Photos by the author
In the skies over London during the later years of the war a burp-burp-burp-burp sound would be heard and then silence; followed by an explosion moments later. Another German Buzz bomb, or V-1, as it was called scored a hit on war-torn London. Germany sent thousands of V-1�s to London terrifying the British general population. The first V-1 arrived over London on 13 June, 1944. Much earlier, in 1943, the German�s were considering a piloted version of the V-1. The Fieseler Fi-103 was to be a pilot version and would go through 4 versions. An un-powered version Fi-103R-I, a powered version for early test flights, Fi-103R-II a planned two seat version for pilot training, Fi-103-III and finally the production version Fi-103R-IV.�Approximately 175 of these weapons were built with the idea being that a bomber would carry these weapons to the target area and then be released.�The pilot would guide the Fi-103 towards the intended target and then bail out. It seems almost an impossible feat considering the small cockpit and a poor working canopy release, not to mention the pilot would be directly in front of the pulse jets intake. The plan was scrapped in late 1944.
Kartonowa Encyklopedia models have done a fine job of producing this little missile of death. It comes on a single sheet, well printed and colored. A color three view as usual is included and a simple cut-away side view identifying the placement of the parts.I started the model around 4:00 p.m. on New Years Eve and worked on it for about an hour.On New Years Day, I finished the entire model in approximately 4 hours.Mind you this is working at my pace, no great rush to finish it, just cut and fold and glue maybe stopping for a break or two while checking my e-mail or just to walk away for a while.
The model fits extremely well and is a true joy to assemble.�It is simple and yet makes an impressive addition to any collection. There are no tricky steps to watch out for; as each part fits as it should. The only alteration I made: was adding a circle piece of doubled card stock between parts 11 and 12, the pulse jet tubes.I colored the inside of these black and inserted the circle to prevent one from looking in the front and right on out the back.I may add the Swastika to the rudder, as a photo I have shows the Swastika was indeed applied.
Summary:
| Model: | Fieseler Fi-103R-IV |
| Kit: | Kartonowa Encyklopedia Series Number 9 |
| Designer: | Marek Pacynski |
| Scale: | 1/50 |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Parts: | Approximately 26 |
| Instructions: | Schematic diagrams |
| Fit: | Very good |
| Coloring and Artwork: | Very good |
| Printing: | Very good on nice paper |
| Special Parts Used: | Decal of Swastika�s (maybe) |
This model is available from Models by Marek at http://www.teuton.org/~dbarnett in the U.S on a CD in PDF format.
