The Kit

This is a replacement or upgrade for the Brengun He-162 kits. There are two canopies on the Vac-Form plastic. I didn’t look at this item until I was ready to install the canopy, and I now wish I had looked closer and sooner. One of the canopies is a direct replacement for the kit item. The other one is the AMS version. It’s a little longer, and there’s an area between the windscreen and canopy which can be cut out so you can build your He-162 with the canopy open.

Of course this will require quite a bit of interior detailing for the cockpit. The Brengun kit comes with a seat, a stick and a blank instrument panel. Obviously it would require seat belts, instruments, rudder pedals, a throttle, and the open canopy support rod. As I said, AMS version.

Assembly

I prepainted the canopy to match the Heinkel I was finishing. I paint the color on with a fine brush, making sure I get pretty good coverage. I don’t worry too much about staying inside the lines, just making sure I get all of the frames well painted. I then go back with the opti-visor and a toothpick and clean up the edges of the canopy frame.

These canopies are really pretty easy to use. I use a pair of fine cut fingernail scissors to cut out the canopy. Brengun does a good job of showing where the sheet plastic ends and the canopy rail begins. It only took me about 15 minutes to cut the canopy out.

Once I had the canopy trimmed, I test fit it. Then a little more trimming at the back and on one side, as I had left on a little too much.

Once I had a decent fit, I used Micro Krystal Kleer to cement the canopy on. This has the added advantage of filling small openings, and it can be painted if necessary.

No decals, no PE, not much assembly. No instructions with this item either.

Overall Evaluation

Recommended. This is a great item if you’ve ruined, lost, or broken the canopy for your Brengun He-162. It’s also a super add-on if you want to do a model with the canopy open, and a detailed cockpit showing off that great work that’s usually hidden behind the thick plastic of the kit item.

I’m going to buy the Brengun He-162A and do some cockpit detailing myself, so I can use that second canopy.

Many thanks to Brengun for this well-done add-on, which is motivating me to do a detailed cockpit. And thanks to IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.