Eduard Heinkel He.111H-16 Upgrade & Mask Sets (for ICM)

[Mike]

Heinkel He.111H-16 Upgrade & Mask Sets (for ICM)

1:48 Eduard

 

 

ICM are rattling through most of the major variants of the Heinkel He.111, and we reviewed the H-16 here late last year.  Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner.  Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point.  As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between.

 

 

Nose Interior (49962)

Two frets are included, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass.  A complete set of new layered instrument panels and side consoles that will be prominent within the greenhouse are the primary parts on the painted sheet, with new rudder pedals; seat details; canopy internal structure; additional instruments; gun sights and extra details, plus bulkhead details.

 

 

 

Zoom! Set (FE962)

This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above.  Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements.

 

 

 

 

Radio Compartment (49963)

Two frets are included, one small nickel plated and pre-painted, the other larger one in bare brass.  It involves a heavy upgrade to the level of detail within the compartment, adding racks for ammo; stowage boxes; racking; partial bulkheads; a huge range of radio boxes and other equipment; gun sights and ammo embellishments; a framework with instruments around the top gun hatch, and a cut-out for the nearby antenna, which requires a 12mm hole to be cut in the top insert.

 

 

 

 

Exterior (48985)

This set is provided as two frets, one large, one small, and creates a new internal skin for the box-shaped main gear bays, with additional structural details added throughout.  It extends and details the firewall behind the engine that is seen from within the bay, adds some small parts to the landing gear legs, as well as brake hoses, bomb fin braces, towel-rail antennae under the fuselage and radiator cores.

 

 

 

 

Seatbelts STEEL (FE963)

These belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting.  Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE.  As well as the pilot's four-point crew belts, you also get two sets of lap belts for the other crew, detailed seats for which are included in the Radio Room set (49963).

 

 

 

 

Masks (EX640)

Supplied on two sheets of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the pane-fully faceted canopy (see what I did there?) and other glazed parts, with compound curved such as the nose gun handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape.  In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the main and tail wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort, plus a landing light mask.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of