Richard's Dragon 1/72 He 219 A-0 UHU Night Fighter

[rtfoe]

Hi, I hope this will become a quick build as the kit looks good and parts aren't that many.

First thing was I had forgotten I had this kit and only just found it under my pile of kits that were salvaged from a flood back in 2006. The salvage team did a good job and most of the parts were intact as somost were still bagedand wasn't touched by mud. The box however bought it, the instruction sheet stained and decalsto be seen if they still worked.

I'll start with the customary sprue shot...



The kit comes with PE for the nose antenna and other external probes. Looking at the tightness of the cockpit to the fuselage I will be pressed in finding space for weight storage. I will have to improvise.
Overall surface is finely engraved. I will know when the fuselage halves are dry fitted to see if the fit is good.

Looking forward to building this Alien of a head looking aircraft.

Cheers,
Richard

[AlanG]

Looking forward to this Richard.

As for the weight. I would place it in the nose, nose wheel and front of the engine/propeller hubs if possible. All would help.

And as for it being an alien. I wouldn't let Bob see you type that lol

[rtfoe]

Thanks for the tip Allan, yup those are the points I would be filling...just figuring what with to explore maximum weight with minimum size.

Cheers,
Richard

[BattleshipBob]

Alien, Alien, Richard its a thing of menacing beauty!!

[rtfoe]

Bob, I agree that it has a menacingly purposeful look yet elegant but it's like a ballerina with an Alien head. :tears-of-joy: Looking from the front I'm expecting the jaws to open with snapping teeth and dripping saliva.

Hope mine builds up as smoothly as your Tammi kit. Checking all possible weight options now.

Cheers,
Richard

[BattleshipBob]

Hi Richard

Mines stalled along with everything not having the best of health at present.

Look forward to the build!!

All the best

Bob

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Always enjoy your builds so I'll follow along. What do you use for nose weight.
Jim

[rtfoe]

Bob, take care and get well soon.

Jim, good to have you along for the ride. I use anything from lead strips, fishing lead weights to ball bearings and secure them with either superglue or A+B putty. Here's an example I did for my Fokker Friendship...



I really packed it in.

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

Hi guys,
I did some inspection of the parts namely the PE and the sealed package kept it void of mud.



Checking the fit of the fuselage halves was ok until I looked at the panel lines...they didn't meet at the joints. Either I was going to turn a blind eye or decide to align them. Will see as we progress.



Painted the cockpit... the main color had to be mixed per the instructions with field grey and 5% black. The instrument detail was picked out in yellows , white and red. I added a little back rest for the seats and painted them RLM grey. As you can see I really packed every available space with lead strip, some even in the cannon pack in the belly and still it tipping ever so gently over to the tail. The engine nacelles will have to be packed with lead to be sure its not a tail sitter.



The instrument panel was dry brushed and diluted black applied with a sharp brush to the dials.



The test...if I move the pencil about 2mm forward which is where the rear wheel line would be, the tail would sit. Only option now is the engine nacelles.




Cheers,
Richard

[yak face]

Great work Richard , careful you don’t drop it though , it would break your toe with all that weight!! Shame about the panel lines not meeting up , sloppy tooling from dragon , knowing your builds I think you’re not going to rest until you’ve sorted them , and neither would I ! Cheers tony

[rtfoe]

Hey Thanks Tony, it weighs a ton already half full. Good thing those misaligned panels lines occur only at the top and are only four. I haven't joined the fuselage as I am still packing in weights.



Every nook and cranny including the gun bay and port panels. Lets pray the nose undercarriage is sturdy with all that weight. Feels like a dart.

Cheers,
Richard

[AlanG]

Looking good Richard. Are you going to fill in those misaligned panel lines and re-scribe?

[rtfoe]

Looking good Richard. Are you going to fill in those misaligned panel lines and re-scribe?

Thanks Alan, yes that is what I plan to do. I will pick one side of the fuselage to correct and shift for the scribing. At 1/72, I won't get too fussy about the right placing of the panels as long as it joins.

Cheers,
Richard

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Rescribing the lines will be easy for you and you are too good a modeller to let it go. Plenty of weight in there - put it on a reinforced shelf!! Cockpit looks excellent.
Jim

[rtfoe]

Hi Jim, seriously if I get lazy I would give scribing a miss. The four lines could become a nightmare so even as simple as it might seem I'll approach it carefully. Will get to try my new fine scriber. This slim lady has bones that will make a weighing machine cry. :smiling6: Thanks regarding the cockpit, you can get away quite a lot with this scale. Seatbelts next.

Cheers,
Richard