He 219 A-0 Uhu Zoukei-mura

[Thom216]

Some hard modelling really paying off!

[trickyrich]

gosh Alistair what an awesome job on her so far, those engines and fuel cell look amazing!

 

I have seen the reviews of those masks as well, they sound amazing, looking froward to see how you fair with them.

 

My resistance factor for this model has dropped to 20%......I can see myself looking for space in the stash quite soon......

[Mottlemaster]

On 13/06/2023 at 09:16, trickyrich said:

gosh Alistair what an awesome job on her so far, those engines and fuel cell look amazing!

 

I have seen the reviews of those masks as well, they sound amazing, looking forward to see how you fair with them.

 

My resistance factor for this model has dropped to 20%......I can see myself looking for space in the stash quite soon......

As a secondary aim to finishing this kit i will count reducing your resistance to Zero

 

Since last update i have almost completed cockpit . Much has been said about the use of 3d printed instruments etc . I like others do feel their is a trade  off with loosing the satisfaction off a successful hand paint job verses the near perfect detailed 3d instruments . 

The color of the Red fox product Rlm 66is perfect as is the fit . decided to attach using pva glue to give time to make sure they were all square etc .

 

unfortunately most of the radio and radar details will be hidden when attached to side walls

 

I left one of the radar visors off so the cathode ray tubes are visible and more of the radio equipment can be seen .

 

So far I'm finding this to be one of the most enjoyable kits iv ever built . I have never taken so much time to weather and paint the detail .  Defiantly a case of tantric modeling

 

Thanks for looking

Alistair

[trickyrich]

22 hours ago, Mottlemaster said:

As a secondary aim to finishing this kit i will count reducing your resistance to Zero

 

 

 

the only saving grace is I'll have no money to buy it as I'm after the JetMADS 1/48th P2V Neptune......and that'll keep me broke for a while!!!  🙄

 

....hmmm probably not! 

 

All that aside, the AM cockpit update is well worth the money, looks awesome!!!!!!

[Alan P]

On 6/25/2023 at 10:19 AM, Mottlemaster said:

So far I'm finding this to be one of the most enjoyable kits iv ever built

That's great to hear, certainly seems to be paying off, that cockpit looks brilliant. Also good to see the Red Fox accessories colours match the recommended paint colour, that's a feature which has so far eluded Eduard and Quinta 🤔

[Mottlemaster]

On 28/06/2023 at 16:59, Alan P said:

Also good to see the Red Fox accessories colours match the recommended paint colour, that's a feature which has so far eluded Eduard and Quinta

Thats true Alan . I have many pieces of ww2 Luftwaffe equipment from early , mid and late war periods and the RLM 66  dark grey is consistent in color .  The red fox version i recon is a perfect scale color being just slightly lighter . Matches the Mr Color i am using .

 

The cockpit and front wheel well are now almost complete  (except canopy

 

 

The pop up armor plating at front of cockpit is an interesting feature . Never realized it existed . you only get the option to have it in the raised position  .(i think )

 Two cathode ray tubes in the FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar system can be seen at the rear of cockpit .

 

This is an example from my collection complete with the plotting grid

 

looks like Red Fox got the cathode ray tubes the right color

Next stage is Rear fuselage . This is a huge section . can see at least 3 weeks or more .

 

cheers

Alistair

[trickyrich]

ok, am back for my regular plastic porn update!! 

 

That cockpit section does look amazing, heaps of detail that will be seen under the green-house of that canopy.

 

That is so super cool you have an actual CRT!!!  

 

Ok now I have had my fix I'll go have a wee bit of a lie down to recover!

[mick]

great work on the pit

[galgos]

Well you can't get more authentic than that Alistair!  What a great piece of kit.  

 

I find the later war battle between the Nachtjagd and Bomber Command absolutely fascinating, there were so many elements that shaped the way that tactical advantages ebbed and flowed including technological innovations and countermeasures on both sides, limitations on petrol supplies and aircrew training from the Luftwaffe perspective and the Allied advances across Europe towards the Homeland.  I'm reading an excellent book at the moment called "Battle of the Beams" about the use of radio waves to guide bombers to their targets....just finished part one about the early war years with Knickebein, X- and Y-Gerat and about to star part two which I presume with be about Gee, Oboe etc from the Allied side, and playing a major role on both is R V Jones.

[Mottlemaster]

On 01/07/2023 at 13:44, galgos said:

Well you can't get more authentic than that Alistair!  What a great piece of kit.  

