# Bronco Models' piloted V-1



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Ah, those Kookie nazis.

Here's my build of Bronco Models' new 1/35 Fiesler F1-103 R4, the V-1 with a cockpit:

http://www.inpayne.com/models/fi103r4a.html

The idea was for the pilot to bail out after aiming the aircraft at the target, but it's doubtful anybody would have made it. Luckily for the volunteers it never went operational.

The model -

Pros: 

Excellent molding
No flash
good detail
decal sheet full of stencils
press-fit parts (as opposed to snap) could be assembled with no glue.
Cons: 

The press-fit pins are so tight that it's impossible to get the parts all the way together! You need to open the holes a little, or cut the pins off. The wing dowels broke off when I tried to push them in. I made a spar out of plastic tube and drilled holes in the wings for it.
Although there are over a dozen stencil decals, the instructions only tell you where to put _two _of them! Oddly, if you have Monogram's book "V Missiles of the Third Reich," you can use the marking diagram on page 321. The ref numbers even match.
The stencil decals are printed in bright green, when all photos I have show them as black on the real aircraft.
The "operational color scheme" on the box wasn't really. They used a picture of a display aircraft from after the war, that was cobbled together from parts of several others.


But once it's together it looks cool, and it's a nice big size.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Couldn't imagine how much FOD or pilot would be sucked into the engine. Great looker anyway! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: rr


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## Parts Pit Mike (Jan 3, 2001)

Yeah.. no escape for the pilot in that design.


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## Andrew Gorman (Jan 24, 2000)

It's a pulse jet, not a jet turbine so I don't think there would be that much suction into the intake. The forward momentum of the aircraft blows fresh air in, the shutters close and the fuel goes BOOM. Lather , rinse, and repeat 45 times per second or so and you go fast. Shut the engine off, you just have a big fin to avoid if unfortunate enough to have to bail out.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Right, and the only thing more ominous than the distinctive pulse-jet sound of a "Buzz Bomb" was the silence of the engine cutting off, indicating it was about to fall to earth and explode.

http://www.earthstation1.com/WWIIAudio/v1_sound.wav


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

^Well, THAT was chilling!


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Assuming the pilot is able to bail out safely, without being sucked into the engine or banging his head on part of the missile as he goes, and that his parachute deploys properly, he still has to hope his captors don't mind too much that he flew the missile which has just exploded on top of them.
If he has just flown across the English Channel to aim his missile at something in the south of England, he might be captured gently and spend the rest of the war drinking tea; but if his job was to fly east, to aim his missile at the approaching Soviet troops, he might prefer not to bail out at all!


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Cro-Magnon Man said:


> . . . if his job was to fly east, to aim his missile at the approaching Soviet troops, he might prefer not to bail out at all!


Survival kit contents check. In them you will find:

One .45 caliber automatic
Two boxes of ammunition
Four days’ concentrated emergency rations
One drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
One miniature combination Russian phrasebook and Bible
One hundred dollars in rubles
One hundred dollars in gold
Nine packs of chewing gum
One issue of prophylactics
Three lipsticks
Three pair of nylon stockings . . .

Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

Seriously, though, did the hypothetical mission profile include what the pilot was supposed to do after bailing out and finding himself in enemy territory?


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

Okay if your list is serious wouldnt I have either a Luger or Walther 9mm instead of a .45 cal.?

Also lets say I flew that mission and successfully bailed out. I am trying to elude being captured and possibly treated very badly by my captors.
Then why would I need these???????

One issue of prophylactics
Three lipsticks
Three pair of nylon stockings . . .

Max Bryant


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

For barter!


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

MightyMax said:


> Okay if your list is serious wouldnt I have either a Luger or Walther 9mm instead of a .45 cal.?
> 
> Also lets say I flew that mission and successfully bailed out. I am trying to elude being captured and possibly treated very badly by my captors.
> Then why would I need these???????
> ...


 
The list isn't serious, Max; it's a quote from Slim Pickens, who plays a B52 pilot, in the film Dr Strangelove.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Cro-Magnon Man said:


> The list isn't serious, Max; it's a quote from Slim Pickens, who plays a B52 pilot, in the film Dr Strangelove.


I assumed he was playing along. I mean, is there anyone who _hasn't_ seen _Dr. Strangelove_?

[IMG-LEFT]http://www.filmsquish.com/guts/files/images/Dr.%20Strangelove.JPG[/IMG-LEFT]


"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here!
This is the War Room!"







Getting back to the topic (approximately), I suppose a planned bail-out over enemy territory was at least preferable to flying the Me-163 Komet.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Naw, with the Komet, you at least had a _30_ percent chance of getting home again.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

Well, what about bailing out of the V-1 through the bottom like a trap door, wouldn't the pilot have a better chance of survival instead of jettisoning the cockpit windows which is in font of the engine intake.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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