**** DONE: 1/48 Tamiya Heinkel He-219 WNr 290123 of 1/NJG 1 Nightfighter GB

[Crimea_River]

Paul, excellent! Just what I was looking for on the seat!

And thanks for the cockpitinstrumente link but I've been through that already looking for radar equipment pics. Good site, although you can't save the pictures.

[Maximowitz]

Pleased to be able to help.

[Lucky13]

I say...bl**dy marvelous old boy, looking rather spiffy don't you know, cracking good job what!

[Crimea_River]

Jolly good, bloody sporting of you to say old chap!

Ironically, after having had Paul dig up the seat info for me, I looked closer and saw this in one of the references I have. (see red cirlcel)

Well at least we're consistent!

My first atttemps at casting the second radar set was a bust. I think the mold was too soupy. I'm on take two now.

[Night Fighter Nut]

Looking really nice.

[Wurger]

I agree..nice work.

[Erich]

just to be aware the A-0 that you are modelling indeed had the night ground attack scheme of black undersides, the guys found the original black paint and grey blue welle pattern beneath all the USA overpainted crap.

time to travel north through the snows

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Erich, but wasn't 290123 an A-2?

At any rate, the open question I have now is this: There appear to be two interpretations of the upper camo scheme for He219 WNr 290123. This plane features the black undersides but as for the top, some maintain that the aircraft likely had a 76 base paint with 75 patches oversprayed but others maintain that the base coat was 75 and that a wave pattern of 76 was applied over that. The latter scheme is featured on the specimen under restoration at the NASM (see post #5). The one period photo of this plane I've seen shows the upper surfaces to be very light and it's difficult to tell what the scheme is. However, the engine cowls appear to be very light all around, leading me to think that the likely scheme was 75 patches over a base 76. In the absence of better evidence, I'd lean toward that. However, other schemes in WNr's close to 290123 appear to support the 76 waves over a 75 base coulour. Check out these. The catured one is 290126 and the other is believe to be 290068, obtained from Peter Evans over at LEMB. If anyone has some good info on this, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

[Airframes]

I'd say 76 with 75 over on both. The tonal values show this, and it doesn't make sense to use a dark base colour with a lighter overspray.
In the pics I sent you, and a couple of others I have, the predominant pattern seems to be mottle, although a 'half-hearted' attempt at welle can be seen in some areas on one or two examples.
There has been some misleading info over the last forty years or so, compounded by authors basing schemes on, for example, the RAFM Hendon Bf110, which was resprayed in a representative scheme, which was not the scheme the aircraft was wearing when captured.

[vikingBerserker]

The picture looks alot like the pattern Jan is using on his build, post #47

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/8-c...b-26842-4.html (Prinz Heinrich zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Junkers Ju 88C-6 N/F GB)

I assume the Luftwaffe would have had a standard camo pattern like that and not have created a new one for only that plane.

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys. I tend to agree with you but some doubt still remains. I saw a video somewhere on the Smithsonian restoration and they went through quite a bit of analysis getting through the layers of paint on their display and then came up with the 76 on 75.

[Maximowitz]

You'll have to build two Andy!

[Crimea_River]

Ha! By the time I'm done this one I'm sure I wll want to move on!

EDIT: BTW, I'm on my 3rd try for the home made resin radar set. First time trying to make my own resin parts and I'm on a learning curve. Stripping the mold on the next one tonight.

[Vic Balshaw]

Stripping the mold on the next one tonight.

You know what they say, 'third time lucky'. Good luck my man.

[Crimea_River]

More like strike 3. I can not seem to get a decent cast of the eyepiece. Decided to make the parts from solid plastic bits and pass on the resin.