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1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil Each complete kit contains the basic frame sections, the elevator & rudder fins, the landing gear wheels, the 7-cylinders radial engine, the upper rotor transmission & gearbox, the rotor heads & rotor blades, the two cylindrical 25 litres fuel...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil Each one of the two complete custom-made kits consists of 60 different 3D printed parts, some quite big and some others so tiny that could be easily become victims of the carpet monster. The only difference between these two Kriegsmarine’s V6...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil Shortly thereafter, the 3D printing proceeding outcome pleased me while watching the Mbytes, magically converting into actual physical objects. Yeah, that’s what I call “cool gadgets” on a scale modeler’s service. As soon as 3D printing process...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil After digitally building the Fl-282 Kolibri 3D model using only mouse clicks, I saved it as an STL - STereoLithography format binary file and forward it on the 3D replicator to start generating the individual parts of the actual scale model. To...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil Some additional parts unrelated to the helicopter structure, also designed to get 3D printed later and be used later as part of a diorama scene. For example a couple of 200 litres fuel drums (also known as 55 gallons drums in USA) and few 20...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil As previously said, I found interesting idea to have the 7-cylinders radial engine would be installed inside the helicopter's belly in the fuselage center-section (and become almost hidden) and also 3D print a second removed engine, place it on...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil This is the 3D design of one of the two rotor heads, equipped with vibration dampers “pots” on the blade roots. Each one of the separately 3D printed rotor blades, will be later attached on the blade root connecting hinges and the outcome will...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil The doped fabric cover over the truss-type welded tubes & wooden ribs is about 0.4 mm thick (in some special areas about 0.7 mm). Thinking as a rivet counter, this 0.4 to 0.7 mm thick “fabric cover” could be considered as an out-of-scale...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil The biggest part of the kit are the 4 rotor blades measuring approx 28 cm long each. The fuselage was CAD designed such way and later 3D printed into two main section parts with all included truss-type welded tubes and drive shaft rods with...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil This is the complex of intermeshing rotor gearbox. It turned out (as happened in the actual helicopter) that it was the hardest and most complicated part to build, because it was not easy for me to get a technical manual describing the gearbox...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil CHAPTER II - Converting Mbytes into actual physical objects Before start building a new scale model, I always try to study as much as possible the object of construction. Any available references such as technical manuals and detailed photos...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil Captured helicopter #4: It is reported that another Fl-282 helicopter which had been assigned to TransportStaffel TS40 was captured at Rangsdorf by Red Army forces in serviceable condition and later transferred to USSR for further testing &...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil Towards the end of World War II, most of the surviving Flettner Fl-282s were stationed at Rangsdorf AB & Ainring AB at Mühldorf, Bavaria, in their role as artillery spotters, assigned to TransportStaffel (transport squadron) TS40, the...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil However, as the War progressed, the Luftwaffe began considering converting the Kolibri for battlefield use. Until this time the helicopter had been flown by a single pilot, but by then a seat for an observer was added at the very rear of the...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil The Kriegsmarine HQs was impressed with the Flettner Fl-282 Kolibri and wanted to evaluate it for submarine spotting duties, ordering an initial 15 helicopters, to be followed by 30 production models. Flight testing of the first two prototypes...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil The two 2-blade rotors, which were synchronized to be parallel in the 45° position, were mounted on shafts having an included angle of 24° between them and an inclination forward of 6°. The rotor blades consisted of wooden ribs mounted on...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil It was equipped with flight and navigation instruments such as an ASI - AirSpeed Indicator, an altimeter, a VSI - Vertical Speed Indicator, a turn & bank indicator, RPM indicator for rotors, rotor blade angle indicator, a master compass and a...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil CHAPTER I - Meeting the Kolibri The Flettner Fl-282 Kolibri, a single seat open cockpit intermeshing rotor synchropter, was the World’s first mass produced helicopter and the first helicopter to land on a ship. Today one can say without...

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuild model After request, a 1/18 scale Fl-282 V6 helicopter with WWII Kriegsmarine markings built for a wealthy collector from Kiel, Germany. A second Luftwaffe’s Fl-282 V21 model followed for my own personal collection at home. Since the whole...

CHAPTER IV - Dressing code options A typical modeller has already decided all the details about the model he is about to build (color, nationality, diorama scene etc.) from the beginning. Those who have attended my previous projects, may recall that this is not my way. I prefer to proceed one...