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PK-401 Heinkel He 115 3-Colour Kit 'Bare' Build


Ventora3300

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Just getting around to starting this build - and thanks to Bone Hammer who first mentioned a possible build of the He115 but has very kindly given me a green light to pick this kit as he may have trouble locating his during a house move. 

I've never built a Matchbox kit but the calibre of the modellers wanting to be involved in this GB certainly caught my interest and as has happened before, I'm now wondering what I have been missing!

I had become aware that in their heyday, Matchbox had many kits in their range not covered by others and the He 115 seems to be one of those. Also, I was made aware that there was actually originally a Frog kit of the He 115 which was not released by Frog before they closed down and this was taken on by Revell, who also took on the Matchbox kit when they closed down - and I read up on a comparison previously posted on Britmodeller before I went a-buying. So, a very interesting background.

When I went looking for a He 115 kit on ebay, I actually ended up with three of them - the first had been started (unbeknownst to the seller?), the second didn't have swastikas in the decals and was a different set of colours and the third was eventually as expected.

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Since a 3-colour kit seems to be a Matchbox 'differentiator', I propose to build one of these kits 'bare' as someone may have done way back then, to see how good the base level and quality of this kit was, as follows:

1. retain the 3-colours - no painting other than picking out some details upon completion.

2. build OOB - no after market bits

3. minimise any blemishes on the plastic finish such as gluey fingerprints or over enthusiastic trimming/sanding - the hard bit!

4. use any 'modeller hints' available in the Matchbox publications at the time the kit was available

 

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The second kit I will complete in one of the suggested colour schemes and deploy as many of the model enhancing techniques I have mastered as yet.

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The third 'started' kit will be used for spares and for testing any balance weighting required etc.

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So, looking forward to getting started - may take a little time so patience please!

 

 

Edited by Ventora3300
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This threesome of Heinkels promises to be a very entertaining thread to keep an eye (or 3!) on!!

I like what you're proposing and think it's a great idea. I have a similar idea for when I finish my kit, however at the pace that I'm going may not quite get there.

Please keep the box on the upper left hand corner of your first photo - that looks to be in great original condition and something that I would not throw away.

 

Cheers and best of luck... Dave.  

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9 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

This threesome of Heinkels promises to be a very entertaining thread to keep an eye (or 3!) on!!

I like what you're proposing and think it's a great idea. I have a similar idea for when I finish my kit, however at the pace that I'm going may not quite get there.

Please keep the box on the upper left hand corner of your first photo - that looks to be in great original condition and something that I would not throw away.

 

Cheers and best of luck... Dave.  

Very many thanks Dave. You will be glad to hear that I am so besotted with these old kits of any manufacturer that I cannot physically throw anything away once I have built them (the few so far this time round). I have been keeping boxes, header cards, plastic bags, blisters, instructions, unused transfers and even redundant sprues! So yes, I will look after the top box (which contains the intended 'bare build' kit). However, if there is a Confirmed Matchbox super-practitioner out there in the Britmodeller community who would waste away without having one (did TonyW of 'Nostalgia, It's Not What It Used to Be' have one?) then I would be happy to donate it.

All the best (and congratulations on the fascinating Tempest build).

Mike

Edited by Ventora3300
Could have phrased it better!
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I like the idea of a straight out the box build a lot, especially as you intend having an all singing, all dancing version alongside it. Definitely the best of both worlds in my book.

I'll be following progress on this one for sure.

 

Regarding the box top donation and mention of me, Thanks, but no thanks.  My collecting doesn't properly include Matchbox kits. I've somehow acquired a few over the years, but more by accident than design. I have to draw the line somewhere and poor old Matchbox got left out in the cold. Mind you, seeing some of the stuff they turned out over the years, I might have to re-appraise that point of view!

 

Tony.

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A collection of Matchbox kits and boxes would be something that I’d love to start. I probably need to do something about all those “new tool Red boxes” that I’ve seemed to acquire in abundance over the last five years first - build them might be a good place to start!! 

