Comparison build: 1/48 Monogram He-111 H, and ICM 1/48 He-111 H3, Stab/Stg.3 North Africa 1942/โ€™43

Started by Louis Gardner · 207 ≡ · ↻ 6 years ago
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    David A. Thomas said 6 years, 5 months ago:

    Louis, this is simply amazing stuff!

    On the dust that you find irksome (inside the canopy), a few observations:

    1) I cannot notice it.

    2) It might not be unrealistic.

    3) Something I've pulled off successful was a pinhole incision to allow the insertion of the piping that comes with a can of compressed air (typically used to clean PC keyboards or other electronic equipment). The keyhole is easily repaired and made to "disappear" after the operation, but carefully opening one and using compressed air to gently give a couple of bursts inside the canopy effectively takes care of that issue. I did it with my A-20. Just food for thought.

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    Jeff Bailey said 6 years, 5 months ago:

    Louis, Chuck, et al. - re: "shellback"

    I was not in the Navy but I have crossed the Equator and have the certificate to prove it! Back in 1958 and again in 1959 I crossed the Equator as a passenger on a Varig Airlines (the official airline of Brasil) "Super G" Constellation. My Mother & I lived in Vicosa, Brasil on a joint work project with the University of Brasil and Purdue University. I lived there for a year. When I returned, I received an official certificate commemorating my 2-way crossing on one of their flights. Of course, we (the other passengers & I) didn't have to drink any foul concoctions, kiss Neptune's beard (or something equally foolish) or dress in some humiliating fashion like sailors do. LoL! Actually, it was many years later before I realised the significance of what I had been a part of. That certificate hangs proudly in my Model Shop/Gun Repair Shop (formerly the attached garage of my house) to this day.

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    David A. Thomas said 6 years, 5 months ago:

    My son did the "Shellback" thing while in the Navy and has the certificate. But it's old news for us. Having served for years in Ecuador as missionaries, we did it regularly. I'm doing it again in less than a month. I've flown across it, driven across it, and walked across it. Boat is the one way I haven't done it.

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 5 months ago:

    David T.,
    Thanks for suggesting the idea using the compressed air. It sounds like it might be just the ticket... I thought about what I posted later, and you're correct about the dust being inside the canopy sections. I have spent some time in the desert and the dust is so very fine it gets into everything... and leaves a film on anything that gets close to it. I'm sure the maintenance crews had their hands full just trying to keep the plexi parts clear enough to see out of, much less not being scratched during the process of simply wiping something off.

    The desert is a cruel place on both man and machines... it does have it's own strange beauty however.

    So both of you guys have crossed the Equator ? David I presumed that you had due to your missionary work. Now you need to do it by boat... just to cover all of the bases. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Jeff, I remember talking with you about that on the phone a while ago... good stuff fellas.

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 5 months ago:

    Tonight I made some more progress on the He-111. The props are on and it's almost on it feet !

    I also built up part of the gear for the ICM kit, and took a few photos of the ICM parts sitting next to the Monogram parts. The ICM stuff looks to be a little more refined with sharper details, but the diameter of the gear legs is smaller. (Noticeably so if you see them side by side). Here again, I don't know which manufacturer is correct, but I can say they both look nice.

    In these next three photos, the Monogram parts are on the left, while the ICM is on the right.


    The parts are canted to one side on purpose. This is to ensure they are a straight 90 degree angle from the main spar when installed. This takes into consideration the wing dihedral.

    This last photo shows the parts sitting side by side. The Monogram part is closer. I did not install the retraction mechanism on the ICM part, as the instructions tell you to do this after the main gear has been installed. This is why the ICM parts look a little barren when compared to the Monogram items.

    Here I test fit the main gear into the wheel wells on the ICM kit. This is the Starboard side.

    and the Port side:

    Then I spent some time masking off the wheels and sprayed them in a gloss black. I painted both sets, one for the Monogram and the other for the ICM kit.

    I just couldn't help it, and had to install the props...

    and the main gear on the Monogram He-111. I particularly like this photo...

    Lastly, I removed the upper dorsal gunners "plexi" glass cover for a repaint. I didn't like it, so it's on the to do list for tomorrow. I also added the small set of instruments on the vertical wall just behind the gunners station opening. In hindsight, this should have been done before I installed the MG.

    If things go as planned, I hope to have this one wrapped up tomorrow... but I'm not going to rush things if it doesn't happen.

