Arado Ar 234B-2

by Rafi Ben-Shahar
 

Arado Ar 234B-2

Hasegawa's 1/48 scale Arado Ar 234B-2 may be ordered online from Squadron.com

Having built Hobbycraft's night fighter version of the Arado Ar 234 in 1/48 scale (also presented in Hyperscale), I could not resist Hasegawa's new offering.

I was not the least disappointed although it is not an easy model to build. The new model has additional panel lines and access hatches that are finely engraved. The elevators and rudder actuators are proportional in size and the engine cowlings are better shaped than the Hobbycraft kit.

Highlights of the model include enhanced cockpit features and detailed Walter thrust units. However, the fit of the cockpit unit to the fuselage and the fit of front wing area with the fuselage require careful modifications not to disrupt the fine aerodynamic features of this aircraft.

The cockpit received extra attention because of the complex arrangement of instruments and the all around glazed cover. For a better view, I cut the upper escape hatch. I also cut the individual instruments from the instrument decals and applied in the right places. No need to battle with the large decal over the beautifully engraved knobs and levers. The rest was a straight forward job. No frustrations. I added wires to represent the pedal cables and the wires from the head on flight instruments that can be seen from the outside of the real aircraft. Other than the flight instruments panel, no other part required extra work to enhance the look of the cockpit. Naturally, seat belts were self made. Pay attention for the electric circuits panel on the right side because it is glued to the transparent part and not to the bottom side of the cockpit as the instructions indicate! There was plenty of space for some weight, which was a relief.

I had extra work on this kit because it seems that someone stepped on the box during the shipping process. (I could see the shoe marks). And guess what? Of all the parts, the transparent tree was damaged. So, the reconnaissance version was out of the question because the camera windows part was broken. In addition, I had to modify the bent cockpit glazed parts. In any case, I had an eye for the attractive winter camouflage of Josef Regler's aircraft.

Here is what I found about my subject aircraft. It wore Werknummr 140173 (as seen on the forthcoming Cutting Edge decal set) and I had to improvise the figures from spare decal sets. The aircraft crash landed at Segelsdorf after an engine flame out. It seems that the pilot tried to disengage some P-47s and opened the throttles too quickly. This was the first Ar 234 to fall into the Allies hands. It also had some bullet holes, but otherwise was not damaged and was transferred to the RAE. It seems that this is the only surviving Arado, presented today at the NASM.

Painting was a challenge because of the overlay of RLM 76 on the spine of the fuselage and engines. Some photographs show clearly that the light coloured paint was actually brushed and not sprayed over the existing standard camouflage. I chose to spray and brush the light colour over the Wk Nr. Unlike the presentation of the NASM aircraft that I had a chance to photograph a few years ago, I chose a brownish hue of RLM 81 that contrasts better with the light RLM 76.

Finally, I used spare decal ribbons of bolting strips from the Hobbycraft kit because they look so similar to the real aircraft.

In all, Hasegawa's 1/48 scale Ar 234B-2  was an interesting and a pleasing model to build.

It is a pity that the model's price is not cheap and that there were few camouflage patterns suffice to entice one to build many more Arados.

Model, Images and Article Copyright © 2002 by Rafi Ben-Shahar
Page Created 03 September 2002
Last updated 04 June 2007

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