Bronco Models GB7002 Blohm & Voss Bv P.178 Bomber Interceptor with MK-214 50 mm Cannon — 1:72 Plastic model aircraft kit

Manufacturer: Bronco Models
Kit number: GB7002
Aircraft: Blohm & Voss Bv P.178 Bomber Interceptor
Variant represented: MK-214 50 mm cannon-armed interceptor
Scale: 1:72
Barcode / EAN: 6970162330083
Kit type: Injection-moulded plastic
Release: 2016
Bronco Models and the kit

Bronco Models is a Chinese manufacturer known for relatively specialised military subjects, including unusual WWII aircraft, vehicles and engineering subjects. The company produced a small group of Blohm & Voss P.178 variants, effectively exploring several proposed configurations of an aircraft that never progressed beyond the design stage.

GB7002 was released in 2016 and represents the Bomber Interceptor Jet with MK-214 50 mm cannon. Contemporary coverage identifies it as one of several P.178 variants introduced by Bronco.

This is therefore a "Luft '46" subject rather than a model of an aircraft that actually entered service.
Kit contents and features

The kit is a modern injection-moulded model for its period and includes:

Injection-moulded plastic sprues

Clear parts

Photo-etched parts

Decal sheet

Assembly instructions

Asymmetric Bv P.178 airframe

Jumo 004B turbojet installation

Large MK-214 50 mm cannon

Undercarriage

Internal/external weapons equipment appropriate to the proposed configuration

A specialist retailer specifically confirms the inclusion of plastic parts, clear parts, photo-etched parts, instructions and decals.

The contemporary in-box review records five decal options, making this more than a single-marking curiosity. The documented options cover German, Italian and Romanian-style markings.

The kit represents the unusual asymmetrical layout particularly well: the single jet engine sits beneath the starboard wing, while the large cannon is mounted on the opposite side of the nose. The asymmetry is one of the main visual attractions of the finished model.

The P.178 kits have also received positive comments from builders regarding the moulding. A French retailer's customer reviews describe the engraving as good and the assembly as straightforward, although one modeller noted that photo-etched components would have been welcome in greater quantity.
The proposed full-size aircraft

The Blohm & Voss P.178 was a highly unconventional German aircraft project developed during the final stages of WWII.

Designed under Dr Richard Vogt, it was intended as a fast jet-powered bomber/interceptor with a completely asymmetrical layout.

The proposed aircraft had:

One Junkers Jumo 004B turbojet

Engine mounted beneath the right wing

Approximately 12 m wingspan

Approximately 10.8 m fuselage length

Conventional tricycle landing gear

Provision for a substantial bomb or heavy weapon load

Two auxiliary solid-fuel rocket units at the rear in the proposed configuration

The design was intended to exploit the advantages of jet propulsion while using an unusual layout to accommodate the engine and weapons.

The P.178 was never built or flown, so there is no genuine full-size production aircraft to which the model corresponds. The design remained on the drawing board as the war ended.
The MK-214 installation

GB7002 depicts a proposed interceptor arrangement carrying the enormous MK-214 50 mm cannon.

The weapon was based on the German 5 cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun concept and was intended as a heavy aircraft cannon for attacking Allied bombers.

The MK-214 was experimentally associated with aircraft such as the Me 262 and Me 410, but it never became a standard operational armament.

Bronco's P.178 configuration therefore combines two separate unbuilt concepts: the proposed asymmetric jet aircraft and the proposed heavy cannon installation.

The intended tactical concept was essentially a fast bomber interceptor capable of approaching a bomber formation, using the heavy cannon to make a powerful attack, and then using its jet performance to disengage. A contemporary description of the Bronco kit identifies the configuration as a daytime interceptor with the fixed armament removed and the MK-214 installed on the left side of the nose.
Why the P.178 is historically interesting

Although it never reached prototype construction, the P.178 demonstrates the extraordinary experimentation taking place in Germany during the final years of WWII.

The design was notable for its deliberate asymmetry. Instead of mounting the engine centrally in the fuselage, Blohm & Voss placed it under one wing.

This was not simply an aesthetic oddity. The arrangement was intended to provide a practical solution for fitting the engine while maintaining a relatively clean fuselage and weapons arrangement.

The P.178 is often included among the so-called Luftwaffe '46' aircraft. That term is useful for modelling, but it should not imply that the aircraft was expected to enter service in 1946: the P.178 was a wartime project that had not reached prototype construction before Germany's defeat.
Model dimensions

Using the proposed full-size dimensions of approximately 10.8 m length and 12 m wingspan, a 1:72 model would be approximately:

Length: 15.0 cm

Wingspan: 16.7 cm

That makes this a relatively compact 1:72 aircraft, although the unusual engine and weapon arrangement makes it stand out strongly in a collection.