Mistel 5 - He 162A-2 w/Arado E-377a

This is basically a 2 part model project, one the He-162a and the second the Arado E-377a, along with the carrier.

It was a fun little build, but one had to make sure there was sufficient weight to keep the finished pair of kits on the carrier.

As such I built the carrier 1st, then the E-377 with weight in both the fuselage and engine nacelles. Followed by the He-162 with weight in the fuselage.
Each step of the way I allowed for testing and additional weight as needed.

Vallejo paints were used through out the project. Tamiya tape for masking the canopy along with polyethylene (PE) grafting. The PE tape is especially useful on the curved canopy area. Takes a bit of practice to apply, but works great and it's cheap.

Tamiya panel line paint was used sparingly as the Mistel 5 was late in the war.

I did run into one problem, applying the decals. I usually paint the model, then apply a gloss coat to apply the decals. This time I tried a new product. It was US Art Supply Gloss Top Coat Airbrush Colors, Water Based Acrylic Gloss Clear Top Coat. I tried using it with my airbrush, set to 18psi and a 4m needle. It produced a hair like finish and clogged the airbrush. I had to sand the finish down, really clean the airbrush, and then used my Alclad III to give me a clear coat to apply the decals. Fortunately I didn't ruin the paint job or I would have had to start over. You can sort of see the issue if you look closely at the He-162 pics.

For more information on the Mistel 5 project see the Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistel#

The Source: Green, William (1970). The warplanes of the Third Reich (1st 1973 reprint ed.). New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385057822.

This is a great book that I've had since 1973.