Contents Description

This three-piece PE set includes a small PE fret with all of the pilot's instrument panel and side panels along with the rear cockpit (radar operator's position) many panel faces, plus two frets for parts for the wheel wells and miscellaneous exterior details. A pair of rudder pedals is also included. A four-page set of instructions is included that locate each panel face and indicate where the raised detail included with the kit must be removed. The instrument panels PE parts do not include adhesive on the backside, and therefore the modeler must carefully glue each part in place.

The Cockpit

I took the plastic kit parts as indicated on the instructions and removed the raised details with a micro chisel and sanded the rough surfaces with a medium grit sanding pad. Once the surfaces were smoothed I washed the parts in warm water and a mild detergent, scrubbing the surfaces and nooks and crannies with an old toothbrush. After rinsing the parts I allowed them to thoroughly dry.

The plastic was primed with Tamiya fine white primer and allowed to cure for 24 hours. The parts were then painted with RLM 66 and again allowed to cure for 24 hours. Several of the PE panels are sandwiched together and this is done by applying a thin coat of Future to the part with the dial faces then carefully placing the face panel over the dial faces, taking care to align the dials with the respective openings. These assemblies are allowed to dry for a few hours. An additional drop of Future was applied to various dial faces with a pointed paint brush as necessary to achieve the appearance of a glass face over the dials.

Once the individual PE parts were removed from the fret the tiny attachment spur was buffed off with a medium sanding stick and the exposed metal edge was touched up with a black Sharpie. The various instrument panels were then glued in place using GatorGlue which allows for adjustment in orientation of the kit part. Although the original raised detail will allow for a very nice representation of instrument panels once properly painted, the Eduard PE parts make the cockpits' appearance spectacular.

Several parts are also included to replace parts of the kit's pilot gunsight.

The Wings, Engines and Nacelles

The inclusion of the various grilles for the four exhaust shrouds and the wing leading edge intakes are nice and appreciated details. I did not use the two underwing "T" antennae as I felt the kit parts had a more suitable shape and detail

There are three PE parts to dress up each wheel well. First, the molded-on ribbing must be removed from the lower wing wells sides and the top wing roof of the wells. There is a single PE part that fits nicely on the outboard side of each well. The inboard side PE has the roof included that requires rolling to conform to the top of the wheel well. The last part to fit is the rear bulkhead. The PE roof portion did not fit and did not match the shape of the rear bulkhead. I cut the roof portion from the side wall and trimmed each bottom side. I removed increments of 1/32" of metal from each side until the roof fit in place and matched the shape of the rear bulkhead more closely.

Conclusion

This is my second Tamiya Heinkel He-219, and the first one also included an earlier edition of the Eduard Zoom set. The 49947 set is far and above the original. I did not find the lack of adhesive on the back faces of the parts a deterrent to the installation, as I have found in the past the adhesive used by Eduard was a bit too aggressive in its bond and made minor adjustments in the placement f the parts a bit of a challenge.

The only negative issue I had with this set is the nose radar antenna and underside towel bar antenna. Once assembled the parts are two-dimensional and rather unrealistic. Eduard often includes PE parts to replace molded kit parts that, in my opinion, are not really necessary as the kit part is often more than adequate with detail and will provide a stronger bond with the main kit parts. But the options opportunity is there to meet the taste of most any modeler.

This set is a very nice addition to the Tamiya Heinkel He 219, and I highly recommend this product. I wish to thank Eduard and IPMS USA for the opportunity to build and review this product.