1:48 Heinkel He 177A Engine set for SH kits

Heinkel He 177 A, engine set, 1:48, CMK

This is NOT an aircraft kit. It is a resin detail set of the engine intended for the Heinkel He 177 kits in 1:48 scale from Special Hobby, and you have to have the model itself. The engine is the most complex assembly of the whole aircraft and injection-molded plastic always simplifies it for production reasons. Cast resin manages what a plastic mold cannot: thin walls, sharp cooling fins, fine plumbing and exhausts. According to the manufacturer the assembly can be fitted, following the instructions, into the left or the right engine nacelle using the appropriate bulkhead.

The real subject

The Heinkel He 177 Greif was a German heavy bomber with an utterly unique and fateful power plant. It looked twin-engined, but in fact it had four engines: in each nacelle sat two engines coupled side by side and driving a single propeller (DB 606 units, DB 610 on later machines, mockingly called welded-together engines among the Germans). This was meant to reduce drag, but the result was a disaster: the shared exhaust manifold serving twelve cylinders glowed white-hot, oil and fuel from leaks caught fire inside the nacelle and the He 177 burned in the air. Crews therefore nicknamed it Reichsfeuerzeug, the Reich lighter, and flew it in fear. On this machine the engine is therefore not only a technical curiosity but the main star of the whole design, and that is why it is worth showing.

Building and painting tips

Resin does not react to cement for polystyrene, so make the joints with cyanoacrylate glue, and on larger areas with epoxy. First wash the castings in lukewarm water with detergent to remove the mold release agent; without that the paint will peel. The parts are cut off the casting blocks with a saw, not snapped off, because the thin exhausts and plumbing would crack. Sand only wet: resin dust is harmful to health and must not be inhaled. The engine looks good with a dark wash into the recesses, drybrushing on the cylinder heads and pigments on the exhausts. Important: for the engine to be visible, the nacelle cowling has to be removed or opened. Whether the set also contains thin panels or covers for such a configuration is best checked in the manufacturer's instructions.

Who the set is for

• builders of the He 177 in 1:48 from Special Hobby who want an engine with real detail
• modelers who want to show the coupled power plant, a technical rarity of the Second World War
• fans of dioramas and scenes with maintenance in progress
• more experienced builders used to resin and cyanoacrylate glue

The accessory is supplied unpainted and without the kit. The model, glue, paints and other accessories are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.