Heinkel He 177 'Grief' under construction

B

Bunkerbarge

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That camoflage should prove interesting to apply.

I'm afraid I can't help but I can share a story. When I was in my early teens and a long time before I ever got my hands on any form of spraying equipment I got hold of the Airfix version of this plane. The Airfix one has a mottled fuselage side and the usual splinter pattern on top. The only option open to me at the time was to dry brush the mottling and I did it one afternoon, sat with my Grandma, while she watched cricket on the TV. I trimmed a brush down with a pair of scissors and applied it pretty much as you would stencil on both sides. Each side took me about two hours to complete and I remember to this day how pleased I was with the results. I wish I still had that model, a testament to my patience as a youngster, if for no other reason than to see just how it did end up looking!!

One of those models you'd love to have a go at again one day just for the memory!

I'm sure this one will be a world apart and put my fourty year old offering to shame.
 
J

JFJ

Guest
Hi Richard,

Yes, like you said the kit provides the markings for a mottled version. Interesting camouflage, especially the one on the box where it almost appears like you are practically drawing 'scales' on the fuselage.

Adrian
 
jspitza

jspitza

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Was it Barry who used a sliced potato, dipped into the paint to produce a very complex mottle? I think it was under the Tutorials section but a quick search should help you out a bit. Take care, Jeff
 
AlanG

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Seen one of these being built on a different forum. Person that was building said it wasn't great as alot of detail you need to build is hidden when fully built. I have one of these in my stash and after his step by step i moved it down the list for building lol
 
T

treyzx10r

Guest
Adrian I just got this same kit myself looking forward to seeing this!There are a lot of upgrade parts for this are you planning any?I'm thinking of ordering the Fritz missiles and the exterior upgrade.

Trey
 
S

sprayman

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What a very interesting build this will be, didnt the luftwaffe nick name this the Flaming Coffin.( Wheres Steve when you need him...:smiling5:)
 
J

JFJ

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\ said:
What a very interesting build this will be, didnt the luftwaffe nick name this the Flaming Coffin.( Wheres Steve when you need him...:smiling5:)
Click to expand...
No Ray in fact its nickname was 'torch' simply, because the engines often overheated, resulting in engine fires way before there was actual combat. This is what the instructions say lol.
 
B

Bunkerbarge

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I don't know about anyone else but the attachments don't seem to work for me.
 
stona

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Most common nick name was "Luftwaffenfeuerzeug" or "Luftwaffe lighter". The insistence in the specification that this aircraft should be capable of medium angle dive bombing (something that obsessed the Luftwaffe high command) meant that the designers only wanted to use two propellers. Complex aerodynamic reasons for this. In order to have powerful enough engines they bolted two DB601 engines together to drive one propeller through one gear box. This system had a marked tendency to overheat or,worse,burst into flames. This was partly due to a very high tech cooling system which dispensed with radiators and their inherent drag. Unfortunately,like many high tech solutions, it didn't work as well in the real world as it did on paper!

It's an amazing aircraft and like many later Luftwaffe types looked far more modern than it was.

Cheers

Steve

Edit,love the idea of the Hs293 "Fritz" missiles.
 
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stona

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If you fancy some bizzarre paint scheme,how about the styles of "mottle" on these He177s captured at Fassberg at the end of the war.

It just shows that they were trying just about anything towards the end. You won't find these looks in any official directives.

I suspect that our professional sprayers would not have a high opinion of the second effort!

Cheers

Steve
 
S

sprayman

Guest
Thanks for the info on this birds nickname, I thought it was nicknamed due to the fact that they where an easy target, consider myself enlightened.
 
S

sprayman

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All falling together now Adrian, nice build going on, Im sure Steve will enlighten us when he gets a few minutes spare.
 
B

Bunkerbarge

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This is actualy a very interesting read:

Heinkel He 177 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
stona

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Good links Richard. I rarely trust Wikipedia 100% as it depends so much on the contributers but there's nothing to argue with in that entry as far as I know anyway. The second one has got a couple of pictures I've never seen before so thanks again! He's a bit off on his colour interpretation but it may have been done a while ago,these things change as more information becomes available.

I'll see what I can dig up on operations when I get home next week but the He177 was little used. I believe most served on the Eastern Front.

I found these production figures:

8 Prototypes

35 He 177A-0 (Mainly Arado built)

130 He 177A-1 (Arado built)

170 He 177A-3 (Heinkel Built)

826 He 177A-5

In the context of wartime production this is very small beer.

Cheers

Steve
 
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