I just received the new Bronco 1/35 scale German Type XXIII sub kit and thought you might like to see what’s in the box.
The first thing you notice is that the box is full and well packaged. All parts and sprues are in plastic bags. The hull halves are held together with rubber bands, two small ones and three large ones. The large ones will probably come in handy when joining the halves together.
There are 8 parts sprues plus one for the sail and a small one of clear parts. There is also a length of string, two magnets for the torpedo doors, and a sheet of PE parts, and decals. Everything is molded in a light grey plastic. Also included is a ‘bonus’ sprue for a rubber lifeboat. There is no flash but the sprue attachment points on the hull and sail pieces are thick and will require a bit of work to remove cleanly.
The instruction booklet is 8 pages and includes color and decal guides for 5 options. There is a small ammendment sheet with a correction to step 9 and an 8”x17” poster of the box cover art.
This puppy is BIG, over 36” long but despite the size the hull pieces show no warping. This may be due to how thick they are and some internal bracing.
The big surprise though is the surface detail. All the welded hull seams and riviting are crisp and very detailed. Even the steel plates appear to have some texture. The torpedoes and the lifeboat are nicely done as well.
All in all this looks like it will be a fun build with few problems and will certainly be impressive on the shelf next to the 1/35 Schnellboot S-100 or in a diorama with four sections of the Italeri Long Dock kit.
Cheers,
Rick G.