Much like so-called “paper panzers,” the Focke-Wulf Triebflügel was an idea that never made it past wind tunnel testing — probably just as well for the pilots that it came too late. The rotary-winged vertical takeoff and landing fighter was a last-ditch effort by the Luftwaffe to reclaim air superiority under relentless assault by Allied bombers.
My experience with MiniArt 1/35 scale ground vehicles is that they are well-detailed kits but tedious to build. Going into this, one of MiniArt’s first aircraft, I thought it might be on par with Zoukei Mura and jammed full of insane detail. But no, I was relieved to discover the kit has just 135 parts.
Well-engineered, the parts feature crisp detail. The fuselage comprises three sections: The front including the cockpit, the center ring with rotors, and the aft section and landing gear.
Many of the kit’s parts go into the cockpit, including multipart photo-etched metal (PE) seat belts and control levers, as well as instrument decals.
The instructions are clear and easy to read, but I deviated from the assembly order and didn’t glue the rear bulkhead to the floor as indicated, because it interfered with the fit of the upper cockpit section.
Four cannons mount alongside the cockpit and the separate, thin weapon hatches can be posed open or closed.
The completed cockpit fits tightly into the nose halves; I used superglue to ensure the seam between the halves was tight.
Everything was simpler after the cockpit. The three rotor blades and their tip-mounted engines come next. The ramjets are detailed for what they are — simple engines without moving parts — and look good when finished. The rotors move and can be easily removed for transportation.
The landing gear is also well-detailed and simple. The kit offers the option of closing the clamshell gear doors to pose the fighter in flight, but no stand is included. The clamshell doors have small attachment points, which is good for detail, but they require patience to mount cleanly. The four outrigger landing gear are sturdy enough to hold the model up with help from the large center wheel.
The thin, crystal clear canopy can be posed open or closed.
Next I faced the biggest challenge: Deciding which markings to apply. The kit provides six options, all obviously fictitious. They include a red trainer, a yellow-trimmed Eastern Front fighter, and even a maritime camouflaged Triebflügel aboard the carrier
Hermann Göring in the Mediterranean.
I chose a Berlin air-defense interceptor. The color instructions indicate the aircraft to be overall RLM 76 lichtblau, but I’ve never seen a German aircraft painted topcoat with epoxy sealed panel lines. I think it should be natural metal, so that’s how I finished mine.
The paint chart references colors from Vallejo, Mr. Color, LifeColor, Tamiya, AK Interactive, and Mission Models.
The crisp decals went on OK with plenty of Microscale decal solutions to force them into the deep surface detail.
MiniArt’s beautifully executed Triebflügel is a fun addition to any collection, and the basic kit is now available in several versions, including a night-fighter and one with a boarding ladder. The fact that it is 1/35 scale broadens the options if you want to use it in a diorama.