This kit was quite the workout. The overall fit was excellent. The way the wings attach to the fuselage is such that you really do not need to glue them in. However the cowlings were a different issue as I had trouble with the front cowlings especially the left side which I left closed. Both engines have excellent details and it’s a shame to close them up. The decals were a good fit mostly. In the gallery below, click on any of the images to start up a Lightbox display.

For the paint I used only the AK Real colors line of Acrylic lacquers. The colors used were RLM81, 82 on top and RLM 76 underneath. I choose RLM 76 instead of RLM 65. The paint was easy to airbrush on when thinned about 50/50 with AK real colors thinner.

This is the B6 version of the aircraft and it was actually manufactured in very limited amounts. The armament was (2) 20mm cannons in the nose firing though the propeller, (1) 30mm MK 101 firing through the center of the engine and out of the center of the propeller spinner and (2) 30mm MK 103 cannons in the wings. This aircraft was meant to be a bomber destroyer.

The kit was a long time to build up, mainly due to the complexity of the engines. HK plastic works very well with Tamiya liquid cement so I did not have any issues there. For the interior of the cockpit, I used an Eduard set, which was older but still added enough details. Some of the finer switches did not stay in place and were lost. HK give you the necessary weights to keep this big model on it’s nose and not be a tail sitter. I only left the front cowling open so show a bit of the engine. It’s actually loose and can be totally removed. The rear engine can seen at bit as I left the access panel open.

Written by Paul Caldwell for Arkansas Fine Scale Modeling.