blog:models_mak_fledermaus [Target-Earth]

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====== Panzer Kampf Flugzeug 40 'Fledermaus' ======

  * Manufacturer: Nitto
  * Part number: Ma.K Series 11
  * Year of production: 1999
  * Scale: 1/20	
  * Series: Maschinen Krieger / ZbV 3000 / SF3D
  * Kit type: Multimedia kit (plastic, rubber piping, brass, etc), fixed pose (no real moving parts)
  * In-universe role: Aircraft, //Strahl Democratic Republic// or can be built as //Mercenary forces// variant
  * Build date: ???

This is a 20+ year old kit that I bought from Yahoo Auctions Japan (via [[http://www.buyee.com|Buyee.com]]) in August 2021. Finding one is pretty rare, since they've been out of print for over 20 years and no-one (Wave, Hasegawa, etc) seems to have made a modern reprint of the design.

//Manufacturers box art// and an image of a built-and-painted Fledermaus, below:

{{:blog:models:fledermaus-box-art_orig.jpg?500|}} {{:blog:models:fm-w042.jpg?500|}}

===== Tools Used =====

===== Colours Used =====

===== Background =====

The //Fledermaus//, or //Bat//, is one of the few dedicated flying vehicles in Maschinen Krieger; most being either armoured suits adapted for flight, or hover/anti-gravity vehicles.

In the lore, the Fledermaus was an early design that the //Strahl Democratic Republic// used to great effect when suppressing the colonists of Earth in the beginning of the war. I suppose as time went on, it was surpassed by dedicated anti-gravity vehicles like the //Falke//, and flight-capable armoured suits which didn't exist when it was introduced.

From an aesthetics perspective the //Fledermaus// definitely looks like a thrown-together design; it doesn't have much in the way of armour, the cockpit is cramped and the landing gear and propulsion system is all exposed. In a lot of ways that makes it seem like a much more plausible design!

I picked up the kit from my favourite haunt on Buyee.com in mid 2021, having been an out-of-print kit for over 20 years. Oddly, the //Fledermaus// is not a kit that Hasegawa has reproduced alongside their other modern remakes of the old Ma.K designs. You would think that with their aircraft model experience they would have produced a modern version - perhaps the old dies were lost?

===== Box Contents =====

Contents:

   * Instruction manual
   * 2x Painting guides / info cards (one for the //SDR P.K. 40 Fledermaus// variant, one for the //Mercenary J40S// variant)
   * 1x Waterslide decal sheet (with seperate decals for each variant)
   * 6x Parts sprues
     * (unlabelled), beige, fuselage
     * (unlabelled), clear, sensor covers
     * a (Hornisse), beige, landing struts etc
     * b (Hornisse), beige, thrusters & engine parts 
     * c (P.K 40), beige, cockpit, guns etc
     * d (P.K 40), clear canopy parts
     * Figure, beige
   * 1x Bag of multimedia parts (flexible tubing, copper rod, brass mesh)

Box artwork:

{{:blog:models:img20210813165943.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813165950.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813165958.jpg?400|}} 

{{:blog:models:img20210813170004.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813170016.jpg?400|}} 

Instruction manual:

{{:blog:models:img20210813170047.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813170059.jpg?400|}}

Painting guide (x2):

{{:blog:models:img20210813170124.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813170135.jpg?400|}} 

Main fuselage and clear canopy/sensor parts:

{{:blog:models:img20210813170210.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813170248.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813170255.jpg?400|}}

Thrusters, landing struts and detail parts:

{{:blog:models:img20210813170338.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813170357.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:models:img20210813170443.jpg?400|}}

Seated pilot figure:

{{:blog:models:img20210813170455.jpg?400|}}

Multimedia parts:

{{:blog:models:img20210813170222.jpg?400|}}

===== In-Progress Images =====