Focke Achgelis Fa 330

[Mike]

Focke Achgelis Fa 330

1:48 Fly Models

The Fa 330 was developed by Nazi Germany as an aid to U-Boats in spotting enemy vessels, by towing one along behind it, some 120m above the water, improving the boat's field of vision by a factor of around 5. Unfortunately, because the rotary winged "kite" was difficult to put together, stored in two water tight compartments behind the U-Boat's conning tower, it was seldom used, especially where Allied air superiority was certain. Only a few U-boats are known to have carried them, and after the war their demise was assured by the development of the helicopter.

To say that this little kit is left-field is probably understatement of the week. A tiny handful of these stick-like craft were made, but somehow a relatively large number survived to find their way into museums.

The kit arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of an assembled Fa 330 on the front. Inside is one sprue of light brown styrene injection moulded parts, a small bag of resin parts, another bag containing Photo-etched parts and the decals, and a folded instruction booklet.

The styrene is nicely moulded, and exhibits only a small amount of flash, which is simply down to the short-run nature of the kit. Surface detail on the rotors is nice, and the fine details on the tail-feathers similarly well handled. The tubular construction of the airframe means a few thin parts that will need careful handling in order not to break them, and you will need a steady hand to install some smaller parts at the correct angles.

The resin parts consist of a parachute container, the rotor hub, some control pulleys, oil reservoir and the simple instrument panel in front of the pilot. PE parts include straps for the parachure container, rotor head parts, seatbelts, rudder straps and some small constructional parts.

The decal sheet consists of 10 small balkenkreuz national insignia and 4 "Nicht anfassen" do not touch stencils for the delicate tail. The colorscheme is all over lichtblau (RLM76), with paint call-outs made throughout the build in simple named terms, with no paint manufacturer's number.

The instructions give a helpful cable and wiring diagram to link the three rotors together and wire up the controls to adjust rotor pitch etc. There is no wire in the box, but that's only to be expected.

Conclusion

It's a niche product from a small manufacturer, so a brave choice of subject. I have seen one built here on Britmodeller, and it looks the part once finished, and will be quite a conversation starter with any viewers of your display cabinets. It's not one for the clumsy builder, so ensure you don't have ham fists before you undertake this charming little model.

Review sample courtesy of

[Paul A H]

Looks nice. Can't wait to see what their new Whitley will be like. Isn't there one of these on display at Cosford?