 

I’ll keep this thought on hold until I go completely mad - not long now folks!! 

 

Cheers.. Dave

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I have the Revell version of the Matchbox kit to make Norwegian at some point.  Found a pic of one in camo and then found decals with the color scheme but think I will have to get the airbrush finally set up before I attempt it.

 

Will be fun watching this one come together in the bare plastic.

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The RAF flew some ex Norwegian He 115`s for Special Duties,..... flying agents to Norway and also from Malta to N.Africa, if you fancy something a little different..... looking forward to seeing you build these three, it is a nice kit. 

Image result for he 115 raf

Image result for he 115 raf

 

Good luck and all the best,

                                    Tony

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8 hours ago, tonyot said:

The RAF flew some ex Norwegian He 115`s for Special Duties,..... flying agents to Norway and also from Malta to N.Africa, if you fancy something a little different..... looking forward to seeing you build these three, it is a nice kit. 

Good luck and all the best,

                                    Tony

Many thanks, Tony. Where did you get these pics? Looks like they may have kept the splinter green camouflage rather than change to grey/green? You never know....

Regards, Mike

Edited by Ventora3300
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12 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

A collection of Matchbox kits and boxes would be something that I’d love to start. I probably need to do something about all those “new tool Red boxes” that I’ve seemed to acquire in abundance over the last five years first - build them might be a good place to start!! 

 

I’ll keep this thought on hold until I go completely mad - not long now folks!! 

 

Cheers.. Dave

The box is yours if you don't already have one and get started collecting....It sounds like it would go to a good home.

Cheers. Mike

Edited by Ventora3300
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4 minutes ago, Ventora3300 said:

The box is yours if you don't already hav4e one and get started collecting....It sounds like it would go to a good home.

Cheers. Mike

Mike,

That's both great news and bad news at the same time... with the stash that I already possess, I really shouldn't start collecting more boxes - this could get very dangerous (and quite ugly on the home front!).

I live in Australia, so it all too hard (I think?). Let me sleep on it.  

 

Cheers all the same... Dave.  

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6 hours ago, Ventora3300 said:

Many thanks, Tony. Where did you get these pics? Looks like they may have kept the splinter green camouflage rather than change to grey/green? You never know....

Regards, Mike

No worries Mike,..... they were simply from the web mate. The RAF re painted these ex Norwegian aircraft in standard bomber camouflage, DE/DG with Night undersides. 

Cheers

          Tony

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  • 3 weeks later...

At last, I’ve been able to start this – I was hoping to finish off another build recently started but they may just have to proceed in parallel.

Firstly, I had to make the big decision on which 3-colour version of the kit would be best to build as ‘bare’ i.e. no paint.

 

The kit produced in beige, green and blue appeared to be too garish so I plumped for the one in dark green, light green and light grey.

 

Off I went and the first thing I noticed is the complete absence of ‘flash’ on this kit – full marks to Matchbox. The plastic seems softer/more flexible than I expected – I think the absence of excessive surface detail made me think the pieces were chunky and robust.

 

The attachments to the sprues cut away quite easily and seats, cockpit floor and crew went together well. I’m using a tube of Humbrol cement.

 

The engines and propellers and spinners went together really well – a bit of a looser fit than expected but still able to spin in a light breeze. However, the carpet monster got one of the propeller shaft retaining bushes at the second attempt – lost/found/lost – as fitting them was a bit fiddly. Cue a spare bush (in beige) from the ‘spare kit’

 

Then assembled the fuselage halves and this is where I got into trouble – the fuselage halves flexed a bit when squeezing together and the top seam opened up while I was holding together to dry. While I was fiddling with this, I didn’t notice I got a spot of glue on my index finger and… now have a lovely smudge on the starboard nose of an otherwise lovely shiny fuselage! In addition, the ‘flexing’ top seam got a bit messy and is not a good job. Aaaarggghhh and Ggrrrr

 

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 At this point, I need to confess that I set out to attempt this build sitting in the rear seat of my car, during lunch break, using a large shoe box as a 'bench'! Never again.

