FunKey Fuselages Review
Outstanding Quality For The Price

by John Salt - Updated September 2023

I'm very impressed with FunKey Fuselages (scale bodies), as you may know from my Scale RC Helicopter page.

600/50 Size Bell 222 FunKey Fuselage Scale RC Helicopter with 600ESP Mechanics

The fiberglass quality on Fun-Key's scale helicopter bodies is top notch and the pre-finished versions (meaning all painted) save so much time if your air brushing/painting skills are as challenged as mine are.  

No, they are not super scale with hundreds of little raised rivets (nothing preventing you from doing that later); but for the price, you'll be hard pressed to find better quality pre-finished scale RC helicopter bodies.

Paint lines are crisp with no running/bleeding and all get clear coated for a deep rich shine and glass smooth finish.

You can also get "unfinished versions", allowing you to put whatever color scheme you choose on them. Their unpainted fuselages cost roughly half that of the painted ones.

My Current "FunKey Fleet" All Using 600ESP Mechanics

Heat Oxidation On Stainless Exhaust Nozzles

One nice detail I particularly like on their Bell 222's & Airwolf is they now come with actual stainless steel exhaust nozzles.

The latest ones are even coming with real heat oxidized coloration on the nozzle tips which adds a nice touch of realism.

Some people even ask me if it's turbine powered. It's a really nice detail you normally don't see that often on a scale model in this price range.

Top Notch Fiberglass & Carbon Layup

As I mentioned, the fiberglass layup is outstanding and the bodies are light yet strong. The above photo shows off the typically superb interior fiberglass workmanship quality along with the carbon fiber reinforcements in the high stress areas on this 50/600 size FunKey Airwolf. This will be my fifth FunKey fuse and I'm always impressed - why I stick with them.

Century Helicopter Products was the Fun-Key Aeroplane Models & Balsawood MFR (their full company name) distributor here in North America but since they (Century) closed down, FunKey is now carried by other distributors such as Heli Direct in the USA and one of the largest FunKey dealers in the world, Jet Tech Models out of Hong Kong.  

FunKey Manufacturing Label

All FunKey RC helicopter fuselages will have this FK-AB decal/label laminated within the fiberglass (generally located up in the doghouse), so you know you are getting the legitimate item.

Many RC heli fliers know FunKey are pretty much the largest RC helicopter rotor blade manufacturer in the world, producing some of the best rotor blades on the market.

These include their own Rotortech blade brand and several other premium brands who outsource the manufacturing to FunKey (knowing their awesome build quality) such as Edge blades, Rail blades and Radix blades.

It's little wonder that FunKey are also capable of making some of the nicest quality fuselages as well given their world class rotor blades.   

FunKey Fuselages come nicely boxed, well secured in foam box bracing, and well wrapped in tissue paper & foam wrap unlike some others that are just thrown in a box and get all warped or scratched.

FunKey's Protective Fuselage Packaging

It's always fun and exciting unwrapping a scale FunKey helicopter body along with the tail fins and other included hardware; and then your eyes pop out when that shiny scale body is finally uncloaked from its wrapping - drooling permitted ;-)

I Love This Part ;-)

FunKey Fuselages are meant for larger RC helicopters and come in 3 different size segments. They are numbered by nitro engine size followed by electric heli size:

• 30/550

• 50/600

• 90/700

The other really nice thing is FunKey is one of the very few scale RC helicopter fuselage manufacturers to offer up an in-depth yet very easy sizing chart with all their specific body styles & sizes.

These few simple dimensions on these sizing charts make it possible to determine if your set of RC helicopter mechanics will fit into the specific fuselage you are thinking of.

Speaking of mechanics, the 600/50 size FunKey's are my fuses of choice using the proven T-Rex 600 ESP mechanics.

Just do a Google search for "FunKey 600 scale RC helicopters" and you will see the majority are using 600 ESP mechanics. The overall layout and battery placement in the ESP are what make them work so well for scale projects. 600ESP mechanics are of course not the only ones that will work, but they are by far the most popular.

Align unfortunately discontinued the 600ESP a number of years ago leaving so many of us "scale guys", out on a limb. Phoenixtech makes a good 600ESP clone however. Here's my full review of it. 

FunKey Bell 206L (Long Ranger)

The rest of this page is devoted to the specific sizes and models of FunKey's fuselages. I have included photos of every model Fun-Key offers in each of the three sizes, but I have not shown every color scheme. I do list what color options they come in beside each photo.

30/550 Size FunKey Fuselages

550 Size - Agusta Westland AW109 Series

FunKey 30/550 Size Agusta 109A (Blue)

550 Size - Bell 222/230 Series

FunKey 30/550 Size Bell 222 (Green)

FunKey 30/550 Size AirWolf

550 Size - Bell 206 Jet Ranger Series

FunKey 30/550 Size Jet Ranger (Red)

550 Size - Bell 206L Long Ranger Series

FunKey 30/550 Size Long Ranger (Yellow)

50/600 Size FunKey Fuselages

600 Size - Agusta Westland AW109 Series

FunKey 50/600 Size Agusta (Coast Guard)

600 Size - Eurocopter / Air Bus AS350 Écureuil A-Star Series

FunKey 50/600 Size AS350 (Blue)

600 Size - Bell 222/230 Series

FunKey 50/600 Size Bell 222 (Red)

FunKey 50/600 Size AirWolf

600 - Size - Bell 206 Jet Ranger Series

FunKey 50/600 Size Jet Ranger (Green)

600 Size - Bell 206L Long Ranger Series

FunKey 50/600 Size Long Ranger (Blue)

600 Size - Hughes / McDonnell Douglas 500 Series

FunKey 50/600 Size MD500E (Yellow)

600 ESP Helicopter Mechanics

The video below shows the basics of a 600 ESP mechanics installation into the FunKey 50/600 size Airwolf (same method for the Bell 222), if you are wondering how it's done & how easy or difficult the build is based on your modelling experience.

90/700 Size FunKey Fuselages

700 Size - Agusta Westland AW109 Series

FunKey 90/700 Size Agusta 109A (Coast Guard)

700 Size - Bell 222 / Airwolf Series

FunKey 90/700 Size Bell 222 (Green)

700 Size - Bell 206 Jet Ranger Series

FunKey 90/700 Size Jet Ranger (Red)

700 Size - Bell 206L Long Ranger Series

FunKey 90/700 Size Long Ranger (Yellow)

700 Size - Hughes / McDonnell Douglas 500 Series

FunKey 90/700 Size MD500E (Army Desert)

To conclude my FunKey Fuselage Write-up, I'll finish off with a video of my 600 size Fun Key Bell 222 powered by Align T-Rex 600ESP Mechanics.  

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