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Tamiya Heinkel He162A-2 Salamander 1/48 Complete

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  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Tamiya Heinkel He162A-2 Salamander 1/48 Complete
Posted by Aggieman on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 5:33 PM

My first build of this new year was one that should have been far less trouble than it turned out to be.  Tamiya's diminutive Heinkel He162A-2 Salamander.

It's a Tamiya - why would anyone expect any trouble out of any Tamiya kit from the 90s and beyond?  Well, to put it bluntly, (a) the decals were hot garbage and (b) the cute detachable engine simply did not work as intended.  Perhaps the latter problem was of my own making, but I never could get the thing to stay in place on the rubber inserts for the tiny metal rods they provide.  The idea is that you can switch out a closed-up engine nacelle, or a nacelle with the doors wide open to display the engine in all its glory.  I never could get it to properly seat atop the airframe, so I opted to simply glue it in place and keep it there with rubber bands while the glue cured.  The decals disintegrated in water with the instrument panel decal.

I acquired an aftermarket decal set for this that was unlike most commercial decal sheets, in that it was one big sheet that one has to cut the decals out of.  There is a lot of decal film showing on this thing that really soured me on the entire build.  I also added a Quinta Studios 3D decal set for the cockpit details, which turned out better than the Tamiya decals would have.

Paints are entirely Vallejo.  I kept the weathering to a minimum with only a light wash of Flory dark dirt.

This should have been a relaxing build, given the sterling reputation that Tamiya has.  It was not for the reasons that I've outlined, although the airframe parts go together just fine.  I used no filler.  It is a good kit with remarkably few parts, so perhaps I just had unexpected trouble with the engine mount.

I'll probably get started on my next build, Hasegawa's 1/72 B-47E Stratojet (which is just about as big as Monogram's B-17G in 1/48 if my eyeball comparison is anywhere near accurate) this weekend.

  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: Central Florida
Posted by plasticjunkie on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 7:27 PM

Aggie the Salamander looks amazing. Great job and VERY glad you kept the weathering to a minimum. These planes barely had a dozen hours of flight time before the war ended. I once saw a magazine article where the builder did a super amazing weathering treatment to his Salamander simulating what would have been hundreds of hours of combat use. Unfortunately the Salamander never experienced such use. 

 GIFMaker.org_jy_Ayj_O

 

 

Too many models to build, not enough time in a lifetime!!

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Northern California
Posted by jeaton01 on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 11:38 PM

Stephen, it looks nice, sorry it was less fun than you thought it would be.   I've got the Hasegawa B-47 underway right now with a resin interior, engines, and 3d printed dropped flaps.  Definitely increasing the work needed.  The nice thing is the cockpit set came with a good vac canopy.  The kit canopy is pretty sad.

John

To see build logs for my models:  http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html

 

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Western North Carolina
Posted by Tojo72 on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 8:38 AM

Great work as usual 

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Thursday, February 16, 2023 9:14 AM

plasticjunkie

Aggie the Salamander looks amazing. Great job and VERY glad you kept the weathering to a minimum. These planes barely had a dozen hours of flight time before the war ended. I once saw a magazine article where the builder did a super amazing weathering treatment to his Salamander simulating what would have been hundreds of hours of combat use. Unfortunately the Salamander never experienced such use. 

 

Thanks plasticjunkie!  You hit on exactly why I weathered so little.  I do tend to like heavier weathering, but only when it makes sense from a historical perspective.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Thursday, February 16, 2023 9:16 AM

jeaton01

Stephen, it looks nice, sorry it was less fun than you thought it would be.   I've got the Hasegawa B-47 underway right now with a resin interior, engines, and 3d printed dropped flaps.  Definitely increasing the work needed.  The nice thing is the cockpit set came with a good vac canopy.  The kit canopy is pretty sad.

 

Thanks John!

I plan an out of the box build for my Stratojet, although I may hunt down a vac canopy. I'm not sure how old my boxing is, but am hoping the decal sheet is good enough to use.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Thursday, February 16, 2023 9:16 AM

Tojo72

Great work as usual 

 

Thank you, Tojo!

  • Member since
    May 2022
Posted by Eugene Rowe on Thursday, February 16, 2023 1:52 PM

Really nice;cockpit and belt detail is very noticeable!

  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: Central Florida
Posted by plasticjunkie on Thursday, February 16, 2023 5:04 PM

Aggieman

 

 
plasticjunkie

Aggie the Salamander looks amazing. Great job and VERY glad you kept the weathering to a minimum. These planes barely had a dozen hours of flight time before the war ended. I once saw a magazine article where the builder did a super amazing weathering treatment to his Salamander simulating what would have been hundreds of hours of combat use. Unfortunately the Salamander never experienced such use. 

 

 

 

Thanks plasticjunkie!  You hit on exactly why I weathered so little.  I do tend to like heavier weathering, but only when it makes sense from a historical perspective.

 

 

Yes

 GIFMaker.org_jy_Ayj_O

 

 

Too many models to build, not enough time in a lifetime!!

fox
  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Narvon, Pa.
Posted by fox on Thursday, February 16, 2023 8:19 PM

Very nice build! Toast Toast Toast

Stay Safe.

Jim Captain

 Main WIP: 

   On the Bench: Artesania Latina  (aka) Artists in the Latrine 1/75 Bluenose II

I keep hitting "escape", but I'm still here.

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Saturday, February 18, 2023 11:11 AM

Howdy!  She looks great. Diminutive indeed.  You have to wonder how it handled in a stiff wind with such small control surfaces. 

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

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