Earlier in July, having seen the promise of the design, the RLM ordered two prototypes of a
schnellbomber version, known as Ar 234B. Since the aircraft was very slender and the interior was filled with fuel tanks, the bombload had to be carried externally on racks. The external bombload, coupled with the prospect of immobile aircraft littering the airfields post-mission made the landing skids system impractical. The B version was modified to have fully retractable tricycle landing gear, resulting in the deletion of the mid-fuselage fuel tank and a slight enlargement of the same area. Also the proposed rearward firing defensive gun system was abandoned in production aircraft although the periscope sighting system was retained for rearward vision. Normal bombload consisted of two 500kg (1,100lb) bombs suspended below the engines or a single 1,000kg (2,200lb) bomb semi-recessed underneath the fuselage. Maximum bombload was 1,500kg (3,310lb).
Production was slow however but the prototypes were used operationally in the reconnaissance role with Sonderkommando Sperling (earlier known as Sonderkommando Gotz), Sonderkommando Hecht and Sonderkommando Sommer. Cruising at 740km/h at over 9,100m altitude, these flights were mainly undetected by the Allies. The bomber version were however limited to 668km/h while carrying their load - yet they were still faster than any other Luftwaffe's bombers still in service. The bomber version was only operated by Kampfgeschwader 76, which began partial conversion to the type in June 1944. KG76 undertook the first bombing missions by jet aircraft when their aircraft attack rail targets in Namur, Belgium on 24 December 1944 and continue to attack targets in Belgium and Holland until early 1945. The unit w
as also involved in attacks against the Allied bridgehead at Remagen, specifically the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine. The unit continue to fly against both Western Allies and Soviet armies, flying until 15 April 1945. The unit surrendered to the British on 8 May 1945.
A pair of Ar 234B-2s were converted to act as prototypes for night fighters. Dubbed
Natchigall (nightingale), the aircraft was fitted with FuG 218 Neptun radar with a pair of MG151/20 20mm cannon and a twin 20mm cannon gun pod in ventral position. The radar operator was located in a cramped compartment in the rear fuselage.Two aircraft were converted and served with Kommando Bonow. A number of other variants were proposed, including the four-engined 'C', which was the only other variant that made physical form before the end of the war. In all, only 210 aircraft were built.
The Kit
For years, the only available Arado Ar 234 in 1/48 scale was from Hobbycraft. The kit was OK but was underscale. In 2002, Hasegawa came up with a new injection-moulded kit of the Blitz. I consider it to be one of the important aircraft in aerial warfare, so the Hasegawa kit became one of my 'I Want YOU In My Collection' aircraft. Having said that, I only managed to buy the kit in August 2013! The kit was moulded to the usual Hasegawa standards. The parts spread over eight sprues, with the entire nose moulded in clear plastic.Clear plastic was also used to mould the panel for recon camera windows; there were also parts for the recon cameras (both of which are irrelevant for this kit). Decals were provided for three aircraft : 'F1+GS' from 8./KG76, 'F1+AS' flown by Oberfelwebel Josef Bruchlos, also from 8./KG76 and 'F1+MT' from 9./KG76 flown by Hauptmann Josef Regler. The decals look OK. However there were no decals for the stencils.
Construction
As there was a gap of 11 years between release and my build, I can rely on build articles on the internet to avoid the pitfalls with this kit. As with any other model aircraft kits, I started with the cockpit. The cockpit parts were painted Tamiya XF-63 German Grey with touches of XF-64 Red Brown to imitate leather parts. The entire cockpit then look quite drab so I added XF-2 Flat White to some dials, especially those on the bombsight. The rest of the instruments came in the shape of decals. Once the basic pilot's office was completed, I attached the rudder pedals underneath the cockpit floor. The instructions have you assemble the front fuselage next; however I deviated by assembling the fuselage first. Despite being the bomber version, Hasegawa included steps to assemble the recon cameras but I skipped them entirely (the instructions even tell you the optional nature of the cameras). I usually did not attach landing gears early in the build, however after studying the instructions and dry-fitting, I decided that it would be better if I followed the instructions. The main landing gears and the wheel wells were first painted Tamiya XF-22 RLM grey. They were then assembled and attached to their locations on the main fuselage. The wheels and gear doors were however left off until later. The fuselage halves were then mated together, along with the underfuselage bomb recess.
