning that the hinges would be painted if not the frame of the vent.
A quick slice with a knife and I had a vent mask that allows the painting of the hinge.
I used copier enlargements of the camo scheme as masks to spray the brown and green. Beware: The Tamiya brown suggested in the instructions is incorrect. It should be flat earth (XF-52), not dark yellow (XF-60). My Horsa now looks like a naked zebra — it's got no stripes.