This has been my project for the past month or so. I was feeling like something more difficult and these Roden Heinkels have a reputation of being just that. In fact they have been described as unbuildable by some people and as "evil sons of whores" by others. I prefer the wording "well detailed kit with some slightly tricky sections". Here's some advice and solutions for some of the problem areas.

The interior is quite detailed, though nothing much can be seen in the end. Condor Legion aircraft had the front windows painted, so i didn't even bother fitting the well detailed bomb bay. Most build reviews i've seen say that the interior doesn't fit at all. If you build it as per kit instructions it won't. I built it bulkhead by bulkhead against one fuselage half and it actually all fitted in well. Test fitting the other fuselage half found that it even almost fit, just some slight sanding of a few bulkheads was all that was needed.



Filler was definately need over all seams. Actually the fit wasn't so bad, but the edges were all very rough and needed a lot of work regardless of the fact that it all ended up being aligned. Start at the tail and work forward a section at a time. The priority is to get the wing centre section fitted and tested against the wings so that there is no step. Steps are bad and hard to fix, gaps are easy. Always settle for a gap somewhere else rather than a step at the wing root is my motto.



In the end i was happy with how i got everything to fit, especially as this is the most difficult aircraft i've ever built. However i did mess up one part that came back to bite upon final assembly. The wheel wells are a tricky assembly. But it's important to get the fit square and true. I got one side fitted well, but the other was slightly off. I didn't think it was inportant, but i later found that it makes installing the landing gear very hard if it's miss aligned.




Primered. There was still further work after this, mainly around the front windows, but i was pretty happy with my filling and sanding overall. Clear parts fit surprisingly well.



Finished. Actually i still need to fix 2 landing gear struts that broke. You can't see them because they are deep inside the wheel wells. The decals are the kit decals which performed very well (who says old Roden Decals are unuseable?). As a precaution i scanned the kit decals so i could print new ones if they didn't work. Every build review i've read says the decals fall apart upon hitting water. I sprayed some clear flat Tamiya laquer (very thin coat) as a precaution and they worked fine.
I doubt the tail art was really applied to both sides, but i did it anyway as it's a dull looking scheme. The tail art is in fact a memorial to the squadron mascot, a scottish terrier that was KIA during a flight.

I bought some Pollyscale RLM 63 just for this kit. Only to find, like every other Pollyscale colour i've ever used, that it looked terrible (almost just off white). So i ended up mixing my own using Tamiya Sky Grey as a start. Not my best result ever, but i'm still happy that i actually got it finished which i believe is a step better than most that have been started around the world.








Andrew

Thanks for sharing this. I like the pre war development period but I've been put off by the comments on this kit.
You've done a fine job overcoming the problems. This kit is back on my wishlist and your post bookmarked.
Will look the part patrolling with RS-s Do-17P around my sons bedroom ceiling.

Cheers Andrew

i have this same kit, in fact i have quite a few spanish civil war kits, and have heard all the tales about this one.
i've lost count of the times i've got this box out of my stash, ummd and ahhd about it then put it back!
it obviously make a nice model as you have shown here andrew, so who knows the next time mine sees the light of day sprues might get cut!
(on a side note it was the box artwork that swayed me into buying this kit, its a brilliant pic that captures the aircrafts lines exellently)

Andrew:
Very skillful job. You made it look easy


Taylor

Hi Andrew,

Very nice B version of the He 111. It's one of my favorite.

It would look fantastic on the front page. Did you took some notes during the build?

Jean-Luc

Thanks for the comments.

jaypee: I've also been tempted by the RS Do 17's. I think you did one for the twin spinners campaign? They're not that common here though and a bit expensive too. Once a year i order a few hard to get Czech kits from Europe, i may add one of the Do17's to the list this year.

Phil: I actually like Rodens box art more than any other manufacturer. I just like their artistic style- i also like the Hasegawa Shigeo stuff too.

Jean-Luc: i may get around to putting some notes together soon. Unfortunately all the pics i took are in this thread, so not much to show really!

Andrew

I may even get another 17 myself but not for a least a year while I empty the stash.
Too many tempting kits and not enough time. I should save them up for my
retirement. Think of it as a pension fund. Doubt I'll be able to work in 1/72 then though.

The RS kit was good but the intakes and undercarriage were awful. Fit was good though so not hard to build.
I just made the intakes up out of card and built it gear up. No crew though
that was only my second model starting back in. I'd do a better job
of it now but I think I'll try an airfix or icm 17 next as they are half the price. I've got
the eduard flaps PE for one as it didn't arrive in time for the RS one.

It is expensive but it is pretty good and it is only an extra £10 so if it has the markings you
are after it is worth it rather than get AM decals. The decals went on really well.
And that was before I knew about microsol.