Next I assembled the wings. Forewarned by the online build reviews, I cut all the locating pins and aligned the wing halves 'manually, so to speak. Whilst this resulted in perfectly aligned wing halves, it meant a slightly asymmetric hole for the pitot tube. No problem though, just a dab of filler and later re-boring the hole set things back in motion. The tailplanes went up next although I did not attch the elevator horns at this stage. I the returned to the front fuselage. Being of a tricycle landing gear configuration, the model of the Blitz is vulnerable to tail sitting and Hasegawa recommended that 20g of weight to be put in the space behind the cockpit bulkhead. I ran out of fishing weights and I end up using plasticene and since there is no way I can measure 20 grams of weight, I used the tied and tested method of balancing the model on my finger!
Then it is time to attach the bulkhead. As it is, the bulkhead cannot fit into its slot, so some judicious sanding and dry-fitting were needed. The assembled cockpit were then slotted into place. Next, the cockpit enclosure were put into place. Extra care were needed here as the fit was not great plus the need to avoid glue smears on the clear parts. I originally wanted to add some wiring to the back of the instrument panel and control pedals as the design of the Ar 234 makes them highly visible. In the end I didn't do it due to lack of suitable copper wires. The engines were then assembled but I left them off the wings to ease painting. The clear parts were then masked off. The bomb and the RATO gear were assembled but, together with the smaller bits, were left off until after painting.
Ar 234s were painted in late war camouflage of RLM 81
Braunviolett and RLM82
Lichtgrun upper colours and RLM 76
Lichtblau for the bottom. I used Tamiya XF-5 Flat Green for RLM 82 and Gunze Sangyo acrylic for RLM 81 and RLM 76. The camouflage pattern is of the hard-edged, geometric shape: I used Tamiya tape to mask the pattern for painting. It should also be noted that the three marking options have different patterns, so the decision to build which marking had to be made prior to painting. I chose 'F1+AS', the aircraft used by Oberfelwebel Josef Bruchlos to attack the Ludendorff Bridge. The aircraft, together with Obfw. Bruchlos went missing after the attack. The unpainted (on the real aircraft) portion at the rear of the engine nacelles were painted Burnt Iron. The cockpit framing was painted Tamiya X-18 Semi-Gloss Black. Hasegawa suggested that the periscope is to be painted RLM66, however looking at available photos, it looks like the periscope is painted the surrounding external colour.
Once the paint was dry, it was time for the decals. The decals work nicely and went down well with Mr Mark Softer. There were no data stencil decals however. The RATO gear was painted silver with the parachute pack painted XF55 Deck Tan and XF57 Buff; the relevant decals were then applied. Then it was time to add the remaining parts.
Finishing
I started with the main gear wheels and then followed by the assembly of the nose gear. Once the glue was set, I put the model on its 'feet' for the first time and apparently I put enough weight (perhaps more than enough) to avoid a tail-sitting stance. The gear doors were next and these were followed by the engine pods. The ADF antenna were next, but I decided not to paint it as I do not have a small enough brush to paint the tiny ridges plus it still looks good in its unpainted stage. The large bomb was painted RLM76 but I vary the tone, just to differentiate it from the underside RLM76. The RATO pack went on next - I found that their mountings were quite fiddly to assemble. Finally, tiny parts such as lights, control horns and various aerials were attached. I did not attach the auxiliary fuel tanks however, just the sway braces. Finally the model was subjected to a sludge wash and a coat of flat clear.
Conclusion
As I mentioned before, the Hasegawa offering was one of my 'Most Wanted' kits. Granted it wasn't perfect (the oversized bulkhead and mismatched wing halves being the highlight), but relative ease in building it compensates for that. A pair of smaller bombs should also made nice alternatives to the single large bomb.
