Hutter Hu-136 "Stubo II" Luft '46 Ground Attack Fighter Concept (1938)

Scale: 1/72
Initial Release: 2008
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

As the storm clouds of WWII gathered on the horizon, Nazi Germany's Reich Air Ministry let it be known they were in the market for a high-performance heavy-duty dive bomber/ground attack fighter. Two German glider designers, Wolfgang and Ulrich Hütter, responded with two designs for a radical single-seat aircraft. The first, the Stubo 1, would be capable of carrying two 250 kg bombs beneath its elongated fuselage. The larger Stubo 2 was even longer and was equipped with an internal bomb bay capable of carrying a 1,000 kg ordinance load.

Both planes were designed to be launched by a detachable trolley to keep their overall weight down, landing to be accomplished via a retractable skid. The pilot would sit at the rear of the aircraft, the cockpit canopy also serving as the plane's rudder.

Ultimately, the Air Ministry passed on the unusual proposal, choosing instead to manufacturer the far more conventional Henschel HS 129.

About the Kit

Released in May 2008, the Hu-136 "Stubo II" was mastered and cast exclusively for Fantastic Plastic Models by Anigrand Craffswork of Hong Kong. The kit consisted of 14 resin parts, including pilot's seat and joystick (not seen in these photos) as well as a clear resin canopy.

Based on the only existing drawings by Hutter, the model does NOT have the channels for nose-mounted machine guns. (These don't exist in the original documentation.) To match the box art drawings by French CGI artist Gery Gueville, machine gun placements were created by use of custom-designed and printed decals (not included with the actual kit).