The second entry in my Year of the Axis Warbird build (on the heels of a Tamiya A6M5 Zero 1/32) is the world’s first operational jet bomber, the Arado Ar 234 C-3. The kit is in 1/48th scale by Monogram Pro-Modeler.
I cracked open a paint set by Vallejo that I bought for late war Nazi warbirds that included the colors called for, RLM76 (light blue), RLM81 (brown violet), and RLM83 (dark green). I also used RLM02 (gray) and RLM66 (dark gray) for interior painting. Other colors used were Alclad II dark aluminum and steel for exposed engine parts, Tamiya red for the engine cowl rings, Tamiya semi-gloss black for the wheels, Tamiya rubber black for the tires, and miscellaneous Model Master enamels for cockpit details.
The kit itself was not bad. I had some issues getting the forward cockpit tub to mate flush with the remainder of the fuselage. Nothing I did gave flush alignment across the entire fuselage, so there are some areas where it is out of alignment. Similarly, the rear engine exhaust parts did not fit well against the engine pods after I got them installed flush against the trailing edge of the wing. I’ve included a photo below that I think will show the problem that I faced with that. There also is yet another issue, entirely my fault, that may or may not be visible in the photos. This was with the decals, specifically the Balkenkreuz’s on the upper wings and the fuselage. Those decals have a lot of clear carrier film that I probably should have cut away, but opted not to (was working real late last night streaming Battlestar Galactica, and was really just trying to get through the decaling so I could finish her up). There is a bit of silvering visible. I did attempt to correct it but was unable to do so. Next Nazi warbird, I am thinking of just masking those markings and painting them.
So on to the build photos.
Next up will be an Italian entry, an MC.202 Folgore in 1/32.