I've been seeing
these early versions of the He111 for a short while now. They're not brand new,
but I had the impression that they were very recent kits. Roden makes a line of
the early Heinkel 111s, from the B to the C to the D and the E (and maybe
others, but I only know of these models). Why did they catch my eye? 1/72nd
scale, of course! That, and they're the only "early" game in town.
Right off the
bat I'm thinking maybe this kit is something special. The side panel of
the box gives a little line drawing of some of the interior detail. |
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It shows what looks
like the bomb area. Intriguing, no? Perhaps a few details about the model
itself are in order.
Manufacturer: Roden (made in Ukraine)
Skill level: 4
Kit # (I think): 027
Price: $29.98 (US) -- OUCH, pricy, but probably worth it.
Date:... Date:... Um, what the heck? Can't find a copyright of any kind, not
stamped in any plastic and not on the box, the decals, or the instructions. Bah,
screwy Ukrainians ;)
# of parts: Estimated 150-200 (probably more towards 150 end)
First Reaction
on Opening the Box: OMG! OMG! I take back that screwy Ukrainians crack!
The decals include swastikas!!
Dimensions: Not listed
On opening the box I find the instructions nicely packaged along with the
decals (so nice when some factories dump the decals and instructions
loosely in the box!)
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I had to cut open
the instructions when I got it to check on the paint I needed, but the parts are
just being opened as I type this.
The instructions detail many steps (I took shots of each page of the
instructions, but I figured you don't want to see them! You want to see the meat
and potatoes, as it were!) but also include 3 aircraft profiles. No those are
not massive bombs, they are cargo canisters for the Stalingrad airlift, it tells
me. Interesting but I'm going with the Condor Legion (my mind is set!).
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Looking at the
parts, I can see flash on *everything*. My first impression is still,
however, that this blows away the Monogram 48th He111H I have hanging from
my ceiling. The sheer amount of detail is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!
It's not the BEST detail, but it's not empty plastic! I also notice that
I've gotten myself into a model with quite a lot of clear plastic parts. |
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The rest of the
sprues are examined in quick succession. I notice some flaws and some benefits
to this model, and will cover them here.
The interior
detail is by far one of the best detailed interiors of a kit I've seen.
There's just so much, and it's well done! Take a look at the fuselage and
the cockpit (the cockpit molded separately, I suspect, so they can simply
mold a new nose for later versions -- an interesting thought, and perhaps
a hint into their future releases??)
Note that some of the
lighting changes here because the flash washed out all shadows (and thus
all perception of detail) so I had to move to a well-lit area and take
more pictures. They speak for themselves, however. Note the boxes, wires,
and ribbing all over the cockpit, and the ammo canisters on the walls of
the fuselage halves, and the profuse ribbing there as well. You may think
that's nice, but that's not all! There are even more separate
smaller parts (tanks and whatnot) that go ON these walls! Those panels in
the cockpit picture are the roof and walls of the main gear wells,
also. |
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The wings are
fairly good too. I notice in the instructions that you have to carve off
the heat-radiator-thinga-majiggies on each side of the engine hole. I
guess those were on the pre-E versions. |
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But then I notice
something with the surface detail. The detail is very finely engraved, but some
of it looks... almost... sloppy. I'm not sure. I keep looking. Some parts
here or there just look a little bit sloppy or poorly done, and I can't figure
it out. Mainly on certain parts of the wings, where the top of the wing conforms
to the rounded surface of the engine mount, and a few areas on the fuselage and
underneath. Then I notice a little lip of plastic on the belly piece... It's an
actual lip, and it seems almost as if the plastic were pulling up, but it's a
single piece.
Note the shadow
on the SW edge of the piece? That's the lip. Then I got to
wondering. I can't tell if they're being CLEVER, and modeling the
inefficient methods of the time (where metal gets dinged, dented, and
sometimes pulls away) or if they are just sloppy. I really honestly am
torn about whether this was intentionally molded after a the way certain
metals attached to each other or if it's sloppy like the profuse flash
would suggest.
Please note that this does
not make much difference to how I feel about the kit. I'm in love here,
folks! I bring it up purely for the sake of debate, is all
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Down sides:
On that bomb bay
you will notice all the doors are closed. Well, the interior
includes a fully detailed bomb storage system inside the completed
model! How will one see this, you ask? Open the bomb doors?
Right? NOPE!
Those side walls are
thicker than you think. They extend well into the bomb bay doors. They
would be very hard to cut through and the ruined doors would be hard to
replace. I'm not building this model yet, but when I do I will have to
draw up a plan on how I will show off the wonderful interior... Hrm...
Perhaps my meager skills are ready for a
cut-away? No.... I don't know if I could bear to see this model cut up
like so. |
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The gear doors are
molded shut. One must cut them along the middle to get each half and then glue
them in place properly when ready. That's a small inconvenience, but still, for
a relatively new model with such a nice molding, I see it as an oversight
(ironic choice of words, no doubt).
Goods:
The detail. The
detail. The detail. Meaning the interior detail. The surface detail
(lines so finely engraved if you sneeze they'll be gone ACHOO! Oh no! My
model is ruined! -- Oh, and heavy coats of paint are a no-no). The
"little things" detail -- the MGs have shell capture bags on
them, they have two sights (far/near) -- the rudder is a
separate piece as are the elevators and horizontal stabilizers... Although
For some inexplicable
reason they molded ONE of the hinges on the elevators themselves, and the
REST on the wings. So if you wish to reposition them, please take note of
this lost little hing, and cut him off and reposition him properly, so
that he can find his way home. |
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Not Good, Not
Bad, the I Don't Knows:
The top of each
engine has a curved inlet and then an outlet after it. Some sort of oil
cooler (I don't know what it cools, but it cools SOMETHING). The issue is
this: It's a solid piece of plastic. It has a flat front and a flat back.
Not hollow. Now I realize this is 1/72nd scale. It's not always easy to
mold small things like that. On the other hand it's kind of annoying to
have so much detail and not this. I won't call it "bad"
considering the scale. I won't call it "good" considering the
other things we get and the "why not that" question. This is the
"I don't know" part. |
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Also listed under
here is the fact that the wheels are not weighted.
All in all, considering the "goods" with the "bads" with the
"huh?"s, I think that when I do build this kit it will be my opus, my
grand creation. I'm going to enjoy the crap out of this kit, you better believe
it!
But not just yet
I have to finish some nearly-completed kits I already have before I work on this
one. Yeeessssss... My precioussssss... Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pat the
box while you were looking. Now, the review is done, if you don't mind, my
precioussss and me, we wantssss our privaciessss.....
Mark
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