GrahamB Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Greetings from Kiwiland. Back to one of my favourite subjects - esoteric and second-line German aircraft, this time the aesthetically pleasing Heinkel He 119. This is the recent Valom release and it is a very decent kit indeed. I did some extra detailing in the cockpit (can't see very well anyway) and had some fun shimming and trimming to get the wing-fuselage fit right. In another life I might fill and re-scribe some of the panel lines that are a bit crude. Used WEM Royal Navy MS3 (grey-green) for the RLM63 as I thought it a decent 'scale match'. Of course the colour may be wrong and should be a light (Civil) grey. The tail insignia provided by the kit's decals are undernourished and I masked and painted the red/white and added swastikas from the spares box. Pitot replaced by brass tubing. Of course, after posting photos I notice some dust/debris on the model that I could have cleaned off and I've still to tart up the exhausts! Some silvering on upperwing decals. Note that the kit provides these but omits them from the instructions. They are correct - photo of the crashed V4 (eg. page 330 of Green 1970) shows the tight spacing of the letters and the outer arm of the 'U' lining up with the inboard edge of the aileron. Thanks for looking. Cheers, GrahamB 34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 That is an attractive aeroplane - excellent job on the kit! That's one that is definitely on my radar. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggles.w Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 I agree, a very seductive machine. Well done, looks great, & I would definitely be peering in through that canopy to see the detail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 What an unusual machine! Very good model Graham and now on my wish list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildeSau75 Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 What a great looking plane - has a lot of a single engine He-111. Did it actually fly? Nicely modeled - the color looks right to me - without knowing how the real one looked like. Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave N Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Wow.."lateral thinking-R-us".. great looking build of a really interesting subject. Very well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Great looking build, got one in the stash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Great job. I've fancied one of these since I first saw it. Such a strange looking thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Really cool subject and really nicely done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 8 hours ago, WildeSau75 said: What a great looking plane - has a lot of a single engine He-111. Did it actually fly? Nicely modeled - the color looks right to me - without knowing how the real one looked like. Cheers, Michael Yes, it did fly, one was even built as a floatplane. A very nice model and very well finished. Valom kits do up scrub well, but do need care in building. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildeSau75 Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 19 minutes ago, Martin T said: Yes, it did fly, one was even built as a floatplane. A very nice model and very well finished. Valom kits do up scrub well, but do need care in building. Thanks Martin. Didn't know that it even existed. Was it used operationally, I mean in larger numbers? Would probably have been a good recon plane. Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Very nice indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight_Flyer Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Very neat build. Not entirely sure what to make of the design... certainly is different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hi Chaps, thanks for the kind comments. It is one of the most beautiful aircraft I've ever built - although not one of the best kits - enjoyable though. As for the real thing, according to Green, there were nine prototypes (V1-V9) built in 1937-1938, some evaluated as reconnaissance models and others as bombers. The V4 (kit subject) briefly held the World speed record for payload (2,205 lb) and distance (621 mile closed-circuit) of 313.78 mph. It crashed after a second attempt. The V3 was the air-frame converted to seaplane configuration (another Valom release). The kit is very nice although as others have remarked, Valom stuff needs care and attention. The undercarriage/wing attachment needs strengthening, the side exhaust cut outs were too large and I shimmed them smaller with 5-thou card - some fettling needed. Take time in getting the large nose canopy assembled and checking fit to fuselage. Also - beware of the small forward instrument-panel fouling the fit of the canopy - check/fit, check/fit etc. Look up in Google and you will see some good builds of the Planet Models He119 - a French builder did some nice cockpit detailing that I attempted to emulate. As a deviation from Luftwaffe I've got the Valom Fokker TV bomber to build next - another of those wonderful aircraft that I first saw in my Dad's Aircraft Of the Fighting Powers Vol.1 - only Aviation USK has done a kit before I believe. Cheers GrahamB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Photos gone AWOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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