Platz 1/72 He-219A-7 , previewed by Scott Van Aken

The Heinkel He 219 Uhu ("Eagle-Owl") was a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including Lichtenstein SN-2 advanced VHF-band intercept radar, also used on the Ju 88G and Bf 110G night fighters. It was also the first operational military aircraft to be equipped with ejection seats and the first operational German World War II-era aircraft with tricycle landing gear. Had the Uhu been available in quantity, it might have had a significant effect on the strategic night bombing offensive of the Royal Air Force but only 294 of all models were built by the end of the war and these saw only limited service.

THE KIT

This is not an original Platz tooling, the kit actually being the He-219 that was released by Dragon many years back. It is still a very nice kit and offers nicely engraved panel lines. The kit actually builds either an A-2, A-5 or A-7 variant, the external differences being pretty well non-existent.

The kit does include several extra bits that I don't think were included with the Dragon offering. I'm not sure about p.e., but this kit includes a fret of photo etch which is mainly for the SN-2 'Staghorn' antennas. A few other bits are for the radio altimeter and comm antennas. The biggest plus to this kit is that there are form fitted weights included. The He-219 is notoriously tail heavy and modelers generally have fits trying to find

enough space for weights. You get six of them with this kit. One small one for the nose, a big one for behind the cockpit and four others to put into the engine nacelles. Another very nice addition is a cardboard form that you cut from the bottom of the box. This will help you keep the wings and fuselage properly aligned while the glue dries.

As you can see from the parts layout, there are a few bits not used so keep that in mind. Otherwise the kit is fairly straight forward. The cockpit includes a rear bulkhead with all the radar electronics boxes. The seat bottoms are molded onto the floor of the cockpit, with the builder adding the seat backs and control column. Decals are provided for the instrument panel. There really isn't all that much in terms of wheel well detail. The kit provides separate prop blades and when one inserts the wings, they need to overlap each other.

Markings are provided for three planes. All are with NJG 1 which is pretty much the only unit that flew these. The A-5 and A-7 are in overall RLM 76 with RLM 75 mottles on the upper surfaces. The A-2 has a black underside with an upper surface similar to the other two. This one also has white spirals on the black prop spinners. Instructions are entirely in Japanese so being able to take advantage of the various building notes will be difficult unless you can read Japanese. Color information is in Gunze and Model Master references.

You have probably guessed that this kit is designed for the Japanese market. However, unless you are a tyro when it comes to model building, you should have no problem assembling this kit. The inclusion of the weights is a real bonus and something I wish more model companies did. Platz also makes a clear masking set and a color etched detail set for this kit that should really bring it to life. This was an important and relatively successful night fighter and deserves to be in one's collection.

My thanks to Platz Model for the preview kit. If your local retailer doesn't carry it, ask them to order it for you.

KIT #:	AE-1
PRICE:	4800 yen SRP
DECALS:	Three options
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	Dragon tooling with photo etch and metal parts