Special Hobby's
1/48 Flettner Fl 265

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

History

The Flettner Fl 265 was one of the first German helicopters to enter service. After the Focke Wulf Fw 61 helicopter achieved record after record, the Luftwaffe wanted something more powerful to be used onboard ships. Anton Flettner was assigned the task of building the machine and the result was the Flettner Fl 265. Utilizing two counter-rotating rotors powered by a radial engine in the nose, the Fl 265 accomplished the Luftwaffe's goal and quickly went to work in the Baltic. Flying from cruisers during 1939 and 1940, the Fl 265 proved the usefulness of the helicopter, but it didn't go into production as Flettner was already working on a much-improved Fl 282.

The Kit

Special Hobby's kit of the Flettner Fl 265 is nicely molded in light gray plastic, with an assortment of resin parts and a clear vacuformed canopy tossed in. There isn't much to this kit, but then again, there wasn't much to the original either, so it all works out. The interior of the kit is provided in resin, and is nicely molded. A cockpit floor and forward bulkhead make up the main part of the interior, with a separate seat & rear bulkhead, instrument panel, and control sticks making up the rest. Details of the rotor transmission housing are located in front of the pilot, all done as part of the cockpit floor, with the drive shaft being provided as a plastic piece. The roof of the cabin is also resin, while all the assorted bracing found inside is supplied in plastic. There's a lot of detail in this rather small, cramped cockpit, and it will all be visible through that large canopy.

The fuselage halves have some sidewall detailing, and once painted up it should blend in with the resin parts quite nicely. The rest of the parts are for the rotors, landing gear, and engine, and once the fuselage is together the rest of the kit should finish up quite quickly. The engine cowling is two-piece, enclosing a resin engine face. The counter-rotating rotors are a weak link in the kit, with a small attachment point that isn't too clear. Also, the instructions suggest heating the blades over flame and bending them to get the characteristic droop. The blades are thin enough that this will be fairly easy. In fact, it might be easier (and safer) to use a 100-watt light bulb instead of an open flame.

The markings for the kit give you two choices of TK+AN. The first option is finished in overall RLM 02, with RLM 66 gear struts. The other option adds a bit of color to the Flettner by adding two vertical red stripes behind the canopy on the fuselage. No information is given as to why the stripes were applied, but I would guess that it has something to do with squadron service.

Conclusion

Special Hobby has put out several early helicopters in 1/48 lately, including the Mi-1 and R-4B. I hope they continue this trend as these kits are sorely needed. Since they've done a Soviet helicopter, a German helicopter, and a US helicopter, perhaps this means that Britain is next and we'll see a 1/48 Hoverfly or Dragonfly….