Arado 234 'Blitzed'

This must be one of this year's most demanding projects. The AR 234 Nightfighter came in at just under seventy hours work for me - unusually intense for a 1/48 scale model. To build it straight from the box would have produced a nice very presentable result, but this one came to me with a number of lovely add-ons to bring it up several notches. The Aires cockpit and landing gear bay, a Verlinden detail set and an Eduard detail set gave me an excellent choice of beautiful parts in resin and metal. This means there are four sets of instructions to follow, and some very difficult style choices to be made! Jockeying four sets of parts together is not for the novice - I did go cross-eyed a few times, and I needed to leave the room on occasion....


The result of all that jockeying and cross-eyed concentration? Well, I was very satisfied. High points? Certainly the front cockpit (there is also one in the back) and the gear bay, for their quality of detail and fit inside the model. Also the little wing-mounted rocket motors, which only needed some Eduard parachute straps, so good was their detail. I did have a set of Airwave gear legs and wheels, but for once the kit parts were superior and I didn't use them.

The final build looks very impressive from a few feet away, but get up close and it's really rewarding. It's a combination of excellent detail, and hard work getting the best out of the component parts. Am I blowing my own trumpet? Maybe, but maybe it's more a case of enjoying the fruits of more than forty years experience. I hope you think it looks good too.

Moving On

With the destroyer project now in the closing stages of the build, I am able to move on with new projects.

One of them is the Meteor NFII in French markings, of which more on here later.

The other is the Arado 234 from Hasegawa. Most of the internal parts are being replaced with Aires and Eduard items. A couple of photos here will illustrate the current stage. As you can see, much of the paint is already up to top coat, and in some cases ready for weathering.

You can see how much detail the resin parts have to offer.

The nature of the canopy means than most of its detail will be easily seen, and the same goes for the cockpit and the landing gear. And me, I'm just a sucker for all that...

....But it's 25 years old!

I've finally got over myself and started to build that 'Hind' gunship, the one I was banging on about on here a while ago. Here it is, this time with paint on.


So what was the hold up? I acquired the Monogram MiL Mi 24 gunship kit in 2004, and it came with the Eduard interior and exterior photo-etch set. As you doubtless know, these sets are very extensive. Superb quality too, but they can add at least a month to the building time. And the parts are a bit thick, although there's no denying the level of detail. All this sets me off on an internal monologue: It's 25 years old, look at all those metal parts.....but it's a lovely kit....it'll take ages to add all that metal though....And back it goes on the shelf to silence the inner argument.

This time, however, it has come out for keeps. I just want to build the thing and keep it simple. I was prepared to abandon all those complex metal parts and just get on with it. Did I do the right thing? Here is the complete cockpit and rear cabin. Not a metal part in sight. It's not Eduard but it's no slouch, is it?