AZ Model Fieseler Fi.167 Over the Balkans (AZ7845) 1:72

[Mike]

Fieseler Fi.167 Over the Balkans (AZ7845)

1:72 AZ Model by Kovozávody Prostějov

 

 

While Germany still harboured the desire to be a major naval power that could rival the British Royal Navy, they began a huge expansion of their Kriegsmarine that included gigantic battleships such as the Bismark and her sister ship Tirpitz, and their first aircraft carrier, named DKM Graf Zeppelin.  They needed aircraft to fly from their carrier(s), so a development of the Bf.109 and the Ju.87 Stuka were commissioned in preparation.  A torpedo bomber was also part of the requirement, and the specification was issued for a full metal biplane that could fulfil the need, as well as being capable of dive-bombing.  In a competition with Arado, the Fieseler design won the day, and a prototype was ordered, followed by some pre-series production airframes for assessment and flight testing.  It turned out to more than meet the requirements set down, being able to 100% carry more weapons than the specification, and was also a pleasant aircraft to fly, with an impressive short-field performance that was a distinct advantage on an aircraft carrier with limited deck space.  In fact, during testing one aircraft descended from 300m without moving forward from a point on the ground that was indicated for reference.

 

When the Graf Zeppelin was cancelled and later reinstated, Fi.167 production was stopped soon after it started, and then was cancelled altogether when it was decided that the Stuka could carry out the dive-bombing task, and a torpedo bomber was no longer needed.  Nine airframes were transferred into Luftwaffe service and sent to the coast of the Netherlands for trials.  Upon their return they were sold to Croatia, who used their short-field abilities and load-carrying excellence to supply their troops, who were often fighting in difficult positions where traditional methods of supply wouldn’t work.  On one such mission, the pilot of an Fi.167 was killed by a round from a trio of British Mustangs, but not before the gunner had claimed one of the Mustangs prior to bailing out.  The aircraft subsequently crashed, and the fate of the rest of the nine was similar, with none surviving the post-war period.

 

 

The Kit

This is one of four boxings of a new tooling from AZ Model, and arrives in an end-opening boxing with a painting of the afore-mentioned incident on the front and the three decal options on the rear of the box.  Inside the box are two sprues of grey styrene, a clear part in its own Ziploc bag, a colourful sheet of decals, and the instruction sheet, which is a folded A4 sheet printed in colour on both sides.  Detail is good, including engraved panel lines, rippled fabric effect on the flying surfaces, plus raised and recessed details throughout the model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit floor, which is detailed with two seats, control column, mount for the gunner’s weapon, and a bulkhead between the two crew.  The instrument panel is inserted into the starboard fuselage half, and a painting diagram is provided for the pilot’s panel and the gunner’s panel that is moulded into the back of the bulkhead.  With the fuselage closed and the seams dealt with, the exhaust are added and the full-span lower wing is joined to the bottom of the fuselage, and the elevators are plugged into slots either side of the moulded-in tail fin.  Inverting the model, the landing gear spats are installed, and these have moulded-in wheels, and the real struts could be jettisoned in the event of a water landing, reducing the chances of the aircraft cartwheeling when it touched down.  An intake is fixed under the chin with a representation of the cooling surface glued inside, and a centreline pylon with separate sway-braces is glued between the landing gear, which has a pair of support struts fitted.

 

 

The upper wing is also full-span, and mounts to the model via two N-shaped struts per wing, and another pair of N-shaped cabane struts that locate in recesses on the fuselage sides.  A small diagram shows the bracing wires in simplified detail, but this is best viewed in association with the box art, which shows that they are double-strung, and there are also twin wires linking the ailerons together behind one of the struts.  Another pair of supports are fitted to the tail fin and elevators, with a scrap diagram showing how they should look from behind.  The tail-wheel has a V-shaped arrestor hook in front of it, and the four-part torpedo on the centre pylon if you feel the urge to portray a test aircraft or a what-if option instead of the decal options.

 

The prop consists of a back-plate to which the individual blades are attached, to be covered by the spinner, with a drive-shaft fitted to the rear to insert into the front of the fuselage.  An aerial is mounted near the leading edge of the upper wing, with an aerial wire joining it to the tail fin.  The machine gun with dual drum magazines are fitted to the rear of the cockpit cut-out before the canopy is glued in place, which is moulded as a single part with the rear section tipped up in preparation for action.

 

 

Markings

There are three decal options on the sheet, and they are all sufficiently different to have a broad appeal to many.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

 

 

The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas.  This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film.  It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain.

 

 

Conclusion

I’m a little jealous that I can’t have one of these in 1:48, but it’s a nice model of a very rare aircraft that saw some unusual service toward the end of the war and beyond, changing hands in between times.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

 

[Graham Boak]

Message deleted

[Mike]

19 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

Cough.  Bismark and Tirpitz.  Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

That’s what I get for relying on my memory, such as it is.  I’ve amended it now. 

[RAF4EVER]

 

Quote Mike

Upon their return they were sold to Croatia,

Quote Mike

Did Croatia exist then ?,

 

According to my copy of German Aircraft of  the Second World War, by JR Smith and Anthony L Kay,( Putnams  1989), the aircraft went to Rumania

[Graham Boak]

Old misinformation - they did not go to Romania.   They did go to Croatia.  Croatia was carved out of Yugoslavia after the German invasion and they acted as a German ally until the end of the war.

[RAF4EVER]

OK, sorry I did not know that👍