Brengun 1/144 Bachem Ba 349 Natters
By Matt Bittner
Introduction
The Bachem Ba 349 Natter was one of the developments of the WW2 Luftwaffe that was going to help stem the tide of Allied bombing. It was to be a point-defence, rocket-powered interceptor that when the aircraft reached the intended target – an Allied bomber – the pilot was to set off all the rockets in the nose of the aircraft to bring down said bomber. There was only one test-flight which resulted is the death of the test pilot.
The Kits
Brengun has released two sets of Bachem Natters: the Ba 349A and the Ba 349 M52/M58. Each boxing contains two kits with enough markings for both. To be truthful I'm not exactly sure what is meant by "M52/M58". While each of the prototype machines received first "BM", then "M", designations with the number of the airframe built, there were only about 36 Natters built, total, which includes 14 of the prototype, 'A'-designated machines. So what Brengun means by "M52/M58" is beyond me.
Be that as it may, the kits are really well done and there isn't a lot to each. Each includes a rudimentary cockpit (which is definitely "good enough" for a closed canopy), an instrument panel, an exhaust and the nose cone that are inserted into one fuselage half. Once that is accomplished the fuselage halves are glued together and the flying surfaces added. In addition the solid rocket boosters are built up, one set added to each side (although these might best be left off until closer to the end to ensure everything is painted). The last steps are adding the single-piece canopy and the "cradles" for each machine, these being built up from six separate pieces.
It won't take a lot of time to finish one – or both – Natters from the box.
Conclusion
Although one could consider these "what-ifs" since they never saw operational status, they are still great injected kits from Brengun as their first foray into the field in 1/144. If you're looking for a quick build or want a Natter in 1/144 then by all means pick up one – or both – of these boxings.
My thanks to Brengun for sending these for review.