Tamiya 1/48 Heinkel He 219 Brian Bourdon

Tamiya's 1/48 scale
Heinkel He 219 A-7

by Brian Bourdon

Heinkel He 219 A-7

Description

This is Tamiya’s Heinkel He 219 A-7 Uhu in quarter scale.

Prep Work

The cockpit is very good OOB but really comes to life with the addition of Eduard’s superlative color photo etch.

The instrument panel and side consoles in particular are simply brilliant in detail.

The only complaint I would have is that the Radio/Radar pieces are a bit flat. This is a negligeable short coming and easily remedied with the addition of a few styrene discs in various sizes. A Reheat bezel improved the look of (what I believe is) the Radio Detection Finder.

Beyond that, I worked in a few minor improvements where I could. The triangular structure by the Radar Operator’s seat was mirrored on the starboard side with a little card.

The sidewalls were improved with styrene strips, bits of wire and photo etch sourced from my spares box.

Of note, according to the only reference I had on hand – Schiffer’s profile by Dressel/Griehl) – the pilot’s footrests are probably representative of those in the A-0 model. I replaced these with a photo etched piece though, to be blunt, the original configuration would not have looked out of place.

General Construction

As I wanted to pose the boarding ladder in the open position, I hollowed out the recess and added a back plate before I buttoned up the fuselage.

The landing light consists of a blank space with a clear cover. I added the missing lenses. This is a simple fix.

The overall fit is typical of 90s era kits. The major pieces slotted into place with little fuss, with only a little liquid putty needed here and there. Some sanding was also required, but nothing too strenuous.

A Final Word on Camouflage (Almost)

I drank a lot of strong coffee over several nights before I was finally able to climb out of the rabbit hole of possible camouflage options for this bird. Based on the available literature, this is what I chose to do. Let’s call it an educated guess for lack of a better term.

The entire model was painted RLM 76 with a moderately tight pattern of small RLM 75 spots on the upper surface. To this I applied a fine mottle of RLM 81 which is supposed to be representative of a late war green’ applied in the field for better concealment on the ground.

Thumbnail panels:

Of note, as the only photo I could find of G9+CH showed the aircraft with the propellers removed, I thought it best to simply paint the spinners RLM 76 and leave it at that.

I used Aeromaster and Gunze paints to achieve the finish.

Finishing Touches

The kit decals worked very well over two light coats of Future which speaks volumes for a sheet printed 27 years ago. However, beyond the national markings there are no stencils save a lone fuel triangle. You are left to your own devices if you want more. In my case, I pilfered my decal file.

Conclusions

I am not sure what I found more entertaining. The kit itself, with its clever engineering and thoughtful attention to detail. (The weighted cockpit tub and wing spars in particular.) Or, Eduard’s colored photo etch which was a joy to work with. Either way, I haven’t had this much fun in a while. Now, on to the next project

Back to HyperScale Main Page