Eduard Heinkel He 280 - 1/48 Eduard ProfiPACK

[Julien]

He 280 (8068)

1:48 Eduard ProfiPACK Edition

 

 

Even though the He 178 was the worlds first aircraft to fly under turbojet power alone it was met with a great deal of indifference by the Luftwaffe. Herman Goring did not even attend the first demonstration flight for the authorities. Not to be deterred by this Heinkel decided to press on with jets and developed the He 280. This was to be a twin engined design, this was to feature elliptical shaped wings and a dihedral tail plane with twin fins and rudder. It also introduced a tricycle undercarriage. In another first the aircraft would be equipped with a compressed air powered ejection seat. The first prototype was completed in the summer of 1940. Even though demonstrated to the authorities, their response was still lacklustre. The following two years were frustrated by engine development problems. This lead to the rival BMW003 being selected for the aircraft. Indeed the 2nd prototype was even fitted with Jumo 004 engines. Ultimately in 1943 Erhard Milch who was in charge of Aircraft Production cancelled the project in favour of the Me 262. It was reported the Ernst Heinkel remained bitter about this decision until his death.

 

 

The Kit

Eduard first issued this kit on 1999 and this is now its third re-boxing. This profipack boxing comes with mask and PE in the box. Construction starts in the cockpit area. The base parts for the seat are added along with the control column. Pe replaces the instrument faces on the side consoles. Rudder pedals are added. The main instrument panel is built up from plastic parts, PE and a film. PE seat-belts are added to the seat. 

 

 

The main wings are made up, these are of conventional upper and lower parts for each side. Different slots need opening for different decal options. The main fuselage is made up by adding in the cockpit and nose wheel bay. Bunny pops up to remind us to add nose weight but forgets to say how much! The wings are then added and the tailplane complete with fins and rudders.

 

 

 

Next up the engines are added to the wings. Depending on with prototype you want to model these are either Heinkel's 8a's or Jumo 004's. Once these are made up they are added to the wings. Construction then moves onto the main gear. A tow part tyre is added to a simple strut and the retraction arm is added. At the front a two part wheel is added to the main strut and its retraction strut is also added. All gear door can then be added. The canopy can then be added. Either a single part or two part can be added as needed.  Masks are supplied for painting the canopy and wheels. 

 

 

 

Decals
Decals are in house from Eduard and should pose no issues. There is a main sheet and a supplemental sheet for the stencils, markings are provided for three examples, the 2nd Prototype,  the 3rd Prototype, and the 8th Prototype; all are painted overall RLM02.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion
This is a welcome re-release from Eduard in a ProfiPACK box. Recommended.

 

 

 

     

Review sample courtesy of

[Gorby]

One for the wish list. 

[Tim T]

One to wait for the discounters to get their hands on.  €40 for a 19 year old kit is pretty steep.  

[SleeperService]

TBH it has stood the test of time well. If you read the newsletter you'll know that the molds weren't stored in a dedicated facility. The one thing that lets it down are the main wheels which are very plain. I did e-mail Eduard about the resin ones included in an earlier boxing, they replied that there was no information available and, in today's market, I can understand their reluctance to supply the resin ones if they get called out on it. However if anybody knows different I'm sure they and us would love to know.

 

Anybody else noticed that other kits aren't mentioning the weight required anymore. Even where a previous boxing did?

 

The undercarriage bays could do with some love as they are a bit crude but it's still a good kit IMHO.