 

I must say, I was somewhat cast down by all this as I really wanted to retain the exceptional finish on this model – I tried some gentle rubbing with some ‘micromesh’ type material but I really need some hints on how to restore a polished finish. Get out the brasso?

 

Returning to a more stable environment, the wings and stabilisers fitted together very well and aligned very accurately – more full marks to Matchbox. Leaving the lower elevator balances off until the stabilisers are on the fuselage – no more rushing and the quality of build is improving! Engine cowlings on to the wings and leave to dry.

 

Floats and main legs went together well, however, I managed to slightly crack a float half (and indeed a wing half) when cutting them off the sprues – careless really as you just need to support them properly. Again, leave to dry.

 

 

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Seeing these three colours together, the final result should look good and fairly ‘realistic – pity about making a mess early on – perhaps I will end up using this as practice for the ‘garish’ version?

Edited by Ventora3300
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31 minutes ago, stevej60 said:

Rapid progress Mike,I like the look of this kit never built one.

Thanks - but define rapid! When I see everyone else banging out the builds and maintaining high  quality, it really gives me something to aspire to.. and I love all everyone else's builds too. The props spin on this one but will it float??

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Mike, don't be too worried about restoring Matchbox plastic. My Tempest is a good example of smearing glue all over it and then bringing it back to a highly polished finish.

IMO - the key is to start with some fairly aggressive Wet n' Dry paper (used wet) to remove the offending area. I start will 240 grade, then slowly work my way up to 400, 600, 800 and 1200.

Then it's Micromesh time. I keep a fairly well used supply and I believe the more these are used the better they work.  

Micromesh starts with 1500 grade, then 1800, 2400, 3600, 4000 and 6000. After that a fine rub over with a polishing cloth should to the trick. 

There are also polishing compounds made by Tamiya and as Pete has mentioned, good old Toothpaste is another medium that seems to work OK.

 

Either way, this He115 is looking great. I've toyed with the idea of building just a bare plastic Matchbox 109 or 190, however don't wish to spend the current money that these are going for.

 

Cheers.. Dave  

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16 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Micromesh the seam and polish with cheap toothpaste and a soft cloth.

Many thanks, I shall try that although I did say that I wanted to keep 'repairs' to a minimum, i.e. do a good job on the gluing!

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10 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Mike, don't be too worried about restoring Matchbox plastic. My Tempest is a good example of smearing glue all over it and then bringing it back to a highly polished finish.

IMO - the key is to start with some fairly aggressive Wet n' Dry paper (used wet) to remove the offending area. I start will 240 grade, then slowly work my way up to 400, 600, 800 and 1200.

Then it's Micromesh time. I keep a fairly well used supply and I believe the more these are used the better they work.  

Micromesh starts with 1500 grade, then 1800, 2400, 3600, 4000 and 6000. After that a fine rub over with a polishing cloth should to the trick. 

There are also polishing compounds made by Tamiya and as Pete has mentioned, good old Toothpaste is another medium that seems to work OK.

 

Either way, this He115 is looking great. I've toyed with the idea of building just a bare plastic Matchbox 109 or 190, however don't wish to spend the current money that these are going for.

 

Cheers.. Dave  

Dave, thanks for your excellent (as ever) input. I did wonder if the Tempest had been polished up as it is definitely looking pristine! Also, I was under the impression that the plastic had a kind of skin or surface on it which came from the moulding process - once you interfered with that then there would always be evidence of abrasion.

A shame to then paint it but you'll have the pictures to remind you of the work put in. I have added 'wet'n'dry' glasspaper to my modelling tools so ready to go. Also, plenty toothpaste about.

What I will do is continue to try to keep the first time quality of build up and then see how much polishing is required before the transfers go on.

I did get it into my head that this He115 may float so the floats will required a seal along the seams - these would then need a polish.

