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Scales: 1/32
Colour Schemes: 3 x He 219's
Printed by: Cartograf
of Italy
Get them from: Eagle Editions directly
Price: US$ 18.50
EagleCals has sent us their new decal sheet that is made to fit this much awaited kit of the Heinkel He 219 nightfighter that will be one of the most eagerly anticipated kits of the year – especially for large scale builders.The Zoukei-Mura (left) and Revell (right) kits are the subjects of this sheet and although we only have one of these kits - we have the decals you to fit them already!
Before we get too much into the aircraft depicted in this set let's look at what comes on the package. Mine arrived from the United States, sealed in a zip-loc bag - to the UK in just a few days. They were safely cocooned in a few layers of hard protective cardboard envelope that saw the sheet arrive in good condition. The sheet itself is pretty simple owing to the limited scope of the markings on the aircraft of the late Luftwaffe period - especially the late war nightfighters - which bore usually a simple camo of light grey and grey-violet and minimal lettering and stencilling. We get a top down view of the aircraft's profile and also tips on the underside markings as well.
The decal sheet is accompanied by a fold out full coloured instruction sheet on plain paper. This sheet features the cover art, with a middle double spread of the three aircraft in profile. This should help a little with the painting scheme as these are pretty good profiles..
Three different schemes reflecting various camouflage patterns applied to the Uhu are offered by Eagle editions on this sheet:
1) He 219 A-0 G9+FK flown by night Ace Hptm. Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow
2) He 219 A-2 D5+BL, W.Nr. 290126
3) He 219 A-7 W.Nr. 390193
As far as helping the modeller there is also the arrangement - and as we all know it is nice to double check - of the antennae of the radar on these aircraft's specific noses. There is also a picture of one of the aircraft and some back story. The thing that Eagle editions do so well is name their research sources - they do here and it is because of that that I can show you some of the aircraft in this review. I like it that they name their sources.
The sheet from EagleCals:
There is one sheet of decals offered in this set. The decals are sharp in detail and the colours are strong. Blacks, reds and greys are true in colour and the white here isn't opaque at all. The decals are in perfect register as even the smallest NG.3 emblem is sharply in focus.
The decals - printed in Italy by market benchmark Cartograf - are a shiny texture that I have used before. Now I am really sorry I have not yet started to build my Uhu to show this decal in action – BUT I have used EagleCals decals before on both of my P-51D Mustang and Pacific Coast Fw-190A3 kit and can tell you that although they look quite thick and glossy these decals settle down into holes and are able to be handled a lot in use. I really like them and would vouch for them totally. Cartograf has a great name in the business and it is easy to see why when they print such high quality decals.
You can see here how the carrier film is attempted to have been minimized here on this sheet- you can see the scale by the giant coin I put next to it (only as big as a penny)
When it comes to this sheet and reasons for buying it before we even get to the fact that they offer different details to the kit I have a few...There are no walk lines like are offered on the Revell sheet - but it was dubious whether these were even used on these aircraft so no bother there. What is included here are a white and a black swastika - broken up to be able to be sold in Germany and Austria no doubt. This is a saving over having to buy the separate swastika decals from an aftermarket supplier straight away. There is also thin prop spirals as well included and they are of a much more tapered and scale correct shape whereas the kit's prop spirals are too thick. This stops you from having to make masking tape spirals to replace these details. There are no warning or instruction markings on this sheet for the aircraft's fuselage but you can get them from the Revell decal sheet.
We
will take you through the instructions show you some info on what to expect in the kit – along with pictures
of the real aircraft…
He 219 A-0. “G9+FK”
W.Nr. Unknown from 1./NJG 1
This decal choice is for the He 219 "0" model from Zoukei Mura - the pilot of the aircraft was Hauptmann Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow. This famous night fighter ace was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 19 August 1944 after
claiming 25 night victories. He achieved a final tally 33 ( some sources say 34) credited victories before the end of the war.
Colours:
Upper surfaces: RLM 76 with RLM 75 mottle.
Undersurfaces: Bottom of right wing Black with leading edge and wingtips were RLM 76. Bottom of right wing RLM 76 with Black panels near the roots of the
engine nacelle.
The aircraft markings as seen in these pictures and supplied on the decal sheet are a single black outlined cross for the upper wing surfaces (of which we aren't 100% sure) a black cross for the underside of the port wing which were RLM 75. the starboard wing underside was black so we have the marking in a white and black cross. there is a broken swastika supplied in black for the tail as well as the werk number of 310193.
There are several pictures of this aircraft in flight - not the codes and one black wing for friendly AA recognition a distinctive way of identifying this aircraft and something that ads interest to your kit from both angles - this is a great choice by Eagle Editions and sure to be popular with modellers.
The "G9" code lettering is tiny and the "FK" has the correct red F and the black K as you can see from the picture above - the F s the slightly lighter colour.
He 219 A-2 “D5+BL”
W.Nr. 290126 from 3./NJG 3
This aircraft was photographed at Grove, Denmark in May 1945, and we find it later in it's life used for testing by the RAF after its capture, all national markings eventually were replaced with RAF roundels when the Royal Air Force used this aircraft for a test-bed.
This aircraft was painted in an RLM 75 with a mottled covering of RLM 76 and the under surfaces were black on this kite. Supplied on this decal sheet are the thin black outlined crosses for the wings and the same thickness white crosses for underneath the wings. Fuselage cross was the black and white cross and the swastika or "Hakenkreuz" was a white outlined type - here in two parts to make it "street legal" in the former greater Germany.
He 219 A-7 W.Nr 310193
Photographed here - this picture is supplied on the instruction sheet - with the forward fuselage partially destroyed and the almost obligatory American G.I.'s standing alongside their war prize, this scheme is partially
provisional because the front is obscured in this shot. We do however have the rest of the details on this sheet.
the more standard colour for this aircraft is shown here - with the upper surfaces RLM 75 with RLM 76 lichtblau mottle and the under surfaces and sides of the aircraft RLM 76. The markings provided are white outlined crosses for the tops of the wings and the black solid crosses for underneath you may need to borrow one from the kit's decals as there is only one black solid cross supplied here.The hakenkreuz is the solid black version on the sheet - this meaning you can still do two aircraft from this one sheet - pretty good value for the money.
Adam Norenberg
The 1/32 sheet is available now to
purchase on their
website
and the 48th sheet will shortly be available - we will let you know when it arrives
The great news for “Uhu” lovers is that Eagle Editions plan to release this set in 1/48th scale as well to fit the Tamiya kit. Eagle Editions will carry the conversion from Sergey of Vector models from Russia so the A-7 Tamiya kit can be converted to accommodate their decals. With the quality of the kit from Tamiya this is due to be a great seller and good news for everyone.