Fist of War 1/48 Focke-Wulf 1000

In 1944, three design studies were performed by Focke-Wulf in response to a specification that called for a medium jet bomber able to carry a 1,000 kg load, 1,000 km at a speed of 1,000kph. Hence the 1000 designation. Focke-Wulf entered three designs; a projekt A, B, and C. The most interesting of them was Projekt B, the subject of this kit. Unlike the more conventional Projekts A and B, this aircraft was more of a flying wing with the HeS 011 turbojets buried in the wing. The wing was swept 25 degrees and had downturned rudders on the tips of the wings.

Many years ago, I built the Planet Models 1/72 kit. That was a resin kit and turned out quite well. Now, Fist of War has released one in 1/48 and has done several boxings, all differing in markings. FoW is part of the Modelcollect family of kits and from what I can see in the box, is very nicely molded.

The kit does not start with building the cockpit, that is one of the last steps. Instead you build the ailerons, flaps, intake assemblies and exhaust. This is because the wings are split horizontally so these items and the bomb bay have to be installed in the lower section. Also fitting here are the main landing gear bays and the gear. Though the kit shows the gear being assembled (minus wheels) and attached to the bays prior to the bay installation, it appears these could be held off until after painting.

Attached to the upper wing piece is a speed brake which is shown posed open. Then one attaches the main gear doors and then the wing halves are closed. Then the downturned wing tips and slats are attached.

Only then is the small fuselage section assembled, starting with the nose gear well and nose gear. Then it is the interior pieces which are all attached to the nose gear well. This fits into the forward halves, flollowed by the nose wheel, gear door and canopy. Though the instructions don't show it, when I built the Planet Model kit, I needed a fair amount of nose weight so you might want to take that into consideration as there is some room for it. The last steps involve the 1000kg bomb for the bomb bay and two 500kg bombs and their racks for the lower wing. These last two items are butt joined so you could leave them off if you so desired.

Instructions are well drawn and have a painting scheme for a plane using a mixture of colors in a splinter pattern. Of course, you can paint the airplane any way you wish. The large decal sheet offers multiple options in terms of codes and unit markings. Interestingly, no two code combos are the same size or color. In addition, you are provided a variety of insignia styles, but only three of each style. Even the split swastikas are different colors. I'm not sure what the thinking was in this regard, but it may be that you'll have to dip into the spare decal pile to provide the sort of consistency of styles that you want.

In all, it is a kit that I'm looking forward to building. Decal situation aside, it appears it will be a fun build and add some interest to one's display shelf. Below is an image of the Planet Models version I did many years back during the 'luft '46' craze.

May 2024

Copyright ModelingMadness.com. All rights reserved. No reproduction in part or in whole without express permission from the editor.