Manufacturer: AMtech, 5109 Aspen Drive, West Des Moines, IA 50265, 515-221-2343

Kit: No. 484601 Scale: 1/48
Price: $39.98
Comments: Injection-molded plastic, 57 parts, decals
Pros: Overall excellent fit, good detail, excellent decals
Cons: Rear deck of cockpit interferes with canopy, missiles not as well molded as rest of kit, landing gear legs too long

At the end of World War II, Germany was close to putting the Focke Wulf Ta 183 “Huckebein” into production as a response to overwhelming Allied air power. Indeed, AMtech’s fanciful box art shows a pair of Ta 183s intercepting Northrop B-35 Flying Wings escorted by Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. Who knows? This could have become reality had Germany not surrendered in May 1945.

Plans for the Ta 183 were captured by the Soviets and used to develop their MiG-15. So while the Ta 183 was never built, its design influenced the transonic jets that came along just a few years later.

New model companies rarely produce a flawless debut, but AMtech has nearly done it with this kit.

The gray and clear plastic sprues came individually protected in clear plastic bags. The eight-page assembly instruction booklet has a black-and-white copy of the box art, and a concise history of this aircraft. The assembly drawings are large and easy to follow.

The six-color Microscale decal sheet has markings for five aircraft that might have been assigned to JG52 and one aircraft for JG54 – the one I chose for my model. The decals are thin, printed in register, and went on without problems.

With just 53 parts (four more are optional), this was not a complicated model. The recessed panel lines are just a bit heavier than the current industry standards. The fit was nearly perfect, and I used no filler. My wing-to-fuselage fit was so tight that glue was unnecessary. The intake and exhaust parts fit without reshaping. Mold-parting lines needed cleanup on the landing gear legs, control column, gear door struts, and cockpit access step.

The molding of the underwing missiles was not up to the standards of the rest of the kit. The instructions don’t give any information on the missiles, nor tell why the underbelly fuel tank was semi-recessed in the open weapons bay. Optional closed bay doors are provided.

When I inserted the cockpit tub into the assembled fuselage, the rear deck rested about 3Ú32″ above the coaming. At that level, the deck interferes with the mounting of the canopy, but unless you dry-fit the canopy beforehand, you won’t discover this (well, now you’ve read about it). The deck probably should be level with the coaming.

The canopy, the only clear part in the kit, was thin, clear, and looked even better with a coat of Future floor polish. It wouldn’t take much work to cut the canopy with a razor saw and open it to show off the interior. No wing-tip navigation light lenses were provided, but I couldn’t resist fashioning a pair from clear sprue. Drops of Tamiya clear red and clear green gave each lens some color.

A loop antenna, not included in the kit, is shown on the box art and on the profile drawings in the instruction booklet. I made mine from a loop of copper wire and a disc of sheet styrene.

I airbrushed my model with several different brands of paint following the color recommendations in the instructions. The natural-metal undersurfaces were sprayed with SnJ Spray Metal. The panel lines were accented with a black .005″ tip Micron #1 archival ink pen.

In final assembly, I discovered the main landing gear struts were too long. Spreading them out a bit didn’t bring the rear of the fuselage down enough; the model still sat level. Reference drawings show a tail-down stance similar to the MiG-15. Next time I’ll shorten the struts a little and reinforce them with a section of brass tubing.

Measurements projected for the prototype found in my reference, David Myhra’s X-Planes of the Third Reich Series, Focke-Wulf Ta 183 (Schiffer), suggest the model is a couple of scale inches short in length and span … nothing to be concerned about as all the proportions look right.

Building AMtech’s Ta 183 was an enjoyable experience. It’s a “must have” for all those interested in what some call “Luftwaffe 1946,” German aircraft that might have been if WWII had gone into the late 1940s. By the way, does anyone out there know what “Huckebein” means? No? It refers to a mischievous raven. Bring that up at your next model meeting and impress your friends!