The 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 section 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 transmission 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 intermediate skills due to the higher number of fragile parts. It only took me 20 hours 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.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the September 2019 issue.