I'll be putting the canopies on with PVA to keep the joints 'clear' and to also give me the option to remove the front one and slide any balancing weights which may be required inside the fuselage.

Great fun as always...

Mike

Edited by Ventora3300
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A little more progress - wings on, stabilisers and struts on and main canopy on with PVA.

 

Wings went on beautifully although had to be held in place while the cement 'took'. The stabilisers interlock inside the tail and I eventually remembered to fit the supporting struts to aid alignment. I think that the starboard side will need some adjustment though as it seems slightly low.

 

I had to glue the two halves of the nose glazing together with the cement as the PVA seemed too weak to hold while drying.

 

No more smudges although there was a suspicion of glue oozing at one of the wing joints.

 

Floats next....

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Some more progress on the 'bare' He.115.

 

Had a go at pulling up the starboard stabiliser - still not perfect but I think the whole tailplane may have a slight twist - I wonder if this comes about during the my gluing process? Lower elevator balances on.

 

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Had a go at removing smudges with micromesh and toothpaste - works a treat, even with an electric toothbrush - just need to spend time on the polishing.

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Front canopies on - no smudges, thank goodness, but it looks like the pre-assembly of front canopy halves was a bit out of line so a gap has been created to the fuselage on one side - I'll deal with that later by popping apart again.

 

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Machine guns on and managed to break the barrels of both of them - front one repaired and the rear will be done later. Aerial mast on.

 

The whole sequence of how the floats go on had me a bit puzzled as the Instructions don't give a clear front and side view of the angles of the main and secondary struts. It seems that you put all the struts on the floats at exactly the right angles and then glue to the wings and fuselage simultaneously - that seems a recipe for disaster to me.

 

Rather than follow the Instructions, I had the great idea of putting on the floats with just the main struts, angling slightly inwards, letting dry, and thereby creating a bit of tension to hold the secondary struts in place when I put them in. Otherwise, how will things line up? - since the secondary struts just 'locate' in indents on the floats and I assumed the same on the fuselage - very difficult to see once the floats are on....

 

However, what I didn't notice was that I was happily cutting off some tiny locating spigots on the fuselage ends of the secondary struts when I was removing them from the sprue.

 

Suffice to say, after the photos above, I proceeded to struggle trying to put in the secondary struts, gobbing glue in all sorts of places and generally made a mess of the whole thing. The floats have come off and I'll try again by following the Instructions. (I have since  checked for other builds of the Matchbox He.115 to see how the floats were done but the only one I can find has a picture 'Floats are on!' giving no clue as to how it was done). I think the glue on the struts on the floats will need to be part dry to allow adjustment without falling off.

 

Even more micromeshing and toothpaste required....Now I'm starting to think that this will be the 'practice' model, making way for a perfectly built beige/green/blue version. We'll see.

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An authentic period build of a Matchbox kit should have glue smears, wobbly bits and no paint (except for those little bits in the Mini Paint Plan). Anything different is just plain showing off. :D

 

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36 minutes ago, Rob G said:

An authentic period build of a Matchbox kit should have glue smears, wobbly bits and no paint (except for those little bits in the Mini Paint Plan). Anything different is just plain showing off. :D

 

Oops, that's interesting. I thought the Mini Paint Plan was just for the details which they couldn't show because of the limited space on the back of the box. I was going to just 'embellish' the bare model with any slight painting of various details I could do after completion - as an impatient kid might do. I've missed the boat on painting the interior and the crew as they are all in and are now shadowy figures behind the transparencies.

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9 hours ago, Ventora3300 said:

Oops, that's interesting. I thought the Mini Paint Plan was just for the details which they couldn't show because of the limited space on the back of the box.

 

You're probably right, but back in 1978, I didn't have money to waste on painting the outside! (I was lucky to have the kit.) As a result, pilots, guns and tyres got a coat of colour, the rest was displayed au naturel.

 

What I was trying to say ^up there (with a bit of humour), is that you shouldn't worry about the errors. Just embrace the Matchboxness and ... be happy. :)

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