During the early years of WWI, many experiments were made to drop bombs from airplanes to the ground. The first projectiles were thrown by hand while the latest were carried under the aircraft and released mechanicaly, very much like during WW2.
P.u.W. (Prüfanstalt und Werft der Fliegertruppen - The Test Institute and Workshops of the flying troops) bombs, were the principal weapon of German bombers in WWI. Stocks of these bombs captured at Poznan-Lawica were subsequently used by the Polish Air Force until the outbreak of WWII...
Polish wz.29 and wz.31 bombs were developed in the 30's to replace the obsolete P.u.W bombs.
(Source: kit instructions)
German WWI & Polish WWII Bombs set (448001)
This set comes in a small top opening cardboard box. The content of the set is the following:
- Three (six half) sprues of medium grey injected plastic, each cut in two to fit inside the box.
Here is a list of the bomb types included in the box:
Used by Germans in WW1 and by Poland for their PZL P.23 and PZL P.37 aircraft types (set 448001).
- 300 kg P.u.W. bomb (X3)
- 100 kg P.u.W bomb (X18)
- 50 kg wz.29 bomb (X3)
- 100 kg wz.31 bomb (X3)
The quality of the plastic parts is good even if the surface of the bombs are a little bit rough and if there is some flash here and there. But this is not really something to worry about. The thickness of the fins on some of the bigger bombs will need to be reduced a little. However, don't try to get them straight! Indeed they were designed like that to make the bomb rotate during the drop. This can be seen in the accompanying reference photos of the intructions.
- One small A5 sheet printed in color are provided in the box with assembly instructions, a useful painting guide (Vallejo paints) and less than impressive thumbnail reference photos. A bomb layout diagram for the PZL P.23 is included as well with two possible bomb load combinations.
This set is obviously primarly destined to the Mirage Hobby PZL P.23 and PZL P.37 but they can be used on other aircraft (especially the new Hippo Gotha Bomber) or for diorama purposes.
Conclusion
It is a good idea for Mirage Hobby to provide these extra sets. One almost never see the inclusion of the bombs to a kit. And the German WWI or Polish WWII bomber offers plenty of display possibilities.
Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here on AeroScale.
SUMMARY
Highs: Good subject matter. You will need to work with an optivisor or magnifying system.Lows: Individual parts are tedious to work with. At least one locator pin and corresponding locator hole per bomb half would make them easier to work with. We really could use some PE bomb racks with these.Verdict: It is a good step in the right direction. Too many good WWI and 30's Polish aircraft don't come with munition stores. Even with modern jet age kit companies have after market stores sets. Mirage has don us a great service.
About Stephen T. Lawson (JackFlash) FROM: COLORADO, UNITED STATES
I was building Off topic jet age kits at the age of 7. I remember building my first WWI kit way back in 1964-5 at the age of 8-9. Hundreds of 1/72 scale Revell and Airfix kits later my eyes started to change and I wanted to do more detail. With the advent of DML / Dragon and Eduard I sold off my ...
Just to mention the Hippo Gotha is also now being offered by AZ Models and there are several other WWI kits that could be modified to take the larger munitions mentioned here.
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