Originally designed as a fast mail plane, a ruse to cover the true intent, the Heinkel He 111 emerged as a mainstay of Germany’s bomber fleet throughout World War II. The aircraft was progressively fitted with more powerful engines to cope with ever-increasing bomb loads and the He 111H series was the ultimate version. It entered service in the middle of the war and soldiered on until the end.
Blessed with impressively petite panel lines, Roden’s small-scale He 111H-16/H-20 feels like a larger scale kit except for the lack of guns and cockpit details. The clear parts are disappointing, being a bit thick and not crisply molded. The windows of the ventral gun positions are molded solid as part of the gondola.
Two sets of markings are provided: a top-turret equipped H-20 in an oversprayed standard camouflage, and an H-16 with an open gun position in winter camouflage. Both options are Eastern Front aircraft. Optional weapon loads include what I believe is meant to be a large, 1000kg “Hermann” bomb or two smaller bombs.
Interior detail is limited to an undersized rear cockpit bulkhead, seat, control wheel, and bombardier’s platform, plenty for this scale, especially when it’s all painted dark grey. Window inserts provided for the fuselage fit well and they are thick, so I did not bother painting the inside of the fuselage.
Despite not being especially clear, the nose glazing fits well and provides an exercise in patience for those willing to mask all the windows. I didn’t bother masking the smallest, and instead used a toothpick to scrape away paint at the end of the build.
The separate tail cone fit better once I removed the tab molded onto the fuselage halves. Quick sanding blended it with the fuselage.
The engine nacelles have nice detail including separate exhausts. The fits are quite good, although I needed filler to blend them into the wings. A dab of Deluxe Materials Perfect Plastic Putty eliminated gaps at the wing roots. I used a wet finger to wipe away excess and avoided sanding the seams.
I attached the ventral gondola and bomb racks by eye using the instruction drawings as a guide. I don’t recall seeing mounting pins for the gondola shown in the drawing, but I may have inadvertently cut them off.
I left off the bombs, wheels, props, dorsal canopy, and nose turret for painting. But I decided the delicate, accurate landing gear needed to be added before finishing. I removed one axle from each gear leg to allow me to add the wheels after painting. Assembly of the landing gear is fiddly and must be done carefully. The unfortunate angle used in the instructions to show the cross braces does not help. Thankfully, careful study of later drawings show enough to make out the correct orientation.
I airbrushed Tamiya Flat Yellow (No. XF-3) over Flat White (N0. XF-2) for the Eastern Front theater markings. After masking, I applied an overall coat of white, then masked and applied Tamiya Light Blue (No. XF-23). Using a double-action airbrush to produce soft demarcation lines, I sprayed Tamiya NATO Black (No. XF-69) for the black areas. To make the winter camouflage look a little worn, I sprayed some panel lines and other areas with dark green. A mist coat of white blended the effects.
The few decals went on without complaint using a touch of solvent to ensure they blended in completely. I added guns in each position using stretched sprue colored with a Sharpie marker and the solid windows in the gondola were colored with gloss black paint.
I spent a little over 13 hours building Roden’s little Heinkel, much of that masking the many tiny windows. I was impressed with the surface detail, molding, and fit, and the kit offered no obstacles to a fine outcome. I’m hopeful Roden continues adding to their bomber line in this scale; there are plenty of opportunities for exciting releases.