http://www.FineScale.com 57T
he Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri
(Hummingbird) was the world’s
first helicopter to be used in a
military role. It was first flown by
the Luftwaffe in 1941 and featured an
open-air cockpit and intermeshing rotor
design.
MiniArt’s Fl 282V-23 is the first plastic
kit of this scout helicopter in 1/35 scale.
While the lower part count makes for a
fairly quick build, beginner builders will
have to be careful of the rather fiddly and
fragile plastic. The silver lining is that the
thinness of the parts makes everything look
in-scale. All the plastic has been molded in
light gray. Included in the box are 13
photo-etch (PE) parts and five different
marking options.
Construction began with the rear sec-
tion of the airframe, where the engine and
transmission live. These components go
together quickly as they are comprised of
only 10 parts. Still, these few pieces have
been molded with a good amount of detail.
The crispness of the engine and transmis-
sion stands out with nicely molded cooling
fins on the cylinder heads.
Next, I built the frame around the
engine, which required much more
care as the part is fragile. The part did not
feel secure until it was fully attached to the
cockpit section. The cockpit went together
quickly — I just had to be careful of the
petite controls and connections.
With most of the airframe constructed,
I could then move on to adding details,
such as the last of the panels, as well of the
landing gear. Many of these parts had
already been put to use in the dry-fitting
stage so I knew exactly how they were to be
attached.
The last step of adding the propellers
required a gentle touch as the plastic is
scale-thin and extra fragile. This is not the
time for rough hands or quick motions.
I painted my Hummingbird with
Tamiya acrylics. The decals chosen depict a
U.S. Air Force scheme from 1947.
I would recommend this interesting
helicopter to a modeler with interme-
diate skills due to the higher
number of fragile parts. It
only took me 20hours to complete and I enjoyed that time
thoroughly. The unique subject would be
perfect for any World War II or helicopter
collection. The five different marking
options offer plenty of variety, so a modeler
should be able to build what they
want.- Chris Cortez
MiniArt Fl 282 V-23
“Hummingbird”
Kit: No. 41004 Scale: 1/35
Mfr.: MiniArt, miniart-models.com
Price: $77.99 Comments: Injection-
molded, 175 parts, (13 PE), decals
Pros: Parts are scale-thin; intricate detail
on frame structure; unique subject
Cons: Small details on frame are fragile