Revell 1/72 Focke-Wulf TL Jaeger "Flitzer"

While the accomplishments of the Nazi regime in most fields remain open to debate, there is certainly no escaping the facts that Hitler's scientists and engineers were among the most advanced on the planet back in the 1930's and 1940's. One particular area of German superiority was in the field of aerodynamic research. Germany was not only the first country to fly a jet, but also the first to fly a twin-jet aircraft (the He-280) and the first to employ swept wings on high-speed aircraft (the Me-262 and Me-163). Extensive mathematical study and wind tunnel testing had given German engineers the edge over their allied counterparts.

A byproduct of all this ingenuity was a veritable mountain of advanced aircraft proposals, case studies and projects. One has only to go to www.luft46.com to see most of these. Of these many concepts, there were even a few prototypes of some advanced fighters and bombers, powered by jet engines and using unorthodox (for the time) aerodynamics. However, with the USAAF and the RAF turning its cities to tinderboxes around the clock, it was imperative that the Luftwaffe have ever more effective fighters. Higher, faster, harder hitting. Everything had to be brought to bear against the bombers.

One of the projects that got as far as wind tunnel testing was a Focke Wulf fighter known as the Flitzer. This was an attractive single-engined jet interceptor that had moderately swept wings and an unusual twin boom layout. The original design included a Walther rocket engine in addition to the 004 turbojet, in an attempt to give the Flitzer some of the Komet's stellar climbing performance while retaining the jet advantage of the Me-262. However, the rocket was eventually dropped, probably for reasons of cost, safety and weight savings.

The Flitzer never entered production, and was cancelled because projected performance was no better than the Me-262s that were already entering service. (Whether or not this is a wise decision is up for debate, since the Flitzer was gaining that performance on only one precious engine as opposed to the two required by the Me-262. However, since engine reliability was an issue, perhaps a single 004-powered fighter didn't seem like such a good idea.) Thus, the world never got to see this particular Focke Wulf in action.

Thankfully, Revell of Germany has produced this beautiful model of the Flitzer, so that everyone's Luft '46 flight line can have an example of this interesting project. This kit is not the only Flitzer in town, though. There is also a Special Hobby kit, also in 1/72, which is of the version without the rocket engine. However, this is a fairly expensive, and far inferior, model in comparison to RoG's offering.

The Kit:

Upon sliding the kit out of the box, I was treated to two smallish sprues of grey-brown plastic with one clear sprue for the canopy. My original impression of the model was that it was very small. Since the fuselage doesn't include the tail, it is very stumpy, and is quite a bit shorter than even the fuselage on a Bf-109! All the pieces seemed to be well formed, however, and there was no flash to be seen. Some of the components, however, looked like they might pose a problem, since their attachment point to the sprue seemed very large relative to the size of the piece! The landing gear retraction struts, cannons and pitot tube were particularly affected by this.

While the surface detail didn't seem to be quite to the insane level offered by the newest Academy kits (like the Stuka), it is very good. I was surprised to find out that the kit was made in 1996: for this age, the detail is excellent. All the panel lines are crisp and sharp, and there are none missing. There is a somewhat detailed cockpit (far superior to the FROGs I'm used to, but not up to Academy's standards), with a fully instrumented dashboard, control stick and a seat with belts moulded in. The 'armrests' in the cockpit weren't very detail rich, and there was no clear gun sight, which was an unfortunate omission.

Building the Flitzer:

As everyone who's ever talked to me or read a few of my reviews knows, I am not afraid to throw some putty and fill some seams. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that such was not required to any great degree with this kit. In fact, I didn't use ANY Milliput on this bird at all, and only a small amount of CA and Squadron Green putty was used. All the seams were quite good, and a light sanding was all that was required.

All the subassemblies were glued together using Ambroid Proweld, which works beautifully with RoG plastic. The cockpit was assembled and painted first, since it has to go into the fuselage halves before they are glued together. The same goes for the nose wheel bay.

If you look at the Flitzer, you can see a pronounced rearward lean. The instructions indicate that some nose ballast is required. The team at RoG suggest 5 grams of weight, but I've heard on the internet that their estimates tend to be a bit off. Thus, I crammed the nose as full of #7 birdshot as I could, going so far as to sand pellets to fit into the hollows formed under the armrests. (Mmmm. lead dust.) I had no idea just how much the shot I installed weighed (I have no fine scale), but when I was done the fuselage seemed plenty nose heavy.

