HISTORY

            The Ta‑152H was developed from the Ra‑1/Ra‑6, a series of related designs submitted by Kurt Tank in response to a request from the RLM in late 1942 for a Hochleistungsjaeger, a high‑performance high altitude fighter.  When the Technischen Amt accepted the Focke‑Wulf proposals in mid‑1943, Tank was accorded the unusual honor of having the new type designated after him, rather than being given a new "Fw" designation.  The series became the Ta‑152, and the Ta‑152H was the only one of these to see any operational service before war’s end. 

     The Ta‑152H, with a longer fuselage and greater wingspan than any other Focke‑Wulf Fw‑190 development, first appeared in prototype form in late 1944, when the Ta‑152 V3, V4 and V5 were delivered to Langenhagen.  Powered by a Jumo 213E in‑line engine, and armed with a 30mm Mk108 Motorkannon and two 20mm MG151s in the wing roots, the airplane had a pressurized cockpit that gave the equivalent cabin altitude of 16,500 ft. at 35,000 ft.    

     The first Ta‑152H‑0s - which lacked the wing fuel tanks and MW50 and GM1 systems of the operational Ta‑152H‑1 -, were in service with Erprobungskommando Ta152 in November and December 1944, under the command of Hauptmann Bruno Stolle.

     Most of the Ta‑152H‑1s delivered for operational service in February and March 1945 were equipped with the R11 Rustsatze, which included all‑weather instrumentation.  Approximately 150 Ta‑152H's were produced by the Focke‑Wulf factory at Cottbus before the factory was abandoned in the face of the Soviet advance in April 1945.

     One pilot who flew the Ta‑152H recalled that, "The flying characteristics of the Ta‑152H put all previous German fighters in the shade. Although I never flew the Me‑262, I would venture to say that the Ta‑152 was by far the superior when it came to dog-fighting with the Allied fighters then in service. In my opinion, there was no better fighter in operational service at the time."

            I have to say I find it surprising that an airplane of which fewer than 150 were built and fewer than 10 ever saw squadron service has been as well-served in plastic and resin as the Ta-152H.  In addition to several kits in 1/72 and one in 1/48, the airplane has been done three times now in 1/32. 

            Zoukei-Miura burst on the plastic airplane kit scene earlier this year with the release of their J7W1 “Shinden,” establishing themselves as a company releasing super-detailed kits.  This Ta-152H-1 is their second release, and maintains the standard.

            I was surprised to notice that the engraved detail is as heavy as it is, much more so than one would get with a Hasegawa Fw-190.  However, given the way the kit is broken down parts wise, these deeper panel lines mean that assembling the model as one complete whole will allow it to have “standard” panel lines throughout, so one will not have to fill seams to get a uniform look.

            Other than the strange parts breakdown, which allows a modeler to build a “cutaway” model if they so desire, the kit does not look difficult to assemble.  There were in fact fewer parts inside the box than I expected.

            The kit provides a nice looking Jumo 213 engine, which can form the basis for a good-looking final result if one wishes to add in the plumbing and the wires and such.  If you assemble it as a “tarmac” model with everything closed up, the engine will be visible in the wheel wells and look right without further detailing.  I also like that Zoukei-Miura finally got the shape of the propeller blades right. They also got the proper “gull” effect to the trailing edge of the wings, which no one else has done before with any kit.  The seat is provided in two - one with and one without molded-in seatbelts.  The molded-in seatbelts will look fine if one takes the time to paint them right, while “purists” can use photo-etch belts.

            Decals are provided to do every Ta-152H-1 that ever saw service with JG301, as well as different color plane-in-Staffel numbers and serial numbers to do any number of “what ifs” should one be interested.

            This kit by Zoukei-Miura is definitely the “definitive” kit of the Ta-152H. It gets everything “right” in terms of shapes and such.  While the panel lines are a bit heavy, this is due to a design decision that works if a modeler does wish to do a “cutaway.”  Overall this is an excellent kit that looks like it will build up into an outstanding model.  Highly recommended.

 Tom Cleaver

December 2010

Review kit courtesy of Dave Cooper at Coopers Models.  Order yours at www.coopersmodels.com  

Editor's Note: I included two of the many images sent in to show what the sprues are like. I'm sure that a visit to the manufacturer of the kit will provide more images.