Antares Models is run by Marcelo Russo and is located in Argentina. They offer various "Luft 46" type kits and conversions in both 1/72 and 1/48. I came across this conversion while doing research for another project and had to have it.

Comprised of 33 parts molded in a creme resin and 20 white metal parts, the casting is quite nice. The parts are basically direct replacements for the kit parts, but a bit of modification to the basic airframe will be necessary. The main wings are cast as solid parts and I could find no pin holes or other blemishes on them. The panel lines are a bit light, but nothing a quick swipe with a scriber won't fix. The panel lines on the provided twin tail are nicely done however. Parts are provided to build either the He-277-V2 or the twin-tail He-277-V3.

The white metal parts consist of propeller blades and optional exhaust flame dampers for the night bomber version.

The instructions are 5 8x11 pages, sufficiently illustrated to get assembly done, cover the mods needed to the basic kit and include a 3-view drawing. No decals are included, so those would need to be scrounged from another source.

Marcelo only ships by registered airmail so shipping can be a bit expensive, depending on where you live. Shipping to the US was only $18.63 so my total coats was $58.63... not too bad. Marcelo e-mailed me that shipping would take 12/15 working days and the set was in my PO in 17 days. The kit was packaged in a stout cardboard box, was well secured and arrived intact.

Antares Models kits can be ordered through their website (www.antaresmodels.com) and payment can be made through PayPal if desired.

Even though it states that it is for the Revell kit, I compared it to the older Airfix/MPC kit and imagine that it would fit it as well. A very nice conversion set, and well worth the money. The casting is top notch and the price is right. It will take a bit of work to make it all fit together so I can't really recommend this to novice builders, but someone with a bit of experience working with conversions and resin should have no trouble.

I imagine most people will build the twin-tail He-277-V3 and it should make quite an impression on the contest table.

 Mark Hiott

May 2012