Brengun 1/144 Heinkel He-162A
By Matt Bittner
Introduction
The Heinkel He-162A was a late-WWII German jet that, while impressive, was a bit late to really make a difference. Known as the Spatz ("Sparrow") the aircraft was developed very quickly and most of the production was in underground bunkers. It was of mixed design but was still a fast aircraft, obtaining a maximum speed of 521 miles per hour at 20,000 feet. Unfortunately, due to the small size of its fuel tank, the aircraft only had a thirty-minute flying time.
The first known "kill" by an He-162A was in mid-April, 1945, and continued until the end of the war. There were only two known He-162As shot down, the rest lost to "other" factors (such as flameouts, structural failures, etc.).
The Kit
The Brengun 1/144 Heinkel He-162A consists of 28 pieces of grey, injected plastic and one clear canopy. There are decals for 3 aircraft:
- 3/JGI, Oblt. Emil Demuth, May 1945
- 1/JGI, Oberst Herbert Ihlefeld, May, 1945
- 1/JGI, Unknown pilot, May 1945
Construction starts with adding all the internal pieces to one fuselage half which includes the rear cockpit bulkhead and built-up nose-wheel assembly. You will have to attach the nose gear prior to painting so pay attention and be careful while painting. Knowing me, though, I'll still probably knock it off anyway. The instructions do state you need at least two grams of weight for the model to sit on its nose gear.
Once everything is in one fuselage half the two halves are glued together and the instrument panel and seat are added to the cockpit while the front of the engine nacelle is glued on as well. Finally, the rest of construction results in a built-up airframe with the addition of the wings, tail pieces and canopy. When you turn the model over to work on the underside, while you may want to wait until after painting to add the main landing gear and gear doors, you may want to add the center section of the landing gear area to ensure it blends with the rest of the fuselage and can be painted as the same time as the rest of the airframe.
Conclusion
This is an excellent rendition of the Heinkel He-162A in 1/144 and will look great when completed. Couple it with Brengun's own photoetch set for it, along with their vacuum-formed canopy, and you'll have a stunning model. It shouldn't take too long to build out-of-the-box.
Many thanks sent to Brengun for sending the review model.