 

I find the later war battle between the Nachtjagd and Bomber Command absolutely fascinating, there were so many elements that shaped the way that tactical advantages ebbed and flowed including technological innovations and countermeasures on both sides, limitations on petrol supplies and aircrew training from the Luftwaffe perspective and the Allied advances across Europe towards the Homeland.  I'm reading an excellent book at the moment called "Battle of the Beams" about the use of radio waves to guide bombers to their targets....just finished part one about the early war years with Knickebein, X- and Y-Gerat and about to star part two which I presume with be about Gee, Oboe etc from the Allied side, and playing a major role on both is R V Jones.

Like you Max , i too find the night air war fascinating . I have heard of the Battle of the beams book but not read it . I can recommend  

 

A nicely laid out book which also covers some details to help detail many of 100 groups electronic warfare equipped aircraft .

 

Work on the 219 fuselage has started .

 

This is probably one of the most crucial stages of the construction to get right . Instructions indicate that even 1/10 mm out and disaster awaits . Its a particularly difficult stage as its really only the bulkheads  that keep the two half's together so doing a dry run is hard

I have attached the bulkheads before painting so as to avoid the thickness of paint throughing  things out.  All panel lines match up so i hope when i come to attach the multitude of panels , wings and tail it all works out but wont know until i get to them ....

 

After a coat of duralium , ready for some weathering

here is the floor section for the 3rd crew member or traveling mechanic 

 

My first attempt at painting some wood grain , of course when assembled it will never be seen again apart from here on the forum .

The oxygen bottles likewise never to be seen .

This is a typical Luftwaffe O2 bottle from my collection

 

I have just painted the two white stripes on the kit bottles .

Other bits and bobs to go in

 

Added some plastic strip banding to the flame dampers as ZM missed this detail

 

Thats all for now .Thanks for looking

Alistair

[galgos]

Just finished “Battle of the Beams”, fantastic book…..here’s a recommendation that I’ve written over on LSP.  Yes, both of Streetly's books are excellent:

 

 

as is this one:

 

 

Some years ago, as a result of my research, I was contacted by an American lady who had found a roll of maps; she emailed me with copies asking for advice and I managed to find out that they were from a 223 Squadron crew flying counter-measures operations in Liberators, their plane being "G-Gremin Heaven!  This is one of the maps, and an amusing detail from the middle portion:

 

 

 

Also love the question in the lower right corner:  Monty's men?  Osnabruck around that time (April 45) was the home of Geschwaderkommodore Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of course and NJG 4.

[trickyrich]

Arrrrr, just had my weekly dose of plastic porn......now for a wee lie down!  

 

a with regards to the build it's looking awesome, some nice detailing work with the brush.

[Thom216]

Liking the wood grain!

[stevej60]

Shap[ng up wonderfully,great work all round.

[Mottlemaster]

On 11/07/2023 at 14:14, galgos said:

Just finished “Battle of the Beams”, fantastic book…..here’s a recommendation that I’ve written over on LSP.  Yes, both of Streetly's books are excellent:

 

 

as is this one:

 

 

Some years ago, as a result of my research, I was contacted by an American lady who had found a roll of maps; she emailed me with copies asking for advice and I managed to find out that they were from a 223 Squadron crew flying counter-measures operations in Liberators, their plane being "G-Gremin Heaven!  This is one of the maps, and an amusing detail from the middle portion:

 

 

 

Also love the question in the lower right corner:  Monty's men?  Osnabruck around that time (April 45) was the home of Geschwaderkommodore Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of course and NJG 4.

Thanks galgos for the tips . I have just purchased a copy of Confound and Destroy but fear it may now slow my build down

 

The fuselage is now closed up . What a job that was ,took an age of dry fits etc to make sure all the covering panels will fit . I haven't decided how much will be buttoned up for now so have painted and detailed all areas to keep options open

 

 

Photo off all fuselage ,cockpit and tail dry fitted together .

The fuel tanks are empty as i will wait for fuel prices to drop further before filling

 

 

The mask with the x on is covering the rear cabin window . Until i started this kit i had no idea the 219 even had a rear cabin .

 

The four 20mm mg 151 cannons in the underbelly pack with associated fire control boxes to rear .

i was lucky enough to pick one of these SVK2 machine gun control boxes up a few years ago .

 

port side of fuselage with electric cabling 

 

starboard side with control linkages

 

I am at the stage of construction where im not sure if iv plenty of time to finish or i don't stand a chance . There is just so much to this kit and so far im having a blast .

thanks for looking

Alistair

[Thom216]

The blast should be the best part! Looking real good, esp with all those details.

[mick]

great work

[trickyrich]

gee all that careful test fitting and attention to detail really shows, even at this stage she's stunning.

