He 219A-0 Uhu Concept Note Book Review
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | August 2013 | Title | He 219A-0 Uhu Concept Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Multiple | Publisher | Zoukei-Mura Inc. |
| Published | 2013 | ISBN | 978-4-903596-15-0 |
| Format | 128 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $28.00 |
Review
Zoukei-Mura Inc. has certainly raised the bar on the quality of kits produced in 1/32 scale. As part of this strategy, they've published a series of monographs, one for each major subject produced, under the banner of Concept Note. This is number five in the series and covers the Heinkel He 219A-0 Uhu kit recently released by the company.
The title is published in Japanese and English with narrative and captions provided in both languages. The idea behind Concept Note is to provide the modeler with a one-stop reference for how the real subject looks and how the model looks at each stage in the assembly process. What's more, you're not looking at just one modeler's approach to the subject, there are several examples shown with full-color photos of each throughout their assembly process. Each modeler has chosen a different way to portray the aircraft with varying levels of flight readiness or open maintenance going on so you can examine what these options look like and how they will work for your own project.
In parallel with these color images of the models under construction are corresponding images of a 1:1 scale Uhu build. The publication team photographed the restored fuselage section on display at the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center as well as other airframe and engine components undergoing restoration in the museum's workshops. These images help reinforce the 'look' that you're trying to achieve with your own build.
This is an interesting title in that Zoukei-Mura has taken the research material that they gathered in developing their He 219A-0 kit and combined it with some nice background information as well as illustrated with several outstanding kit builds. The result is a reference that will help both the visual- as well as the narrative-oriented modeler achieve realistic builds without the painful process of searching out meaningful reference photos and data.
Whether you're tackling your own Zoukei-Mura Uhu or are building the Revell 1/32 or Tamiya 1/48 Uhu kits, this great reference will help you attain the detail and appearance of the aircraft beyond the simplified painting instructions in each kit.
Definitely recommended!
This title can be purchased from the Volks USA store.
My sincere thanks to Zoukei-Mura Inc. for this review sample!