Heinkel He 162A-2

Tamiya, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Tamiya's 1/48 scale Heinkel He 162A-2 is available online from Squadron.com
 

Tamiya was written off as dead by many aircraft modellers during 2005 but they have risen, Lazarus-like, with an all-new release in 2006.

Tamiya's 1/48 scale Heinkel He 162A-2 comprises 113 parts in grey plastic; 4 parts in clear; poly caps; metal nose weight and markings for four aircraft.

The parts are beautifully moulded in classic Tamiya style. Panel lines are crisply recessed on the fuselage and on control surface hinge lines. These may be a little heavy for some tastes, but Tamiya has correctly avoided panel detail on the wooden surfaces of the airframe. There are no moulding flaws on my sample, but ejector pin circles are visible in a number of areas that will be on display when the model is finished (albeit not on prominent display) such as the interior of the gear doors, the fuselage sidewalls and inside the engine cowls.

The cockpit and wheel wells are nicely detailed while enjoying a small parts count.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Engineering of the kit is geared towards ease of assembly, and includes some welcome aids to the modeller including a metal nose weight behind the cockpit and a central wing spar installed between the fuselage halves. This spar also mounts the engine via two metal rivets.

Tamiya supplies a simple but quite effective BMW 003 turbojet engine. This may be displayed inside the open engine nacelle on the aircraft, or separately on an engine dolly. A third option is also possible, although it is not specifically mentioned in the instructions. Enough parts are supplied to build both an open engine nacelle and a closed engine nacelle, each complete with engine cowls. As the engine nacelle is mounted using poly caps, the open and closed nacelles can be swapped out after construction depending on whether you want to display the engine or not.

If you do choose to display the engine, a little extra effort in the form of electrical cabling with fine wire will be well worth the effort.

The main undercarriage doors are moulded shut on a single lower fuselage centre section that will have to be sliced into three separate parts. This is not difficult surgery by any means, but it is peculiarly uncharacteristic for a Tamiya kit.

Canopy parts are perfectly clear. The opening section is moulded separately so that the canopy can be displayed open. The windscreen is moulded to a section of fuselage to reduce the chances of smudging that nice shiny windscreen.

Tamiya includes markings for four Volksjagers. Decals are typical Tamiya fare - well printed and in perfect register. Tamiya decal film often looks thick on the backing sheet but always settles down nicely for me after a coat of Micro Set and Micro Sol..

Instructions are supplied on a single sheet folded into five, with construction described in images and text over 14 steps. Four pages of history plus a sheet of 1/48 scale camouflage illustrations are also included.

The choice of a 1/48 scale Heinkel He 162A-2 was a little surprising as the Dragon / Trimaster Volksjager is still a very respectable kit. Even so, Tamiya undoubtedly brings its best attributes to this little aeroplane - clever engineering, great detail and ease of construction.

I have not touched on the issue of accuracy here. There are certainly differences in some key shapes when compared to the Trimaster/Dragon kit, but I am not well enough equipped to suggest which might be correct. Scale drawings alone are not sufficient to make a judgement.

Tamiya has released another attractive, appealing kit that will be easy to build and will find its way onto many modellers workbenches worldwide.

Highly Recommended.

Review kit purchased with HyperScale funds

Review Text Copyright © 2006 by Brett Green
Page Created 13 June, 2006
Last updated 13 June, 2006

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