Arado Ar (E) 555

[Paul A H]

Arado Ar (E) 555

1:72 Revell

The futuristic Arado Ar 555 was the result of a technical directive issued by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium in early 1944 for a high speed bomber that would be capable of delivering a payload of up to 4000kg over a range of 4800km. The distinctive flying wing configuration was selected by Arado in April 1944. It was to be powered by six jet engines of a similar type those used with the Arado Ar234 and Heinkel He 162. As with so many German projects, The Ar 555 never actually left the ground. On 23 December 1944 the project was cancelled by the RLM due to the worsening military situation facing Germany and the need to concentrate resources on fighter production.

Revell’s Ar 555 was a popular kit when first released in 1998 and, prior to this re-release, it has commanded a high price on the second hand market. The kit is packed into Revell’s usual boxvelope, inside which are three fairly large sprues of grey plastic and a single sprue of clear plastic. Owing to the clean flying wing shape, the kit has relatively few parts for its size; just 98. That doesn’t mean that this kit is basic or lacking in detail however. The airframe is covered in beautifully clear engraved panel lines and restrained rivet and fastener details. There is plenty of detail in other areas too, including the cockpit and bomb bay.

The cockpit tub is combined with the nose gear bay. Both sides of the part are nicely detailed, and Revell have done a good job of hiding the ejector pin marks so that they can’t be seen. Instrument details are represented by fine, raised lines and the seats even have belts moulded in place. Other details include radio consoles, a control column, rudder pedals and a bomb sight.

The distinctive engine pod is comprised of an upper and lower halve (all six engines are moulded together) and six seperate intakes and exhausts. The intakes feature compressor fan detail, which although barely visible, is a nice touch. A full complement of defensive armament is also provided, including two remotely operated turrets an two forward firing guns in the wing roots. Offensive armament is comprise of two large bombs of the 2000kg Sprengbombe Cylindrich category, and three smaller SC1000 bombs. The model is clearly designed to be built with the bomb bay open, as the bomb bay doors are moulded in seperate halves.

Strangely enough though, the landing gear doors are moulded as single pieces. These will have to be cut into three parts each prior to assembly. The nose gear bay looks great as Revell have packed in plenty of structural detail, rivets and hydraulic lines. The main landing gear bays and the bomb bay are similarly well detailed. They should look excellent once painted and, because they are moulded as part of the lower wing, there’s no need to worry about them popping out once the upper and lower fuselage/wing parts are joined. The undercarriage legs and wheels are all superbly detailed. The clear parts look good and the canopy framework is crisp and clear, which should make masking nice and easy.

Two schemes are provided for on the decal sheet, both aircraft of the Luftwaffe 1948 Project Wing, and of course both are fictitious. The decals themselves look nice. They are well printed and feature bold colours and crisp details. They do look quite matt though, so I’d recommend applying them to a high gloss coat to prevent silvering.

Conclusion

This beautiful model is a superb indication of what Revell are capable of. Despite the low part count, the kit is superbly detailed and should be well within the capability of all modellers. If you like Luftwaffe ’46 projects or simply anything unusual (or even just superbly made kits), they I would heartily recommend this kit to you.

Review sample courtesy of

[marty_hopkirk]

Good to see this one back.

Marty...

[Mike]

I've got one of these too, and it's a lovely little kit... one of the few 1:72 kits left in my stash

[Richard E]

A very different looking aircraft, I'm wondering if it would have evolved more exotic variants such as photo reconnaissance or even electronic warfare/intelligence gathering platforms.....

[TonyGol]

Cracked open the box on one of these last night after reading the review. Its very crisp overall but the tails let it down on the one I have, a few sink marks on each side of the tails and some of the these are right on panel lines. A bit of sanding and rescribing should sort them out.

Tony