I got back into this fascinating hobby a year ago (or so), and plunged into a number of massive projects that are taxing my newbie skills to the maximum. Last month a good friend told me to take a break from the sometimes seemingly “progress free” projects and build a kit as close to OOB as I could.
Well, I chose a Tamiya 1:48 scale Ta-183 Huckebein that’s been in my stash for a long time… It was the Nazi’s attempt at a second generation jet that they didn’t get to finish because the war came to an end, and is a re-box of the excellent AmTech kit released some years ago.
The kit builds beautifully, and has almost flawless fit, apart from a few places round the underside joint & the jet exhaust, so made the perfect “easy build”. I added some Eduard PE belts to the stock cockpit, and some neat little yellow wiring to the rear of the instrument dials, but other than that, it was totally OOB.
I also tried out a few new techniques (to me), being pre-shading, watercolor washes, and using Future with my airbrush. After a few problems, I managed to finish it off this afternoon. JUST in time for my friend’s jocular deadline of New Year’s Eve.
VERY NICE! I thought that only AMTECH released it as a 1/48th kit. I’ve never seen one by Tamiya unless they now have the molds. I’m still waiting to build mine after I finish my T-6s and Harvard kits.[tup][tup]
Thanks - the box is definitely Tamiya, and it comes with a Kettenkraftrad, a motorcycle half-track tow truck, which I’ve not used. There’s actually an AmTech logo on the painting diagram, and it states that “Plastic pasrts of the plane manufactured by Amtech”.
Tamiya must have bought the rights to re-box and market them - over here in the UK they retail for about £35, which is a heck of a price considering the size of the kit, but I managed to pick mine up rather much less than that [:D]
Here’s a shot of the cockpit earlier in the build:
Cheers! Do it, it’s a great little kit, and very rewarding. It’s a very handy “feelgood” kit, because there are no real pitfalls, unless you make a mess like I did & screw up the Futuring of one of the wings. I came VERY close to having to re-paint one wing, and would have missed my “deadline”… but I didn’t [:D]
Hi, great job my friend!!! is a very fine kit, and you done an exellent job!
I´m just building a close relative of this plane: A IA-33 Pulqui II this plane was build in argentina in the ´50, the plane was designed by Kurt Tank, the same guy who designed the Ta 183 (Ta, was by Tank) and the Fw 190. my kit is a resin one and 1/72 scale
You can see the heritage of the Huckebein in the Pulqui II… I believe the Russians nicked either an airframe or the plans too after the war, and turned it into their first jet Mig (I forget the number), after adapting the fuselage to accept a British Nene engine, and changing the T-tail for aerodynamic reasons.
Some of the same people who work with Tank in the Ta 183, after the war was over emigrated to the ussr and they help to design the Mig 15, and as an anecdote, the pulqui also have the same engine, a roll royce nene II…
Thanks Swanny - much appreciated, especially a guy with your skills. In fact, I owe my successful application of Future to your article on the website [bow]
Mike, Great looking build. I built that kit in its Amtech box, and its was really fun. At one point, you think to yourself, “What nothing else to glue? Already?”
