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Heinkel He51 B.1 1:48 Roden The He51 was a development of the earlier He49. The He49 was officially an advanced trainer but in reality it was a fighter for the then secret Luftwaffe. The He51 was a conventional single bay biplane with fabric covering a metal tube construction, armament was a pair of 8mm machine guns in front of the pilot, firing through the propeller. It was ordered into production in early 1933. In the summer of 1936 six aircraft were delivered to Spain to fight in their civil war. These initial operations were successful and more deliveries were made, eventually a full three 12 aircraft squadrons formed the Legion Condor, all manned by German "Volunteers". With the introduction of aircraft such as the Polikarpov I-15, and I-16 the Heinkels lost their edge in air-to-air warfare and were relegated to ground attack where they proved successful and would refine the close air support tactics which the Luftwaffe would use to great effect in WWII. Despite heavy losses 46 He51s would survive the Spanish Civil War and would be joined by another 15 new builds to serve in the Spanish Air Force. The last of these aircraft would not retire until 1952. The Kit The kit arrives on 5 sprues of light grey plastic and one small clear sprue. The parts are well moulded with no flash or other defects visible. The panel lines on the metal cowlings are engraved, and the fabric effects are restrained and very well done. Construction starts strangely with the centre line fuel tank; this is two halves with mounting brackets. Following this another set of sub-assemblies in the form of the horizontal tails, with their elevators and control horns are put together. Only following this does construction move to the cockpit area. The main cockpit floor has the control column and rudder pedals attached, and the seat has its mounting parts attached. At this stage the machine gun barrels are fitted to the engine cover, and the spindle for attaching the propeller is added to the engine front section. Following this the side framing for the cockpit interior has a couple of extra parts added to it. The instrument panel is then built up along with the underside radiator. Next the exhausts are added into each fuselage half. The wheels are built up and added into their spats at this time. The interior of the fuselage/cockpit is now assembled. The floor, seat, and instrument panel are added into the main framing. The flaps can then be added to both the upper and lower wings. The next step is to close the main fuselage around cockpit section. The radiator housing, engine front, and engine decking are added at the front. To the rear the tailplanes and rudder are also added. Following this both wings can be added. The lower wing fits to the fuselage with the upper wing being supported by struts towards each end, and smaller struts in front of the cockpit. Care will be needed to align these correctly. The last items to be added to complete the model are the fuel tank, wheels, and propeller. If the modeller wishes to rig their model they will have to use their own references as there is no rigging diagram supplied with the kit. Decals The decal sheet for the kit is fairly small as the aircraft did not carry much in the way of markings. Decals are provided for two aircraft; He51 B.1 - Bort 2-24 Commander of 4.J/88 Legion Condor - All over Grey. He51 B.1 - Bort 2-98 Lt Kurt Strumpell 3.J/88 Legion Condor - Disruptive Green over Grey. Conclusion This is a good looking kit of an important pre WWII aircraft, and one which played an important part in the Spanish Civil War. It would be good if Roden had provided a rigging diagram to help the modeller, however aside from this it is a great kit. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for