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Ben Walmsley
8 articles

Heinkel He 280 in 1/48

June 29, 2020 · in Aviation · · 39 · 2.6K

This is my prototype jet fighter.
The He 280 was the first aircraft designed solely as a fighter to make a jet powered flight. It also has the dubious distinction of being responsible for the first pilot ejection in history. Although it beat the Me 262 into the air, for reasons best explained by someone like Tom Cleaver, it ultimately lost out to the messerschmitt in the race to become the first jet fighter for the . Development ceased in 1942.

This kit is a reboxing of an earlier Eduard release and lacks the refinement of their newer offerings. It is broken down quite simply and the parts count is low but the fit is challenging.
The cockpit and engine internals went together nicely, only the construction of the ejector seat hinted at problems to come. Once I started to close the fuselage up I knew I was in trouble! It fought me all the way. The fit of the nacelles to the wings was also not good. I ended up having to cut off the rather large locating tabs and attach the nacelles directly to the wing in order to get them pointing in the right direction. I also neglected to test fit the sliding part of the canopy, as a result I had to thin out the bottom edges after I had painted it. Even after thinning the fit is so tight that I didn't bother with glue. Adding to the fit headache was the petite panel lines. It didn't take much sanding to completely obliterate them. This is my first attempt at rescribing and it shows. I painted the model gunze RLM 02.
This kit turned out to be a step above my novice skill level but I think it looks ok, as long as you don't get too close! I reckon I'll go back to the shake n bakes until I get my chops down.

Apologies for the quality of the photos. I really need a better set up than a phone and a desk lamp!

Thanks for checking it out.

Reader reactions:
13  Awesome

8 additional images. Click to enlarge.


39 responses

  1. Hey Ben I think you are being a little over critical my friend , you did a really nice job on this , I would love to have it sat on my finished shelf. It would look great next the Tamiya Meteor prototype version,
    Well done.

  2. Hi Ben @popeofchillitown!
    I totally agree with Neil @neil-foster.
    This a great build of a challenging kit, beautifully put together, painted and decalled.
    Would proudly have it sat on my shelf too.
    It is such a beauty, especially in this allaround RLM02.
    Congratulations!
    P.S. Have the same kit - the first version - still unbuilt. I begin to feel tempted now!

  3. Cheers Spiros! The camera is being kind to me here, there are some pretty obvious seems etc in the flesh. But I'm still happy enough with it and it's an interesting subject.

  4. Sweet. Silky smooth. Like that airplane, have in the stash for 25 years or so...

  5. Hi There,

    That is one cracking looking kit. I was leaning towards getting one myself now I may have to.

    Cheers,
    Alistair

  6. Looks good to me Ben, thanks for posting.

  7. Nice and clean build Ben.
    No criticism needed.
    Even the cockpit is nicely detailed.
    You did a great job.

  8. You got a very nice result from your efforts Ben, it looks fine from here

  9. Cheers Pedro, I appreciate it.

  10. Nice job on this Ben, I like it.

  11. That’s a terrific kit. Not sure why some find it so challenging but you sure rose to the occasion. Looks absolutely great.

  12. Nice, I wish my stuff looked this good!

  13. Looks to me like you rendered it nicely! Well done - an unusual aircraft.

  14. Ben @popeofchillitown, I do think it was the first kit by eduard from their own moulds. And really well built in my opinion - looking good! Oh yes, and the phonephotos works fine I think - your phone has got the light right, and to my eye it seems like you have let it do its thing, and not fallen into the digital-zoom-pit. Well done all over!

  15. I really like that plane, and think you did a very nice job on it. I looks great. It is one I would definitely build if I had the kit. Yours looks great and it looks like you overcame all your obstacles quite nicely.

  16. Ben, you are too hard on yourself. This looks very good! There is no better way to get your chops down than working on kits that don't fall together. I suggest finding a Modelcraft 1/48 P-82 and see what you can do with it. I'm not overly critical of kits, but there are plenty of opportunities for many types of modeling skills practice in that one kit! Some people here may think I'm joking but I'm dead serious. Just get a dog of a kit and see how nice of a result you can get out of it, even just building OOB. (My last big build was Revell's 1/48 B-1B and my goal was to build it with zero putty and I made that happen.)

  17. Profile Photo
    CJ said on June 29, 2020

    Ben, you've done some excellent work here, chief. I hadn't even heard of that aircraft before, so thanks for sharing that information. The photos are more than fine, and this is actually my first post here, so take that compliment for what it's worth. Keep it up!

    • Cheers CJ! I'm honoured mate.

      • Profile Photo
        CJ said on June 30, 2020

        Thanks for the compliment, Ben. To cut to the chase (and I don't meant to dive too deeply into politics here), may I ask your opinion on who you think the worst Nazi was? Recently read a book on Roland Freisler, yet Oskar Dirlewanger makes him look like Mother Theresa.

  18. Slick looking build, Ben!

  19. Hi, Ben...

    There's nothing wrong with this build. I appreciate it took some taming, but we've all been there and are likely to be there again sometime in the future! A very clean build and as sleek-looking as the original. Well done... 😉

    Regards,

    Paul

  20. That is so nice Ben @popeofchillitown! I need one of these! Great work man. 🙂

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