Hasegawa

1/48 Arado Ar234C-3

Kit Number: 09845

Reviewed by  Rod Lees, IPMS# 10821

MSRP: $40.00 Distributor's website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com If you have built any of the Ar234 series by Hasegawa, you’ll recognize this kit. With this release, we once again have the four-engine version (the "C") with appropriate parts for converting from twin-engine to a quad configuration. The RATO packs, external tanks, fuselage and all assorted other bits are the same as in the earlier Hasegawa releases. What is notable is the cockpit does not have the "blown" bubble version of the "C", as provided a few years ago by the Promodeller release of this same kit. This version contains the standard "B" cockpit canopy. I have always enjoyed this aircraft’s appearance. If you have ever seen the Ar234B at the Smithsonian you would have noted a mass of yellow wiring, aluminum tubing, and other colorful bits out in the open behind the instrument panels. (It is now on display ad Udvar-Hazy center at Dulles Airport, and much more difficult to get close to). An older copy of the now-defunct "Airpower" magazine series has excellent references if you can find it (about 1978 or so if I remember correctly) As I had indulged in AMS the last time I built one of these, I decided to do minimal additions to see how it looks using the kit instrument decals, and dry brush painting. The only things I added were photo etch seat belts and rudder pedals from my Tamiya Storch kit build of last year; I had used the earlier rudder pedals on that kit and did not need all the seat belts and harnesses provided in that version, so they were sitting in the stash waiting for me to use them here! Fit of the parts is excellent. I’ve built three versions of this kit over the years and had no filler requirements before; just sand down the seam after assembly (I use liquid cement so follow the "squeeze after gluing and sand down the excess later" method). The only difficult part I had this time was a bit of shrinkage around the clear main canopy section, which left a step requiring me to fill the shelf.

I know the Ar234C-3 was more of a recon aircraft, but I really wanted the big bomb hanging off it. I also could find no pix of the cameras being used, so I just painted over the upper and lower camera windows on the tail of the aircraft. A set of cameras is included in the kit; a very nice touch because, if I had used the recon windows, they would have been very visible. In this case, it just meant I have some cool cameras for the parts bin. The kit instructions show a winter camo scheme, so I painted the aircraft lower section Tamiya AS-5 light blue (German air force, a generic light blue that fits most schemes). I masked and sprayed the upper section overall flat white, then masked the splinter camo using Tamiya tape and eyeballed the camouflage diagram. I then sprayed some old Aeromaster RLM 81 (Brownish-green). I let it cure overnight, then shot clear gloss and decaled. I kept looking at it going "ugh"… and determined I didn’t like the brownish-green and white, so it needed to go. I stripped off the decals using Scotch tape ®, masked everything that I didn’t want RLM 83 Light German Green, and sprayed away with Tamiya’s AS-23 Luftwaffe light green. (Close enough to RLM 83 for me) Did you know that lacquer will blush in high humidity? I knew that, yet ignored our week of nonstop rain in central Oklahoma. Silly me. Afterwards, as the paint cured I thought "Hey, it looks weathered, but still needs touch up". Spray paint a big "S" on my forehead next time. I tried to use Modelmaster Acryl Light Green and it does not match Tamiya’s shade. I finally re-masked and shot the Tamiya Light green again. Remove the mask, let it cure, and shoot gloss over all. The blush disappears! Find a new set of decals from a Tamiya ME-262 (they fit perfectly) and use a couple of the remaining unit decals, and we’re about done. Glosscoat, cure, flatcoat, and remove masking… By the way, the decals deserve special mention. They are true-color (White crosses, not yellow or cream!), extremely thin, and adhere well. They are also a lot more fragile than the old Hasegawa decals; I had two crosses fold over and stick to themselves during application, and they don’t move well once in place. Use the saliva method, be SURE where you want them to go, and have at it because, once they are down, they are DOWN! We need to thank Hasegawa for listening to us whiny modelers. Remember that the new decals require much more skill and modeling technique during application. Now comes the fun part; Painting the canopy sealing surrounds. I decided to try the "Sharpie" © route (I used a black, gloss pen) and it looked good as I ran the pen around the canopy. Then, I tried a new technique for the very noticeable screw heads around the canopy seals; a silver paint pen with a sharp point. It worked until about screw number 35, when a huge silver bleedout from the pen occurred. Monkey screaming time again. After the silver dried, I hand-painted the seals using scale black. It looked okay, but by this time it was midnight and my hands and eyes weren’t cooperating. I also had to touch up the RLM 81. In the end, I said "ptttth" and left it alone. After all the bits were installed, I added a couple of replacement forward gun muzzles made from plastic rod with the end drilled out using the #11 Knife blade drill method. The kit has muzzles are glued in place to existing half barrels, but the seam doesn’t look good. Just carefully drill the kit mounts out, and add your own. In the end, I’m fortunate to have one of the missing members of my Luftwaffe collection. Overall rating 10 on my scale; it was a good build. Thanks to Dragon Models USA and Hasegawa for releasing this kit again!