DamonW

Hey David, I have been waiting to see this one finished. That is just beautiful!!! Great job! Damon

If I posted the link properly, this website has a good selection of photos of the He 219's captured at Grove. Just download the file. Some are grouped together by WNr. which is helpful. http://www.gyges.dk/night_fighters_odds_and_ends.htm

You have posted an excellent question and I will try and answer it as best I can, based on what I have found while researching the same question. Simply put, the standard factory weapons arrangement for A-2 and A-7 aircraft would be two wingroot MG151's, two MG151's in the forward ventral gun pod (the outer two blast tubes in the front would be open) and two MK108's in the fuselage/upwards firing arrangement. That would be your safest arrangement to base your build on. With that said, what modifications in weapons arrangements were made by crews in the field would be up to you, based on photos of the particular aircraft you are building. The ventral gun pods were still built to accept the two rear guns and could be installed later. The upwards firing cannons could also be removed and the muzzle ports on the upper fuselage taped/faired over. I would be surprised if any planes had more than six guns, in any arrangement, based on wieght considerations and what I have found. I believe the photo that shows the four blast tubes open is mislabeled and not WNr. 310189. I have a found a couple of photos showing this plane only had the two outer tubes open. It would have had the upwards firing cannons installed at the factory, but if they were removed and the ports taped/faired over I can't tell from the photos I have seen. I hope this helps and I can try and post or email you photos if you want. Damon

On a kit that is riddled with shape and accuracy issues, it isn't surprising that you have found another issue not mentioned here yet. The ZM kit is correct in regards to the shape of the superchager air intakes, for an early A-0. The later, wider "sharks' mouth" intake, as some call it, start appearing towards the end of the A-0 production run. Actaully Revell has the shape nicely done, but the postion of the intake in the port wing is incorrect. It is too close to the engine nacelle. Damon

Was aware that's on the NASM airframe (there's a photo taken from inside that compartment looking forward in an earlier post I made) - but was this on every airframe? Iain Hi Iain, I have been following this thread and enjoying the discussions and solutions presented. This is my first post here on LSP and felt I could offer something about the "skylight" or transparency on the upper fuselage. From what I have found researching the He 219, this is a production feature on all aircraft. It can be found on photos of some of the earliest production and V-aircraft through the A-7. It is difficult to distinguish on some photos because of its location and exposure issues due to the amount of light reflected from the upper surface. The Peil G6 antenna, another standard feature on the He 219 is difficult to distinguish in some photos for the same reasons. Of course with that said, it could have been overpainted in the field or replaced with another panel if damaged. Hope that helps and I look forward to seeing how your modified nacelles work out! Damon