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This is a new decal
sheet from Cutting
Edge Modelworks. The sheet includes markings for 7 different Luftwaffe
Ar 234's
in 1/48 scale. Three of these are operational aircraft and four of these
are "Luft '46" planes.
A total of 210 Ar 234B's and
14 Ar 234 C's were built during WW2. The Ar 234C had 4 jet engines (BMW
003 jet engines) as opposed to the two Jumo 004's used by the Ar 234B's
and the Me-262. The Ar 234B was equipped with skis for landing and
used a dolly for taking off, but the AR 234C was equipped with landing
gear. Lack of fuel and general chaos kept the Ar 234 from having an impact
on the outcome of the war. An Arado 234 prototype did successfully
fly over the Normandy beaches on Aug 2 1944, thus giving the German
command the first photo confirmation of what the German ground commanders
had suspected.......a huge Allied build up on the Normandy beaches.
It was only the Ar 234's ability to fly higher and faster that Allied
fighters that permitted it to successfully over fly the Normandy
beaches.
The first plane
on this sheet is a Ar 234 C-3 W.Nr.250001 from Prague-Rusin. This
plane wore an RLM 81/82 scheme on top and was RLM 76 on the underside.
The large Swastika on the tail is wearing off and appears faint.
The second
plane
on this sheet is a Luft '46 Ar 234 C-3 with KG 51. This plane wore
RLM 81 on top and was RLM "84" on the underside. A
late war scheme. Plane # is 100 and on the side of the
fuselage it wears a blue crest with a white flower. The third plane
on this sheet is a Ar 234 C-3 W.Nr.250006 from Munchen-Riem.
This plane wore RLM 81/82 scheme on top and was RLM 76 on the
underside. The large cross on the side of the fuselage is
wearing off and appears faint. The fourth
plane
on this sheet is a Luft '46 Ar 234 C-3 with KG 30. This plane wore
RLM 79 desert tan on top and was RLM 78 on the underside. Plane
# is 250120 and on the side of the fuselage it wears a red crest
with a black bird of prey in attack position with talons
extended.
The fifth plane
on this sheet is a Ar 234 C-3 W.Nr.250012 from Prague-Rusin. This
plane wore RLM 81/82 scheme on top and was RLM 76 on the underside. The
large cross on the side of the fuselage is wearing off and appears faint.
The sixth
plane
on this sheet is a Luft '46 Ar 234 C-3 with KG 3. This plane wore
RLM 81/82 scheme on top and was RLM 76 on the underside. Part
of the upper paint has been white washed for winter operations.
Plane # is 250150 and on the side of the fuselage it wears a red crest
with a yellow lightning bolt.
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The seventh plane
on this sheet is a Luft
'46 Ar 234 C-3
W.Nr.250101 with Kommando Sperling. This plane wore RLM 81/82
scheme on top and was RLM 76 on the underside. Of the side of
the fuselage there is 3 different colours of artwork for you to choose
from. The artwork is a song bird racing along at jet fast speeds
and carrying an item in his claws. The decals were flawlessly printed
on 1 decal sheet and the clear
carrier film is trimmed very close to the crisply printed colored areas, which
is always good to see. A nice addition on this sheet are a selection
of decals to represent the riveted canopy frames.
The instructions
are clear and an extra page of text instruction is included with a small bit of
general info as well as instructions about basic decal
installation. It's
very good to see Cutting Edge
Modelworks is doing some Luft '46 topics. |
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A very nice product
and highly recommended.
I would like to
thank Cutting Edge
Modelworks for providing me with this review sample.
Steve
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