    I learned that lesson... ๐Ÿ™‚

    Calling it a night.

    As usual,
    "Comments are encouraged"...

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 5 months ago:

    So far today it has been very productive. I'm happy to announce the Monogram He-111 is standing on it's own feet now... I added the wheels.


    I then concentrated on installing the landing light clear cover. This part did not fit very well, and needed some trimming to get it to fit into the opening. After some careful sanding along the edges, it's good to go. Prior to gluing it in place, I painted the interior portion of the wing with RLM 02.

    Next I started work on the Dorsal gunner "B" stand canopy. I masked it off, then sprayed it with some RLM 66 dark gray.

    While this color was drying, I cleaned the air brush and changed colors to RLM 79 sandgelb, and once ready, I sprayed the part again using this color. I hope this will help alleviate the transparent condition that was causing the canopy frames to look odd as light passed through them.

    Once this part dries thoroughly, I will install it again later tonight using "Future" just in case.

    I'll keep you all posted,
    and as always...

    "Comments are encouraged".

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 4 months ago:

    The Monogram He-111 is now completed. I just took some photos of the model and will post an article very soon, possibly as early as tomorrow... Meanwhile, here's the last two views from the "Werk Shop".



    Work will continue on with the ICM kit, so please continue to check in as I will be posting updates as usual...

    Thanks again for following along so far on this adventure... ๐Ÿ™‚

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 4 months ago:

    I just posted the article and the associated photos for the Monogram He-111 build. Here's a link to it:

    Kasserine Pass Group Build, Monogram 1/48 scale He-111-H, โ€œS7 + ZAโ€ Stab / St.G. III North Africa 1942
    Meanwhile, work will continue on the ICM kit. Next up is the construction of the engines...
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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 4 months ago:

    It's been a little while since I did an update on this one. It's mainly because I have spent most of my time on the Spitfires and Hurricane builds over in the 100 Years of the RAF group build.

    I mentioned that I had built the basic engine blocks and here they are. This should look very nice once it's completed. There are many other parts that still need to go on.


    The engine blocks look even better once I sprayed them with some flat black.

    Since I was working on the He-111, I decided that I would build up the engine supports. The kit instructions would have you add the parts that make up the assembly in various stages.

    I decided that I would build them up as a single unit and then paint them in RLM 02. I also assembled the horseshoe oil coolers. I will paint these parts soon.


    The engine support is easy to add as a complete unit and is an easy way to make sure that the parts all align. Hopefully this will not bite me later on during construction but after studying the instructions I think I should be OK.

    This next photo shows the engine block test fitted on the engine support. The engine support is made up from five individual parts for each one. Care should be taken as you remove the parts from the plastic trees as they are delicate.

    Finally I assembled the bomb load which I believe is made up with eight SC 250 bombs. These fit very nicely and each bomb is made up from six different parts. These are ready for paint now.

    Thanks for looking and that's all for tonight folks !

    Maybe tomorrow I will complete the engines.

    As usual comments are encouraged.

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    James B Robinson said 6 years, 4 months ago:

    @lgardner Nice to see you up and active again. Things are looking very good!

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    Paul Barber said 6 years, 4 months ago:

    Nice detail on those sub-assemblies, Louis! The question I'd like to ask is about the fit of the ICM kit. Throughout the build you have been full of praise for it - is that still the case?

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 4 months ago:

    Thanks James ! I have been busy with some other "life" things that pop up on occasion. So I have not had a whole lot of extra time to do more work on this one (or the other Spitfire and Hurricane builds in the 100 Years of the RAF). Today was not very productive either. Hopefully this will change soon.

    Hello there Paul. I am still fairly pleased about the fit on this ICM kit. The bomb load was spot on. The engine blocks had some gaps between the block and the intake manifold. I was able to get the gaps down to a minimum with some brute force by squeezing the parts together as the glue set up. I don't think it will cause problems since I'm fairly certain that the gaps will be hidden from sight by other add on parts.

    As far as the gaps on the rest of the model, I'm fairly sure that I caused the problem with how I installed the bomb bay.

    Overall this ICM kit has been very enjoyable and the fit and added details are light years ahead of the older Monogram He-111 kit. I had fun building the Monogram kit, but I would highly recommend this ICM model, if you are looking to spend some more money for a Heinkel.
    Thanks for looking gentlemen.

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