Scale aviation modeller international

The windshield also needs a lot

of care also when attaching it to

the fuselage; like the canopy,

the contact and frames are

very thin. Note that there

are two types of rear canopy,

depending on which decal option

you are building, so you need to

be careful to use the right one.

Once the canopy is complete

the instructions move on to the

radar aerials. There are three

arrangements of aerials and

mounts, depending on the version

of the aeroplane you are building. As

these assemblies will be extremely

delicate, and very vulnerable to

damage, I left this stage until I

had finished the whole build. I

also left a number of other aerials,

control surface balances, and other

delicate pieces off until after the

paint and decals were applied.

PAINTING AND DECALS

There are three schemes provided,

all featuring a variation of a

basic camouflage schemes using

RLM 75 blotches over RLM 76.

Two of the schemes also feature

the underside of the starboard

wing painted in black.

I decided on building an

He 219 A-0 of 1./NJG 1 flown by

Major Werner Streib, based in

Venlow in 1943.This variant

has the smaller radar aerials

and early higher-profile rear

canopy, but not the upward-

firing Schräge Musik system.

On this aircraft the colour

scheme was an overall RLM

76, with small random

patches of RLM 75 covering

the upper surfaces of the

fuselage and wings. I used

Xtracolor enamels for the

RLM colours. These have a

gloss finish to facilitate decal

placement, though I would

still apply a coat of acrylic gloss

before applying the decals.

For the camouflage patches,

I thinned the paint down to a

milk-like consistency and set

my airbrush compressor to a low

pressure. I then spent a pleasant

couple of hours applying random

patches of RLM 75 over the upper

airframe, being careful to keep

them to a similar size and spacing.

With the painting completed,

I could now start the decaling

process. Revell’s decals are

excellent; they are clearly printed

and in excellent register, with good

colour density. The only things

missing are the swastikas (due to

the law in Germany prohibiting

their production). I sourced a pair

from a sheet of generic swastikas

produced by Xtradecal. All the

decals settled down perfectly over

the recessed panel details, with a

little help from Micro Sol and Set.

Once all the decals were

applied – including a large number

of stencils – I added a little

weathering, starting with a wash

of raw umber oil paint to darken

the panel lines. I then applied

streaks of Tamiya smoke to the

exhausts, the gun muzzles, and the

gun shell ejector ports. Once the

weathering was completed to my

satisfaction a coat of Xtracolour

Matt Varnish was applied.

THE FINAL BITS

Once this had dried, I attached all

the various aerials and other small

parts I had left off until the end,

in order to avoid damaging them

while painting and decaling. The

last things to be added were the

aerial wires, using Lycra thread,

and my model was completed.

CONCLUSION

This kit has been around for a few

years now and it has been the subject

of some very in-depth analysis,

reviews, and critiques. I know that

there are issues regarding the shape

of the nose and the panel line layout,

but unless you are a real expert in the

type, these are not glaringly obvious.

The Revell kit provides an alternative

to the Zoukei-Mura’s kit, which

features all the interior details you

could wish for, but at a far higher price.

I found Revell’s 219 was a

straightforward, pleasant model to build

with no major issues that any modeller

with a bit of experience couldn’t deal

with. It is highly recommended.

“REVELL’S DECALS

ARE EXCELLENT;

THEY ARE CLEARLY

PRINTED AND

IN EXCELLENT

REGISTER”

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