CMK Heinkel He.162A Update Sets (for Special Hobby/Dragon)

[Mike]

Heinkel He.162A Update Sets (for Special Hobby/Dragon)

1:72 CMK by Special Hobby

 

 

 

 

The He.162 was the winner of the VolksJäger contest in the defence of the Reich once the war had turned against the Nazis.  Special Hobby have a new tool kit on the books and have now released a small gaggle of upgrade parts for the detail enthusiast, broken down into three sets, plus another to update the older Dragon kit in the same scale.  The two sets of wheels and the ejection seat are in the green-backed and bagged Quick & Easy series, while the two main sets for engine, gun bays and figures are in the usual yellow clamshell packs, all with instructions pinned to the rear.

 

Wheels (Special Hobby Q72362 & Dragon Q72368)

These two sets for their respective kits contain three wheel parts on a single casting block, with the mating point attaching to the slightly flattened contact patches.  The sets are of course patterned to their kits, so select the one for you.

 

 

 

 

 

BMW 003 Jet Engine (7443 for Special Hobby)

This set contains six resin parts on their own casting blocks, complete with a fully detailed engine in two parts with two cowling parts plus intake lip and exhaust cowling, with the colour call-outs shown in the various instruction steps, and requiring a tiny piece of wire to portray the DF loop on top of the engine cowling.  When complete, it drops into place on the upper fuselage of the model in place of the kit assembly.

 

 

 

 

 

Gun Bays (7444 for Special Hobby)

This set involves no cutting of the model, as Special Hobby have included the gun bay covers in the kit for the modeller to glue closed.  This set fills that gap with six resin parts, two of those are the bays, two more for the MG 151/20 that inhabit each side of the nose, and two final parts provide in-scale bay doors with internal details to finish off.

 

 

 

 

Ejection Seat (Q72361)

The rudimentary ejection seat in the 162 was a simple affair with none of the crew-comforts we see in modern seats, and at 1:72 it’s a little thing.  It is mounted on a casting block that needs cutting off, then the PE belts and additional seat parts in the shape of the foot-rests and hand-holds are attached, hopefully protecting the pilot from flail injuries in the event of an emergency ejection, providing the pilot didn’t lose grip.

 

 

 

 

Three Pilot Figures (F72365)

There are three pilots in the box, each in a different form of dress and pose.  One is wearing a greatcoat and cap, looking skyward, the second is dressed ready to fly with helmet and parachute strapped to his back, adjusting his gloves.  The final figure is dressed in typical pilot garb when off-duty, with breeches, leather jacket, knee-length boots and officer’s cap, doing a creditable impression of Adolf Galland from certain angles. You can use them individually or as a group, and they would be equally appropriate for any WWII German aircraft.

 

 

 

Conclusion

These sets take a modern kit and fill it with detail that will set it apart from the base kit, and give lots of scope for dioramas into the bargain.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Mike]

Review Updated with additional items in the shape of Ejection Seat and Three Crew Figure sets.