Eduard Heinkel He.219 Uhu Update Sets (for Tamiya)

[Mike]

Heinkel He.219 Uhu Update Sets (for Tamiya)

1:48 Eduard

 

 

The Tamiya kit of the impressive-looking He.219 has been with us for quite a while now, and despite its advancing years, it is just as good a kit as it was then, along the same lines of quality as their very well-regarded Mosquito kit in the same scale.  The Uhu/Owl appeared near the end of WWII partially at least due to the influence of Ernst Heinkel with the RLM, bullying its way into limited production despite its known shortcomings that were never fixed due to its short lifespan and eventual cancellation and reinstatement.  Its future was curtailed at the end of WWII, with the only surviving airframe one that was taken back to the US by Operation Paperclip, and thankfully saved from destruction after study.

 

These sets use all of Eduard's newer techniques to bring the cockpit up to modern standards, adding pre-painted panels, clear domes over the instruments, STEEL seatbelts for better drape and more realistic painting, and masks that cater for both sides of the clear parts for more realism.  As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between.

 

 

Update Set (49947)

The initial thrust of this two fret set is the cockpit, with a complete refurbishment of the instrumentation in the form of new laminated instrument panels; side consoles; radio equipment and sidewall details, and new parts for the gunsight, including clear acetate parts for the glazing.  The rudder pedals are replaced by new parts; the sidewalls are detailed with new skins; new nose gear bay skins and leg details in the shape of hoses and oleo-scissors.  Moving to the wing, the main bay is filled out with a detailed skin inside and a new rear bulkhead to close out the area; the engine intakes have radiator panel skins and a wiring loom for the engines, as well as mesh panels for the ends of the flame-hiders on the exhausts.  A set of edge-panels are installed on the upper wing overlapping the leading edges of the flying surfaces, then the various antennae, including the large nose-mounted dipoles, are replaced with more in-scale parts, using a little 0.4 and 0.8mm rod from your own supplies to provide the main supports.

 

 

 

 

Zoom! Set (FE947)

This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above.  Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements.

 

 

 

 

Seatbelts (FE948)

In case you've been stuck behind a rock for the last year or two, STEEL belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting.  Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE.  You get two full sets of belts for the crew seats, with the trapezoid anti-chaff pads as separate parts.

 

 

 

Masks TFace (EX634)

Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape.  In addition you get a set of hub masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort.  The TFace masks also give you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism.

 

 

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