The wings and tail booms were completed separately, sanded and then glued on. The wings went on first. Once they were dry, the tail booms and one-piece horizontal stabilizer went on. The fit of all pieces was exemplary, and no sanding was required in the slightest. At this point, the plane was primered and painted, and the landing gear and cannons were put on at the end, along with the seat and the canopy.

Painting/Decalling:

The best part of Luft '46 stuff is that no one can tell you that it's wrong! That's why I love doing my kitbashes like the Fi-203, Me-689 and He-219 G5/RT (a second place winner at Well*CO*ME IX in 2005)). However, the Flitzer is a 'legitimate' Luft '46 kit, so the only place I can really get creative is in the paint scheme.

As with most of their Luft '46 kits, RoG indicates that the Flitzer should be a two-tone green cammo with a light blue underside. YAWN. That's okay for a Stuka or a long-nose Dora, but for a Flitzer? Get real! (Pun intended.) Thus, I decided that I'd take this opportunity to do something a little different.

I wanted a paintjob that screamed 'air superiority', and gave the Flitzer a more modern look. Since the design of the Flitzer is so similar to the DH Vampire (albeit more advanced and a heck of a lot prettier), I felt that I could get away with a cammo scheme that was a bit less 'WWII' than those I've used on other Luft '46 kits. I thus decided to stay away from any splinter or obvious 'spottle' cammo jobs. In the end, I decided on a light blue underside using my 'whatever you've got on hand' Luftwaffe underside colour (it changes from kit to kit), with a Tamiya XF-25 Light Sea Grey (which is bluish - thanks Tamiya.) topside.

To finish the job, I applied the same purple-grey as I used on my Ju-88. This was put on using the same random squiggle technique as I used on the He-219. However, the effect is much more subdued. The purple-grey is very difficult to see unless you look really closely, but at the same time it definitely adds something to the overall colour of the plane. It results in a muted paint job that looks like it's only one colour, until you see the squiggling 'ghosting' out in front of you. For this reason, I've taken to calling this scheme 'Geistflieger' (ghost flyer) camouflage.

After painting, the kit's detail was highlighted by outlining all panel lines using a filed down mechanical pencil. The model was then coated in Tamiya gloss, to reduce the effect of decal slivering later on. This was particularly valuable in this instance, since many of the decals used were quite large yet had a lot of empty space on them.

The landing gear and their bays were painted in Testors 7ml bottle aluminum, and given a black wash with Testors Model Master acrylic black thinned to very heavily. The same was applied to the inside of the jetpipe, which is surprisingly detailed for its size. The cannons were painted MM acrylic Jet Exhaust and then black washed. Unfortunately, the canopy cannot open, being cast in a single piece. All cockpit frames were masked using Tamiya tape.

The decals supplied with the kit are quite extensive, and include a good number of warning decals, hatch labels and other little things. There are markings for two aircraft, both of which are fictional, and the instructions don't give any indication as to what squadron or airbase these schemes represent. I chose the one with the red-yellow-red Defence of the Reich bands on the tail and the bright yellow '5' on the nose. I have always had a perverse fascination for the German propensity to completely negate the value of their beautiful cammo jobs with garish stripes, numbers or coloured rudders/noses, and this plane is no different. Surprisingly, the end result looks pretty good!

I didn't use all the decals, but I did use a fair number. The decals for
the T-Stoff and C-Stoff ports for the Walther rocket were a nice touch, as was the decal for the first aid kit on the starboard side of the cockpit. Unfortunately, RoG decals aren't as good as they should be, and there were some issues with silvering. In some cases, I had to lift the decal and stick it down with Future, to ensure that it both stuck and didn't silver. Also, despite being only 9 years old, the decals were yellowed somewhat. This isn't too noticeable on the final product, bit it was an annoyance, and I really got cheesed. (There's a shock, eh?)

Conclusions:

The RoG Flitzer is a wonderful, and simple little model. I was able to build it in a very short period of time without any major difficulty. This is quite a treat for me. It is the first RoG kit I've ever built, and I'm pleased it was so good. I've got a stack more of them to go! For any fan of Luft '46 subjects, this kit is a must. It's also a nice kit for anyone that wants something a little different.

Unlike some other German project planes, the Flitzer looks like it would have been right at home prowling the skies of 1950's Europe, and I can't help but wonder what it would look like with Austrian, Romanian or Italian markings. It would even make a nifty conversion for a naval airplane, actually. Just put a hook in place of the rocket, scratchbuild some folding wings and you're there! Presto! Hmm... No doubt about it, I gotta get me another kit.