Heinkel HE-115B, 1/48
Well not too much to say about this, the big thing is I am calling it done. This is a Special Hobby brand kit, a first of those for me. Clint Eastwood said "a man's got to know his limitations" - there's a lot of truth in that and I may have learned some more of mine on this!
Thanks to Rick Wilkes for a suggestion that helped me recover from a self inflicted major flaw on this -
The plane is from1/KFIGr.406, Trondheim Norway 1942. That's what the instructions say anyway. I am not sure if it's true judging by the rest of the instructions. I will give the Special Hobby company credit for nice decals and very nice box cover art - that's what led me to purchase this and why I chose this paint scheme over the other two the kit provides decals for.
The instructions for this particular one say:
"The upper surfaces wore a temporary white finish for over-water winter operations.The ship markings on the fin are believed to signify involvement in the attacks against the PQ-17 convoy"
Also, "Note: the temporary white colour was rather weathered and the original camo began to show through."
I may try to weather this one, but may not and quit while I am ahead. I like it shiny.
9 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Morne Meyer said on November 30, 2014
Beautiful Ralph! Like this one very much!
George Williams said on December 1, 2014
Very impressive, Ralph, all your hard work, problem solving and determination have paid off in dividends, you must be very pleased with the end result. Now, what piece of armour are you building?
Craig Abrahamson said on December 1, 2014
Nicely done, Ralph...I like it - that last photo is eye-catching as well - good work.
Craig Abrahamson said on December 1, 2014
I meant the "next" to-last photo 🙁
AL HOFFMAN said on December 1, 2014
Glad you toughed this one out Ralph. Turned out well. I can see why you choose this color scheme. Now that you have a limited run kit under your belt your ready for anything.
Ralph Clements said on December 1, 2014
Thanks Gents,
George, you know the problem with kit taking so long is that in that time, uh, 4, yep 4!, armour kits have moved into my stash...I started with the M3 Stuart, and I may still do it first, but I have a less expensive and hopefully simpler Monogram Panzer Mk IV that may be a better one to get warmed up on.
Craig, thanks for the photo compliment, it is not meant to be fancy, just blur out the distracting junk in the background!
Craig Abrahamson said on December 1, 2014
Well it worked great. Unique effect.
Rick Wilkes said on December 1, 2014
Ralph, she's really impressive. Well worth sticking with it. I think once you get over being "sick of it" you'll go back and weather it up, etc. After all, you don't want to scrimp on the best He-115 you'll ever build.. 😉
Paul van Acker said on December 1, 2014
Very nice Ralph. I think you should definately weather it, to really bring out the best of your wonderful work. I have the kit too. Want to start it soon. Need a bigger house first. Lol.
Ralph Clements said on December 1, 2014
Paul you might want to check out my work in progress thread if you are going to build this, I described some of the issues you'll run into. They may not be such a big challenge for you - I hope not anyway.
As for size, yep she is big and in that thread you can see some comparison photos. I didn't consider how big this would be when I bought it and I have yet to figure out where it will go. I did not buy it to be the centerpiece of my collection but it looms over all others, even twin engine jobs like my B-25 and Ventura, because it sits up on those floats.
I think it would be interesting for the scratchbuilding, "what-if" bunch to do a land version of this.
Rob Pollock said on December 1, 2014
Good effort, Ralph. Glad you made it
Gregor d said on December 1, 2014
Well done Ralph.
Bernd Müller said on December 1, 2014
Great Heinkel, Ralph. Your extra work was rewarded with a stunning looking
He 115, well done.
Richard Mcstay said on December 1, 2014
Great build and an interesting colour scheme!
I know what you mean about kits just appearing in your stash! I have a good few to get through!
Jaime Carreon said on December 1, 2014
Beautiful job, Ralph! Makes me want to have a go at one of these...
bob mack said on December 1, 2014
wow...totally unique...and a tough build i'd bet
Tom Cleaver said on December 1, 2014
Having done this kit, I know how hard it is. You've done an excellent job here.
Bill Koppos said on December 1, 2014
Congratulations on gittin' her done. Worthy of all your effort. Clear parts turned out clear enough. The north Atlantic was rough on this kind of thing.
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said on December 1, 2014
Ralph:
Beautiful job!
I like Bills idea, saltwater clouds up the glass.
Great job on a challenging kit.
The white distemper looks right. The Luftwaffe used a lot of waterbased temporary paints for local conditions and temporary markings.
Ralph Clements said on December 2, 2014
Thanks for the nice words everyone. After stopping to catch my breath I will be weathering her and may update the photos after that.
Yes it was a challenge, more than I expected when I was lured to buy it by its cool box art and unusual subject.
To those who would try it, I hope you have a better method for getting the floats attached than me. Mine came out kind of pigeon toed.