I have been meaning to build an Ar 234 for a few years. It keeps getting on the build pile but then somthing else goes up and it goes back to the stash. This time it has finally made it to the bench.
The cockpit is rather nice as it is, i have added PE foot peddles but still have to add some instrument panels and wire up and fit the main IP as well as the seat.
The Eduard PE set i am useing includes hatches for the top of the camera bay and this is idal for the dio i want to do. But while the kit comes with cameras to be fitted in the fuselage, this are not sutable for what i want. The only pic i could find of the camera mounts was of a build of the 48th hase kit, i have no idea what that is based on. But it was the best i had so i scratch built one based on that. It doesn’t need to be perfect but just to represent somthing there through the open hatch. For the cameras i have a set of resin Owl ones on order. But as these are not being fitted in, i can proceed without them.
With the wheel wells also fited, i could close up the fuselage.
Just a little clean up needed and finish off the pit before i put the 2 together.
Cheers guys, hopefully the diorama will be a little different.
Greg, i rather like Dragon 72nd aircraft kits and this is rather nice. As you can see on the pic above i added the rear of the cockpit to the pit itself rather than attaching it to the fuselage as the instructions suggest. And i am glad i did as it does need a bit of sanding around the edge to get a fit and the wheel wells are a little tricky to fit with the undercarrage legs in place. But adding the legs later would be even more difficult as i tried dry fitting that.
I look forward to what you will do with the kit Bish!
When DML issued that kit, they had a reputation of “looks good in the box, but does not build well”, which is somewhat deserved. But hey they brought us modern Luftwaffe late war aircraft at a time when there was none.
I had started an Ar-234A conversion based on the same kit a while back. I chose the 4-engined BMW version with the separate nacelles. I narrowed the fuselage, added the well for the central skid, and made the engines. I got stuck on how to do the exhaust fairings so it got shelved. I also need to figure out how to vac a new narrow canopy. Maybe I’ll wait 20 years and resurrect it like I am wont to do.
Actually, I can tackle those problems now. I’ll dig the kit out from under the bed and post some pics for laughs.
Since you are doing a recce version, you might want to take note of the infamous DML fit of the underfuselage camera bay panel. This is a pic of my Ar-234B. The panel is too narrow so I sawed it in half and shimmed it. You will need to do it differently I imagine!
Thanks for the heads up on the panel, i’ll lok at that now. Are you planning on doing that with closed gear doors or you going to try and fit the undrcarge in that way. I tried that before i glued thge bays in and gave up.
Thats some nice work on that conversion, would be nice to see that finished. So far i have built 5 Dragon aircraft and despite sme fit issues, which i haven’t found to be to much, i like them. And of course, if you want these subjects, you don’t have to much choice.
Oops, I can’t remember if I modified the main gear to be able to be slotted into the bays! That was so long ago… The intent was to have it on its legs, as I normally do not do in-flight models.
Here are two pics which show the narrowed fuselage and the skid bay.
IIRC between the Ar-234A and B, the real thing was widened by nine inches, which works out to a whopping 1/8” in 1/72. I’ll tape the nacelles on the Ar-234A and post some pics to get the Blitz juices flowing.
BTW I just noticed on the kit box art, the pilot missed the bridge (Remagen?) by a really wide margin!
Having a look now, I can see that the polyester putty on the nacelles is delaminating! New nacelles are in order. The canopy is really mucked up, so I probably should make a new vac-form “buck” out of a single blob of epoxy putty. Lots of crummy handiwork in evidence!
The trolley is from DML’s Arado E-377 Mistel, and will be suitably “backdated” to the configuration for the Ar-234A.
Now that does look very nice G, you really have to get that finished. I was having a look at the V6 in my kagero referance book last night, you have caugfht it brilliantly. Would i be right in think you have engraved the tops of the wings above the outer engines, because that is very well done.
Yeah I’m about halfway through the build portion of it. It sits there right in front of me at all times…and it’s bugging me that I haven’t finished it.
Your build actually made me realise how much is visible through all that glass and how much wiring is exposed. Not sure if yours is the same, but the main instrument panel on mine attaches to the front canopy section. And thanks to you [;)] i am wiring up the whole IP and will have to try and feed the wires into the fuselage as i attach the front clear piece. There is a lot more in there than i had thought.
But its ok, i only have 4 more Dragon 234’s to build after this one [:'(]
Man I’ve gotta tell you, I took a break from aircraft because 1.) I like cars so dang much and 2.) I really felt that I needed to work on my painting and weathering so although I haven’t been actually building aircraft for the last few years, I have been watching and learning.
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