Now the starboard wing, which is a mirror of the port wing, so no need to go into too much detail.
However, for whatever reason, the fit of the Aires updates was problematic on this side. Lots more filing and sanding was required to thin down the kit parts. I’m perplexed because nothing seemed to be any different visually. Minor imperfections I suppose.
Its also a bloody pain to line up the three sections of the engine, landing gear bay and rear landing gear bay. A REAL PAIN.
Now the wings are mated to the fuselage, and they fit really nicely, I can’t tell visually if the wings aren’t level, they look pretty good to me. The kit comes with two large spars that go through the fuselage and enter the wings forward and aft of the aerodynamic C of G to ensure wing alignment with a slight initial anhedral… But of course, with the Aires update kit and the 20 mm wing root cannons fitted, these spars wont fit, so better get it right!
The canopy and nose are on and everything is masked up.
Going to move to the landing gear and propellors next.
Overall painting done and decals applied. Wanted to get a subtle ‘mottle’ effect on the upper surfaces - this is perhaps a bit too subtle, but it is what it is and I have to go with it now.
I’m scratching a tarpaulin to partially cover the Schrage Musik. Nest thing is pin washing on the upper surfaces.
Good progress, Roly! Yes, the He 219 is quite a big bird. As you may remember, I’ve built mine in 2021 but with all hatches closed. The only extra I have are brass made parts for the Lichtenstein Radar.
Thanks mate. On the Lichtenstein, i’ve used the kit mounting poles (lots of careful cutting and cleaning up) but AM brass antenna dipoles - the kit parts are one of the few areas of this kit that fail big time.
Even the way they attach to the sprues guarantees frustration.
I did a panel line wash on the upper surfaces and it looks alright. But, i’ve no idea how to do what amounts to a ‘negative’ (in the photographic sense) panel lne wash of black camouflage - so I didn’t.
This is all still a bit rough and needs tidying up
I was pleased that the landing gear fitment worked well and the aircraft sits level. Previous builds using Aires AM kits has been a lottery but i’m pleased to say that the AM landing gear wells worked well with the Tamiya kit.
All the upper surface engine cowls, access panels, propellors, transparencies, scratched tarpaulin and radar fitted and i’m going to say its done. The AM Lichtenstein radar was a pain to assemble and install (lining everything up) - but the kit parts are nowhere near good enough.
Of course it isn’t perfect! Many are looking at this and I know you’re thinking its an amateurish job - and it is to a point. Pictures are terrible so it doesn’t really do it justice. But i’m happy with it personally.
The Aires AM worked suprisingly well and is a must if you want to open up the engines. If you don’t want to do that, i’d simply get the Eduard cockpit detail set and masks and leave it at that.
Overall, an interesting aircraft and an enjoyable (mianly) build.
Roly, although I’m an armor guy, I’ve followed and liked this blog from the start. It’s a very interesting aircraft. You have put an exceptional amount of outstanding work into this project and I think you are selling yourself short on your assessment of the results. This is a beautiful project with fantastic detail and finishing. The cockpit and engine work are stunning. I see nothing wrong with your overall finish; it all looks nice to me. Great piece.
Agree with Matt, interesting build on an unusual subject… Finish looks nice and the bird has some very good detailing. AK do a panel liner for black finishes that I used sparingly on my Cr2 Nomad build …
