JWM Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 (edited) Hi, Perhaps on 9th April 1940 (or a bit later) Norwegian seaplanes, which survived first attack, got filed camo painting. Among them were He-115. Both - photo and colour profile for such He-115 can be find here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/63595-captured-heinkel-115/page-3 I wanted to made such He-115. In my stash I have kit by Revell No 4342 with such box: Frankly speaking I thought that Revell He-115 is always ex-Matchbox one and with big surprise found, taht there are two mould of He-115 available in 1/72 - ex-Matchboz and ex-Frog. This mine is ex-Frog. This is a bit worse case - the engine fairings are those of late variants - with MG in the ends. There are also rised lines. But I decide, that I will go on with that one, which I have. I started already some work. I cut off fairings of MG's, rescribe panel lines (so far only on wings: from top and bottom): (visible is my home-made rescribing tool) I cut off gondola below the nose and blinded part of opening. The missing window I will do from clar fix. The engines of model are very basic (bottom on photo below), too simple perhaps. I am going to replace them by engines from Do-24 (or its resin copies - higher on the below photo).The propellers I will use from Monogram's Do-17 (green one here) , which left me after scratch conversion of Do-17 into Do-215. The made coolers intakes on float support. It is done out of a brass tinny net, Comments, suggestion welcome To be continued Jerzy-Wojtek Edited September 14, 2017 by JWM Switch to Flickr 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcanicity Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Good luck! This looks like quite a build! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted July 25, 2016 Author Share Posted July 25, 2016 Thanks! I forgot to add that I blinded the middle position for a navigator (?) between pilot and gunner. I analysed some photos as well as looked on 1/48 SM models and have not seen (or just have not noticed?) the third (middle) position below the long glass of main canopy. Can anybody confirm, that there was no third person sitting in the middle? Cheers J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vingtor Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Mr. Åkra is currently working in a book on the He 115. Knowing Kjetil very well, I suspect this will be the definitive reference of the type. Anyone who are requesting accurate information on the He 115 should wait for this book, which should only be a few months away. Nils 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 This looks like an interesting build, great start. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Hi Jerzy-Wojtek! Good to see you working on another float plane I didn't know this was a Frog mould, but indeed it is. Frog only managed test shots before they went bankrupt, but Revell boxed it almost immediately. I can confirm that the central opening over the canopy glass shouldn't be there. It can be filled over with some plastic card. I found a very interesting build of this kit, that also discusses after market items here: http://www.swannysmodels.com/He115.html I like Scandinavian subjects, I hope you enjoy this build Best regards Tony 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Always happy to watch a floatplane come together and this looks most enticing. Good luck with it! Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 Thanks Gents - I've got some pause for prolongated finish of TWO Messerschmitt Gigants (321 and 323). First (321 in winter camo) I just completed and posted on RFI, the second one is still on the way... I though that it will not take me so much time to finish them - but it takes. The size matters... I will come back to He 115 soon - thanks Tony for link. Cheers Jerzy-Wojtek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 (edited) I came back to this model after half a year... Look what we have now: the back-oriented MGs in engines are removed: The bottom of nose canopy had to be reshaped - in box there are two variants of late nose with smaller or larger "bulge". The Norwegian He 115 did not have it, like here on photo of ex-Norwegian Finish one: This photo suggests some assymetry, but on the photos of German He115 taken out from the bottom of a Norwegian fiord it looks similar from both sides (from Flugzeug Classic magazine): First I tried to do this jus from a ClearFIX. But it looked terrible: So I decided to d it in classic way - by glueing inside a piece of transparent plastic: The front cupola in Norwegian He 115 was more shallow than in later German variants. I pressed it and then cutted of: Engines. Left original (too shalow) right resin copies of Italeri Do 24 That is all so far... Cheers J-W Edited September 14, 2017 by JWM Switch to Flickr 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Nice work! Martian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) The interior is rather empty in the kit. Basing on cutway from a book "Airplanes of Luftwaffe" (Polish edition) I tried to do some scratch work inside: The pilot seat is taken from spare parts box. The same with rear gunner. In front I cut a bit floor, making it ca. 3 mm shorter. I added a ledder, navigator seat and a place for navigator to lay down. I added some instruments pannel and control rod The upper part of nose glazing is about 1 mm shorter than the bottom one. I had to add a thin strut to fill the gap. The navigator has small instrument pannel. I prepare it from scratch (this black part on right) above I gleued upper part of nose using clear fix Finally today I fill the gap with Tamiya body putty To be continued.... J-W Edited September 14, 2017 by JWM Switch to Flickr 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Excellent and focussed progress J-W! Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 It's great to see progress on this J-W . In your hands this kit is going to be transformed. Nice work on the nose glazing . Best regards TonyT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) I added the most front part of front canopy - in He 115N it is much flat than in case of Luftwaffe He 115c: Menawhile floats are basicly prepared: The struts are a bit too massive and do not fit properly on fuselage: So it will need some work on this... The ledders are certainly too masive, I tried to thin them: (right is orginal size) Here is how I thinned them so far: But still I am not happy with them. I am considering now doing them from a EZ with only steps glued in...I will see. And the nose glazine got a thin coat of gloss varnish (Vallejo diluted with water, applied with brush) to bring back shining after sanding: To be continued... Jerzy-Wojtek Edited September 14, 2017 by JWM Switch to Flickr 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Nice work on the He-115, J-W! You always seem to do interesting variants of aircraft. Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 Jason, The Baron and Tony Tiger, many thanks for support! J-W 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 (edited) Today it is Sunday - from morning i made some progress - unfortunatelly not documenting each step. So now model looks like that: As a background I put four printed material (books or journals) which I use as "supplementary data". In book on Finish marine airplanes photos of ex-Norwegian He-115 are of excellent quality. Perhaps this is the most helpful material. Of course I have a lot of photos gathered from net. On tail I made new balance masses: I corrected connection between struts and fuselage What is obvious on the photos - I glued main canopy and made masking. Below canopy I add some dummy of radio installation - this will be seen when I will remove masking. The masking is not completed, since I will paint with brush (as always) so I can not care about sides in some places. The canopy is freshly glued with Humbrol Clear Fix, then I will need to add some filler in the front. This photo shows also that soem sanding is required still on float to strut junction. Much deeper located engines are visible. The props I decided to use original (from box) - They are painted RLM02 (spinners) and NMF (Humbrol 191) - the blades. Many thans to Kjetil from Norway for consulting in cetrain questions here (on WWII thread, To be continued J-W Edited September 14, 2017 by JWM Switch to Flickr 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kjetil Åkra Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Lovely build! You surely have more stamina that I would have with such an old kit! I sincerely hope that either Airfix or Revell would recognize the potenital of the He 115 in 1/72. I mean, what other aircraft allows the construction of German, British, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish and Finnish operational aircraft with such interesting and varied schemes and roles? I wonder if it would be possible to suggest a 1/72 kit to either of these manufacturers? i would certainly make my research material available. Kjetil 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 Kjetil, I do hope that Britmodeller is watched by researchers from companies like Airfix, Revell, Hasegawa etc....So I think this build as the thread in WWII are already helpful. It is also great that He-115 is preserved (excavated recently from fjord) so no problem with scannig from real thing. Lets have hope! Regards J-W 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kjetil Åkra Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Indeed. Everything one would need to make a very accurate He 115 is now in place. I may not have mentioned it, but a researcher at Sola Aviation Museum discovered original works drawings of the He 115 in a Swedish archive recently and some of them will be published in the book. These drawings also contained very detailed measurements so an accurate model is now possible. Ideally, I´d´like to see all main variations depicted, that is, the he 115 A, the He 115 N, the B-1/B-2 and the C, but also the modified B with the French cannon under the nose. It would´t take so much effort, just a few extra optional parts. Kjetil 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 I agree with yourself and Kjetil J-W that it is a pity we don't have a better kit of this characterful aircraft. Nonetheless your work on renovating this kit is splendid to watch. Those ladders look like a perfect candidate for reconstruction using plastic strip or metal tubing - I've always found trying to sand down complex components like that difficult to maintain a standard thickness throughout? That's a nice touch showing the Flugzeug refrences you've relied on in your build - I've the Matchbox Dornier Do 18 G-1 kit recently acquired but can find no detailed reference photos for either interior or exterior; it doesn't seem to have been as well-preserved in the historical record unfortunately. Keep up the good work! Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 6 hours ago, TheBaron said: I've the Matchbox Dornier Do 18 G-1 kit recently acquired but can find no detailed reference photos for either interior or exterior; it doesn't seem to have been as well-preserved in the historical record unfortunately. Try this link http://www.warbirdphotographs.com/luftwaffephotos/ldo181.htm Martian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 1 hour ago, Martian Hale said: Try this link http://www.warbirdphotographs.com/luftwaffephotos/ldo181.htm Martian Duly bookmarked esteemed lifeform. Thanks! Tony 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 7 minutes ago, TheBaron said: Duly bookmarked esteemed lifeform. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 Tony (TheBaron) about a year ago I did Do 18 (but as D-3 variant). It requires some corrections so studying photos of exact machine you would like to do is needed. I think the old Matchbox kit is a bit of a mix of G-1 and D-3 (?) variants. The most obvious error is shape of air intake on top of engine, shape of nose (which is in between D-2 and later D-3 or G) . You may see me Do 18 in RFI here: I am not 100% that I corrected all flaws, but I still remember something from this work and have some materials collected - if I can help you with something just name it Regards J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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