Fieseler Fi 103 (FZG 66) / V-1

Special Hobby, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Kitty Hawk's 1/32 scale OS2U Kingfisher will be available online from Squadron.com
 

The infamous V-1 flying bomb entered service in June 1944 as a long-range cruise missile, first pounding London and its surrounds then Antwerp from concealed launching ramps in northern France and Belgium.

The V-1’s official designation was Fieseler Fi 103. It was powered by an Argus pulse jet engine. The unique drone generated by the engine led to its nickname – the buzz bomb.

It was proposed that a manned flying bomb could be used on operational missions, with a volunteer pilot guiding his craft to its target and bailing out just before impact. It was so unlikely that the pilot would escape alive that this was accepted to be a suicide mission. These manned flying bombs were known as Reichenbergs, and they were designed to be launched from an aircraft such as the Heinkel He 111.

A number of Reichenberg RE-4 piloted flying bombs were successfully flown and even landed, but the programme was cancelled before operations commenced.

The subject of this kit is the unmanned flying bomb, although they have already announced a piloted RE 4 Reichenberg for future release.

Not surprisingly, Special Hobby's 1/32 scale Fi 103 V-1 is a simple kit. The flying bomb itself is made up from just 22 parts in medium grey plastic, and a few of these are optional parts. A handling dolly more than doubles this inventory with an additional 35 parts.

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Four photo-etched parts and a decal sheet are also included.

Surface detail is nicely done - far more convincing than Bronco's 1/35 scale Fi 103 family - with a mix of mostly raised and some recessed surface features. Weld beads, rivets and other textures are represented.

The intake for the pulse jet is a solid plastic part with a nice deep grille.

Two optional covers are provided for the nose - the regular tip of the warhead or a ground cover to protect the delicate nose. The covers may also be left off to expose the spherical nose interior.

The small fusing propeller is offered in both photo-etch and plastic - the choice is yours.

Special Hobby supplies a long one-piece wing spar, which is designed to be pushed through the assembled fuselage. I recommend test fitting this before painting the model. The real thing was tubular, so you may also consider replacing this with a length of brass tube.

The model may be finished in one of three configurations:

• with the wings in place for an in-flight or pre-launch model

• with the wings in place and on the handline dolly, or

• with the wings removed and stowed alongside the fuselage on the handling dolly. If you choose this option, the wing spar may be also be stowed on the side of the trolley.

The trolley looks like it should be a simple build. The wheels are separate and may be posed to taste. It appears that the real things were free-castoring - a bit like a high explosive shopping trolley.

Three camouflage schemes are suggested, but there are plenty of wartime photos to offer you inspiration too. There seems to have been quite a wide variety of intricate finishes for this one-way weapon.

The decal sheet provides stencils and a couple of possible Werknummern. It is perfectly printed.

This is a simple but welcome kit. It is a good size in 1/32 scale, and will make a fitting shelf companion for Special Hobby's 1/32 scale Hawker Tempest.

Detail is good, assembly should be simple, and you can have a lot of fun with the paint job.

There will be plenty of diorama potential too!

Thanks to Special Hobby for the sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2018 by Brett Green
Page Created 10 December, 2018
Last updated 11 December, 2018

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