Andrew Perren has given himself a little palette cleanser with his latest build, the Eduard kit of the Heinkel He 280 in 48th scale. This kit is a known commodity, with parts from the special hobby kit with Eduard's added Photo-etch and deals but we thought it would be interesting to see what Andrew could do with the kit...
“Prototypes for the Reich” A Quick build by Andrew Perren
Heinkel He 280
From Eduard Model accessories
1/48th Scale
Profipack Edition – Kit # 8068
Product Link
I don’t know about you, but straight after a big modelling event or project is over I usually find myself in a bit of a slump. The advice I always get from my modelling buddies is just build something easy. So, when this kit arrived for review I thought it might be the ticket to cure the hangover.
The brief I gave myself for this build was simple, no wasting time on research, super detailing or heavy weathering. Just a quick fun build with no stress to get the modelling juices flowing again.
The total time I spent on research was, in fact, reading the blurb provided by Eduard on the subjects provenance. Produced by Heinkel and claiming the title of worlds first jet fighter it eventually lost out to the Me262 to become the jet fighter that would defend the Reich.
The kit in-box:
This kit is a re-issue of a moulding first released around the year 2000, so it hales from much earlier in Eduard's arc of kit development. This is apparent in some areas straight away, the engineering is quite simple, some areas like the wheel wells are fairly devoid of detail and the mating surfaces required some clean-up. The plus side of this is quite a low parts count, relatively few options to consider and no weapons to bog you down.
The choice of two engine options is provided so you will have to decide which of the three prototypes you will build early on. I went for the kit option A – the second prototype “V2”, which used the Jumo 004 turbojet engines.
There are recessed panel lines, I wouldn’t call them the sharpest I have seen but they were quite fine. There are a few fasteners here and there but not a rivet to be seen. I guess you could add them if you did your research and felt that they added to the finished product.
There is a reasonable amount of detail in the cockpit, but super detailers ay want to add their own flourishes to the rather sparse interior.
Speaking of the canopies, the choice of open or closed is given. The parts are commendably clear but quite thick which gives some distortion. A separate leading edge insert for the wing landing light is a welcome addition.
The decal sheet looks to be produced in-house by Eduard, I am pleased to say that they performed really well. They went on easily, were able to be positioned without tearing and settled down beautifully with some Microset & Microsol solutions. The options for multi-part swastikas are on the sheet and depending on your market, decal 19 (not shown below) are two complete swastikas.
A quick look at the 3 options provided in the kit, any colour you like as long as it’s RLM02. That’s just another choice I didn’t have to make.
A brief word on construction & painting:
Having already indicated my need for a quick build I didn’t stop to take the “I stuck A1 to A2” pics. The design of the kit is quite normal and will present no real challenges. The fact that you have two big engine nacelles mating with the wings in complex curves mean there is going to be some gaps to be filled. Epoxy putty was my friend here as well as in the wing root joins. If you are planning to close the canopy like me I found that the thickness of the clear parts fouled on the top corners of the ejection seat.
Andrew Perren.
This kit is a re-issue of a moulding first released around the year 2000, so it hales from much earlier in Eduard's arc of kit development. This is apparent in some areas straight away, the engineering is quite simple, some areas like the wheel wells are fairly devoid of detail and the mating surfaces required some clean-up. The plus side of this is quite a low parts count, relatively few options to consider and no weapons to bog you down.
The kit also provides some photo-etch details to dress up this area. Fine for me considering I planned to have a closed canopy which would limit how much can be seen. There is no resin included in this release but a small partly coloured sheet of photo-etch and die cut masks round out the package. No wonder this uncomplicated kit comes in a modestly proportioned box.
V2 GJ+CA March 1943
V3 GJ+CB July 1942
V8 NU+EC July 1943
Having already indicated my need for a quick build I didn’t stop to take the “I stuck A1 to A2” pics. The design of the kit is quite normal and will present no real challenges. The fact that you have two big engine nacelles mating with the wings in complex curves mean there is going to be some gaps to be filled. Epoxy putty was my friend here as well as in the wing root joins. If you are planning to close the canopy like me I found that the thickness of the clear parts fouled on the top corners of the ejection seat.
I simply rounded the corners of the seat headrest so that the canopy would sit down in place. You will need some nose weight in this thing, I had already included a large lump of lead in the nose above the nose gear well but it wasn’t enough. I had to resort to adding some more after final construction inside the nose gear bay. Good job there is no detail to obscure. Your only other option would be to fix this to a base. I noticed while taking pics that I’d broken off the pitot tip – bugger!
I painted the airframe in Mr Color Lacquer RLM02 grey as instructed, with just a hint of some lightening of panels to break up the monotone scheme. A panel line wash with the AK interactive Paneliner highlighted the detail was there. After decals, a final coat of Testors Dullcote tied everything together at the end.
Conclusions:
Well did I enjoy it? Yes, despite the relative age of the kit and a lack of detail compared with some of today’s uber kits. It was a stress-free out of the box build, which could have formed the basis of a much more detailed project had I been so inclined. The building blocks are all there. All up I spent around 10 hours over a few weekends, which wasn’t too much of an impost.
Whilst the slightly esoteric nature of the subject may not be everyone’s cup of tea the aircraft has a certain sleekness about it. Eduard has once again given us a nice package which to my mind is decent value for money.
What’s next for me then………..I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
See you again soon
Well did I enjoy it? Yes, despite the relative age of the kit and a lack of detail compared with some of today’s uber kits. It was a stress-free out of the box build, which could have formed the basis of a much more detailed project had I been so inclined. The building blocks are all there. All up I spent around 10 hours over a few weekends, which wasn’t too much of an impost.
See you again soon
Andrew Perren.
