Hobby Boss Fieseler Fi-156C-3/Trop Storch (80181) 1:35

[Mike]

Fieseler Fi-156C-3/Trop Storch (80181)

1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

The Storch was designed in the mid-1930s as a liaison aircraft, and was incredibly successful due to its amazing short-field landing and take-off performance, almost vertical if you had a suitable headwind.  It was also a competent observation aircraft too, thanks to its high wing and almost 360^o visibility that was accomplished by fixing the wings to a strong but slim tubular framework.  It was however surprisingly heavy and its long wingspan made ground-handling less easy, despite its benefits whilst in the air.  The C was the most common variant with almost 3,000 made, and many of them were made in occupied France and Czechoslovakia due to Fieseler’s other commitments.  The Storch (German for Stork) was also involved in some notable incidents during the war, notably the rescue of Mussolini by the Nazis after he was removed from power.

 

They were also made by other countries during and following WWII, with the final one going out of service in the 50s, with a number being used by Allied commanders and forces against their former owners.  There are still a number of Storches in the sky today due to their unusual look and the fact that they are relatively simple to maintain courtesy of their low-tech approach to engineering.

 

 

The Kit

This is a re-release from Hobby Boss of the former Trimaster tooling of this iconic (I say that a lot because it’s true of many aircraft) little aircraft, which originally reached the shelves in 2007 in the slightly off-beat scale of 1:35.  It’s 1:35 because the Storch could land all over the place, near the front or otherwise, so they can be placed next to models in the dominant AFV scale without having to force the scale by inventive placement of the various elements.  The range of 1:35 aircraft kits is still small, but growing due to the efforts of a number of companies, but whether modellers will someday be able to model entirely in 1:35 whether they build AFVs or aircraft remains to be seen.  The kit arrives in a black-themed box with yellow trimmings, which is a quick way of identifying former Trimaster kits from Hobby Boss generally.  Inside is a smaller glued-in cardboard box to protect the more delicate parts, with a total of eight sand-coloured sprues of various sizes, a clear sprue and a separate slide-moulded canopy, two sub-sprues in sandy styrene that have four parts with metal rods co-moulded at the centre to give your model some needed strength once completed.  Two soft black rubbery tyres, a large decal sheet, pre-cut masking material (not pictured), grey-scale instruction booklet and separate colour profiles to assist with painting and decaling.  Detail is excellent given the vintage of the kit, which sounds silly, but 2007 is now 15 years ago – depressing, isn’t it?  There’s no need to worry though, as the detail is plenty good enough by today’s standards, with plenty of engraved and raised detail on every part.  The canopy and those metal rods are the most impressive portions of the kit, but that’s because they’re just more fun than the other bits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit, which revolves around the flat floor section, onto which two different seats, the rear one on an optional pivot, control columns, foot bars, rudder pedals and rear bulkhead with spare mags for the machine gun and its mount applied before it is glued to the rear.  It is covered over by a number of tubular framework parts that would perform a structural function on the real thing, but styrene is strong enough for the kit’s needs.  A full engine is included on the sprues, comprising 21 parts for the engine and exhausts, with more on the firewall to depict the ancillaries.  To prepare for closing up the fuselage, there are a number of small parts added to the sidewalls, and a choice of sandy styrene or clear instrument panels, the latter having a backing plate onto which you can apply the instrument panel to allow the dials to show through if you manage not to obliterate the clear dials whilst you’re painting the panel.  The aforementioned firewall has five parts fixed to it, then it is glued into the starboard fuselage half, and at the rear there is a choice of a standard tail-wheel with the strut and wheel moulded as one, or another with the other option having a ski surrounding the wheel.  The cockpit and engine are fixed in place, the engine remaining uncovered initially unless you opt to install the cowling panels, which include four sections and an external part that looks like an oil cooler.  The prop is two-bladed, and has some stencil decals to apply after you have painted it, then at the rear the rudder is added, then joined by the elevators that have separate fins, supports and additional rectangular foils underneath.

 

The canopy is moulded as a (mostly) single part, with separate access door and the rear gunner’s rotating circular window, which is an impressive piece of kit, except my sample had a very slight wave-front line across the top of the part, but that shouldn’t be too obvious once painted and weathered, as it looks like a thin hair.  Incidentally, there are a set of pre-cut masks included in the box, which can help you speed up that process if you’re a bit phobic, or even if you’re not.  The part is joined by the aforementioned additional sections, plus a three-part lower facet that gives the crew a slightly better downward view, as it allows the canopy to overhang the fuselage sides by a valuable few inches, like a faceted ‘blown’ canopy, improving situational awareness further.  There are a couple of styrene parts, and an MG15 with separate magazine and spent brass bag that slides through the rotating window that allows the gunner to operate relatively comfortably without getting too cold.  The canopy is then glued over the cockpit aperture, taking care not to damage the styrene framework that slides inside.  After fitting the gun, a ring sight is glued to the end of the barrel.

 

Now the other fun part – the leggy landing gear struts with their co-moulded metal rods that are bent to shape at the factory so they fit well.  You have a choice of gear leg length, the shorter one has the styrene part 6mm shorter than the long one.  The metal section poking out of the top of each type is slightly different to allow the wheels to continue to sit square on the ground.  They hook into holes in the side of the canopy top, and are braced by two V-shaped styrene sections.  It’s worth noting that the canopy also has a pair of brackets on the side that help locate the wings later on, or now as the instructions advise.  We’ve already mentioned the Storch's ample wingspan, and this is clear when you nip these parts off the sprues.  Each wing is made from two halves with an extra part for the leading-edge slats, then a veritable forest of additional small parts to replicate the control arms, lights and actuators that are clearly visible on the separate aileron.  Each wing also has another V-shaped support that slots into a hole in the side of the fuselage once you clip the wing to the brackets on the canopy.  There was a pitot probe amongst the myriad parts of the port wing, so the only thing left to do is join the two halves of the external fuel tank together and attach it to the underside of the fuselage.

 

 

Markings

Hobby Boss aren’t renowned for copious decal options, but this kit is an exception having VI, sorry six options on the large sheet.  As usual however, there’s little information on the sheets, but the roundels should give you a clue, as follows:

 

• Luftwaffe Aufklärungsgruppe 14, North Africa from March 1941 until April 1942
• Luftwaffe Grünherzgeschwader“ JG 54 W.Nr. 5563 coded SB+UG assigned to the Stab of the I Gruppe at Malmi in Sept. 1942.
• Italian Comando Aeronautica Albania, Tirana 1941
• Morane-Saulnier MS.500 Criquet of the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force)
• Československé vojenské letectvo (Czechoslovak Air Force)
• Wojska Lotnicze (Polish Air Force)

 

 

 

The decals are well-printed, although the upside-down ones confused me slightly when putting it on the scanner, as did the spelling of Hobby Boos.  The green of the Grunhertz logo is possibly a little light, but overall they are in good register, sharpness and colour density, with a decal for the instrument panel that includes the background grey colouring.

 

 

Conclusion

It’s not a brand-new tooling, but the detail is good, and it can sit on your shelf next to your AFVs without looking oversized.  There’s something appealing about the Storch, and this kit captures the look and construction style of the type.  It’s also pretty fairly priced if you need another excuse to buy one.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of