1:72 Heinkel He 162A-9 „Salamander“ JV44

The real subject

The Heinkel He 162 was a German single-seat jet fighter from the very end of the Second World War. It came about on a requirement for a simple and cheap machine that could be built quickly and without materials in short supply, so a great part of the airframe was made of wood. A single jet engine carried the aircraft in a nacelle above the fuselage, the tail surfaces were twin and the landing gear was of the nose-wheel type. The designation Salamander came into use for the whole program. The design was economical, but demanding to fly for inexperienced pilots.

What the kit contains

A plastic kit in 1:72 scale, that is a set of parts to be glued together and painted, not a finished model. The number of parts, the content of the decal sheet and the choice of color markings are given in the manufacturer's instructions. The span of the subject of around 7.2 meters corresponds in this scale to roughly 10 centimeters, so the finished model takes up little room in a display case.

Building and painting tips

The fuselage is slender and smooth, so every joint left unfinished shows on it: seat the parts dry first, cut the surplus material away with a sharp blade a little way from the part and sand the rest down. Seat the engine nacelle above the fuselage symmetrically and check it from the front, because a leaning nacelle is conspicuous on a finished model. Line up both vertical tail surfaces in the same way. On an aircraft with nose gear, try beforehand whether the model sits down on its tail, and if need be add weight to the nose before you glue the fuselage together. Mask the canopy before you spray the paint.

Terms of supply

Paints, glue, thinner and tools are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.