CliffB Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) Hi everyone Having missed out on a couple of recent GBs due to a house move, I'm looking forward to getting back into the fold with this 'classic'. I bought this kit new in the mid 70's (probably as close to 1942 as to 2012 - scarey!). I remember being really impressed by the detail and finish back then - all you notice now are the mass of raised panel lines.... Here are the sprues (note that the decals look good as new, with no sign of yellowing ) One of the decal options is for 2/KG 26, Mediterranean Sea 1942. A quick look on Wikipedia reveals that:- 'II/KG26 relocated to Sicily in January 1941 as part of Fliegerkorps X. After arriving it lost six He111s to an enemy air raid on 8 January 1941........In the following weeks unsuccessful attacks were made on British warships in the Mediterranean. On 24 January it sank the freighter Sollum and minesweeper Huntley. The unit also took part in missions over Malta, losing its first aircraft on 8 February 1941.' Unfortunately this is the sum total of my knowledge on these matters and I have no history relating to the particular aircraft presented - hopefully though it will be enough to gain me entry to this illustrious gathering! Cheers Cliff Edited June 3, 2012 by CliffB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Cliff your builds are wonderful, so glad you can join in the fun. And with such an historic artefact to boot! How has everything stood the test of time so well? Can't wait to see the progress and congratulations on your house move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Wow, I remember that boxing of the Italeri He111. The Revell tie-in also featured the Ju188 and probably a few others that are lost in the mists of time! I remember buying one from Poundstrachers, of all places. The Italeri He111 has long been one of my favourite kits. It builds up really nicely and has enough optional weaponry to start a small war! The only consistently problematic thing I've found with this kit over the years is that the wing roots are slightly too shallow on the bottom, in other words when you fit the wings there is a step on the underside between the wings themselves and the fuselage. You can either pack out the wing roots slightly or use a bit of filler - I've always gone for the filler route with a touch of Miliput or similar. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Yes, the Italeri He 111 and the Ju 188 are oldies but goodies: they did a lot to establish Italeri's reputation when they came out in the mists of antiquity. Just don't follow the markings on the advert. On German aircraft the codes read the same on both sides of the fuselage and the coloured letter is usually in the 3rd position so the codes should read 1H+FK on both sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike N Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Looking forward to seeing how this progresses, Cliff. I'm sure it will be every bit as good as your Blenheim Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Thank you for your warm welcomes everyone and for the great tips on what to look out for. I'm looking forward to making a start very shortly . Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 Only a little progress to report so far, as I prepare the way for the ubiquitous RLM02. The cockpit assembly is assembled. and the fuselage glazing is glazed. It all goes together very nicely, although the level of detail is way below Revell's current offering. Perhaps more interesting is this photograph that I came across on t'internet (apologies if you've seen it before). The He.111 has the same 'vestigium leonis' unit marking that mine will have, albeit red on white (the kit provides black on white). I think the colour depends on the Gruppe? I'm on the lookout now for a 1/72 scale lion cub..... Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Fond memories of this kit flooding back Cliff. I think I was about 12 and attempted to do the winter camo option. Thanks for this trip down memory lane! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 nice work.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalkeEins Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Perhaps more interesting is this photograph that I came across on t'internet (apologies if you've seen it before). The He.111 has the same 'vestigium leonis' unit marking that mine will have, albeit red on white (the kit provides black on white). a couple more that might be of interest...the pilot is KG 26 RK holder Herbert Kuntz...... or is that too much information? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Magic! Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 This weekend's update.... The fuselage is closed up and the wings are on. No attention to the joints yet, but the elegant shape of the He.111 is clear for all to see As I'm building OOB (bar the seatbelts), I've followed the simplistic painting instructions for the cockpit - mostly RLM02, with a bit of silver and black: As John foretold, there's a big step underneath at the wing joint (but at least it's not on top ) Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 It is a lovely shape - how's the lion cub coming on?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 That step in the wingroot has been a feature of the kit since in came out in, what, 1977? At least it doesn't look like it's any worse than it was. I've found that it's a bit too deep for solvent-based fillers, but an epoxy putty like Miliput works well. John - enjoying this very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 Hi again. MD, tempting though it is, I'll be giving the lion cub a miss! Coincidentally though, I am planning to use a couple of camels (the animals, not the planes), in a dio for the Interwar GB later this year..... John, yes I think it was 1977 - I bought this kit in that year (my last at uni), for the princely sum of £1.75. Another little problem that I've had is some unsightly shrinkage on the tailplanes, which makes the gap to the elevators very irregular. It also plays havoc with the rivet lines.... I've addressed this (mostly), by sanding back. The separate elevators make posing a bit of droop very easy and I'm hoping that this will help to disguise the remaining irregularity! Anyway, here's where it's at now. Engines, tailplanes and rudder on since last time, plus I've started to fill joints and sand back some of the more extreme raised detailing (especially the rivets on the tail). I will not be re-scribing! Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pabbi Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 coming along nicely Cliff! Cheers Ragnar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 coming along nicely Cliff! Cheers Ragnar Thank you Ragnar All the transparencies are now masked off - seemed to take ages but, as the saying goes, 'no pain, no gain'! Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 That's the kind of job that gives me The Fear, Cliff! Well done on holding your patience/nerve/scalpel steady! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Thank you Ragnar All the transparencies are now masked off - seemed to take ages but, as the saying goes, 'no pain, no gain'! Cheers Cliff Not heard of 'Eduard', Cliff? Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 3, 2012 Author Share Posted May 3, 2012 Not heard of 'Eduard', Cliff? Will Ed who? Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Isn't the saying: 'No pain? No pain! ' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Isn't the saying: 'No pain? No pain! ' Hi Peter - yes that would be a much more sensible way of looking at it! Unfortunately, since all that pain it's been a case of 'no nothing'. Just can't seem to find much spare time at present. I've just grabbed an hour though to put a little RLM02 onto the glazing to provide the correct colour for the internal framing. I'm also starting to think about the external colours (about which I know next to nothing). As far as I can tell (IPMS Stockholm site), it's most likely to be RLM 80 (Olivegreen), over RLM 79 (Sandbrown) over RLM 78 (Himmelblau). The first two I can get from Vallejo shades, but the RLM 78 seems more elusive in readily available acrylics. Does anyone have any suggestions please? I note that Vallejo do an RLM 76 blue - is therelikely to be a noticeable difference (on the underside of a 1/72 plane!)? Sorry if that's a sacrilegious question... Oh yes, and a belated big 'Thank you' to Hannants for the prize donations and to Maltadefender for being so proactive on this Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 It's work like that which makes a GB Cliff, looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 Another week's gone by, so it's time for an update to show just how little progress I've made since last time (that 30th June deadline is suddenly starting to look not so far away..). All I've achieved this week is to complete the assemby of the minor components and to get the first coat of primer on. As expected, this has shown up some filling issues (but thankfully nothing too bad). I've also done a lot of thinking. Firstly, why did any one He.111 carry three different types of defensive guns (machine guns? cannons?). Any thoughts please? Secondly, what on earth did RLM 79 and 76 actually look like? I started with Peter's excellent RLM colour comparison page. However, if you fancy giving yourself a headache, just look at the options presented for 79! Several hours trawling through the internet brought me period colour photos and pictures of recent models that supported all of the options from yellow to brown. To quote Fred Gumby, 'My brain hurts' I finally decided to forget all about trying to get it 'right', and to go with what I have to hand - a couple of jars of Tamiya acrylic. I'm really looking forward to getting some colour onto the svelte beauty! Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike N Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Coming along nicely Cliff Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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