Zoukei-Mura 1:32 Zoukei-Mura He219 Brass Undercarriage

[rkranias]

1:32 He219 Metal Struts

 

Zoukei-Mura Super Wing Series

Catalogue # SWS06-M01

Available from Zoukei-Mura

 

 

Zoukei-Mura’s recent release of the He219 is truly nothing short of exceptional engineering and detail of a spectacular subject.

 

A great feature of all Zoukei-Mura’s releases is the great selection of after market goodies.  There is an offering of over a dozen upgrades ranging from turned brass, resin accessories, figures and decals.

 

The exceptional quality we have become accustomed from Zoukei-Mura continues with a undercarriage upgrade with their Metal Struts.

 

 

 

INITIAL REMARKS

 

The He219 Metal Strut set comes packed in a small top tuck poly carton.  Inside are the main gear and the front gear.  First look at the main gear I see a lot of cleaning will be needed.  Detail is well executed and the strut components are well done.

 

 

 

What appears to be heavy seam on the main gear are accurate weld seams on the real thing.  I had to dig into my references as well as some Udvar Hazy NASM photos of the current restoration of a He219 to confirm the weld seams.

 

The front gear is a multi part set which allows choice of posing wheel in a turned position.

 

 

 

 

Main gear.  Left, kit supplied metal struts are well done.  Surfaces are with very smooth with very little flash.  Right, the brass struts clearly illustrate the inside and outside weld seams and at joints.  Surface is not as smooth as the kit supplied metal struts so some preparation will be required to achieve a smooth surface.  Care must be taken to preserve the weld seams.

 

 

Nose gear.  Right shows higher detail than the kit supplied strut on left.  Further, the white brass metal offers some build/finish flexibility allowing a turn position.

 

 

The kit supplied metal struts are well made but very smooth and will certainly work well especially if you plan on using the 4oz nose weight to keep your He219 from being a tail dragger providing desired support and strength on your undercarriage.

 

These white brass struts offer accurate weld seam detail and the front wheel turn option.  As with the kit supplied metal struts all components are direct drop in replacement.

 

Careful cutting using a Dremel cutting tool or saw designed for cutting metal is recommended.  I tried my heavy duty hand cutters and with a fail I resorted to my trusty Dremel cutting tool.

 

Nice clear instructions included.  If you desire, as my eye will agree, you have an option to download a larger PDF from the Zoukie-Mura website,

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Exceptional craftsmanship and accurate detail.   There will be some smoothing in store however, these struts are very well done with clear instructions

 

If you want option to have front wheel turned as well as exceptional detail.  This detail set is highly recommended.  Noting, great companion is the Zoukei-Maura resin weighted wheel set either SWS06-M03 with tread or SWS06-M02 without tread.

 

My sincere thanks to Zoukei-Maura for this review sample.

 

Rick Kranias

Facebook Link: Bezoula Builds

[JeroenPeters]

Wow! So now i know where these weld beads come from i saw in a finished build. Amazing stuff.

Clean and crisp.

Great review.

 

Cheers,

Jeroen

[James H]

Nice review Rick.

 

I like how the nose gear is positionable too. Very useful 

[One-Oh-Four]

Thanks for your elaborate review Rick! It's very helpful! Keep up the good work!