[Alan P]

This is looking fantastic Alastair. What a superb kit, must make for an enjoyable build experience.

[galgos]

Really impressive work Alistair, I like it a lot! I guess though it’s the perennial question: “How much will be visible?”.

[Mottlemaster]

On 30/07/2023 at 07:20, Alan P said:

This is looking fantastic Alastair. What a superb kit, must make for an enjoyable build experience.

Yes Alan this project ,so far has been a real pleasure . Didn't know weather i could maintain focus on a complicated build for an extended period of time and so far its easy for the hours to shoot by .

One thing for sure , this is not to be rushed . Saying that there are a few areas that need their final assembly to happen as one action so that multiple parts can be wriggled together to check their coordinates against reference points on the  skeleton to which the bulkheads , wing panels and other sub assemblies are all attached .

 

i find myself doing the gluing of major parts mid morning when i am at my sharpest  and not getting hand wobble due to drinking too much coffee .

 

I now start                      Chapter 2 ...... The wings .

Even more complex than the fuselage . I can see that there is just so much that can go wrong here . may start to get an idea of problems that i have started with the engine builds etc.

 

made a start with the 20mm cannon shells .

 

The instructions and the Daniel Zamarbide - Airframe Constructor Nr. 2 book both have the shell casings as painted brass . Very few Luftwaffe MG FF or MG 151 20mm sheels were made from brass this late in the war , most being made of steel painted in a dark brown or green paint .

 

This is a 20mm Brgr. Patr. L’spur. m. Zerl (Flugzeug Bordwaffenmunition) (Incendiary, tracer, self destruction) shell. Casing type: 20×82. Nose fuse type “AZ.1528A”. This is a special shell designed to penetrate & ignite fuel tanks and ammunition of the enemy aircraft .

The dark red band indicates , i think that it is a night tracer round that is less bright than a day round .

This 219 will have a load out of these mixed every 5th round  with a yellow headed  2cm M-Gesch. Patr. m. Zerl (Flugzeug Bordwaffenmunition) (HE-Mine shell with self destruction . These have a higher explosive power and will self distructc if the fuse doesn't trigger .

 

The de icing heaters and ammo trays have been glued as there position is fixed into tight position . engine cowlings have only been placed  for now .

 

 

Recon the wing rib skeleton took 3 to 4 hrs to clean up .

 

Thanks for looking

Cheers Alistsir

[Alan P]

Excellent research, definitely bookmarking this as a reference build 👍

[galgos]

Beautiful work Alistair, you certainly are bringing something very special to the GB. 

[trickyrich]

AAAaarrrrrrrr............just had my regular does of "Plastic Porn", all is now good with the world! 🥰

 

This model has now jumped to #3 on the 1/32nd buy list (just behind the Draken and F-22).  

 

You're doing a great job on her and i'm just amazed just how much Luftwaffe equipment you have!

[Mottlemaster]

Just got through a nail biting build sequence on the wings .  

I normally do a dry fit build up before i go any where near the glue pot but with the way this kit is constructed and the numerous interconnecting sub assemblies such as engines , ammo shoots , supercharger inlets and engine / wheel bay  housings  i found it impossible to tape the parts together with any accuracy .  With this in mind i decided that the engine bulkhead / wheel well sub assemblies would be the first parts to attach as they have fixed location points on the wing skeleton .

The lower wheel well fairing was then attached using the guides on the wing skeleton and the attached bulk head . 

 

The instructions would have you at this point attach both completed engine assemblies so that the super charger ducts could be inserted . I decided that having the engines to contend with was just too much risk so thought i would simply insert the ducts later .

This was a mistake . it cant be done

 

The duct will not pass through the hole once the bottom of the wheel well fairing has been attached . 

This isnt a major problem if you are accepting that there will be no continuous duct between front of wing and supercharger . lets face it this mistake will never be seen , i just know it .

Got a nice fit between outer wing panels

 

But not such a good fit between inner panels and fuselage . Got a gap that was too large for the wing fillets to cover . Overcame this with some 0.5 plastic card

 

had to do this both sides !

 

 

As you can see there is still a gap but this is fine as i believe the design of the parts allowed a gap so that the fuselage side panels can be removed as they go through the wing root to near top of fuselage .

 

With wing fillet attached gap has gone .Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew

 

Dry run mock up of where i am now

 

 

Tail and nose fit well

 

As do all removable covers .

Big relief here in Devon where the modeling gods have looked over me .

 

Happiness will all hinge if i have any knock on effects from previous errors . i am hopping they were all rectified .

 

Thanks for looking

Cheers Alistair