I know this isn't much progress, but I'll take it...

I started back on the ICM kit, in an effort to bring it up to where the Monogram kit is now.

I found a small error in the instructions:
They call for a part numbered "D1-28" and it's a wall mount rack for two MG "snail drums" (part # C-50).

In all actuality, the part is located on plastic tree D-2. Here I'm pointing at the parts with a small wooden stick.


and is numbered "8"

Once I figured this out it was smooth sailing...

I sprayed the bomb bay racks with RLM 66 "Dark Gray"

painted the crew oxygen bottle in RLM 24 "Dunkelblau"

Then mounted it on the cabin bulkhead after a little more details were painted on...

I spent a little time painting some other cockpit details in flat black...


Then proceeded to install the fuselage side windows. This was done since the instructions have you assemble another ammunition rack for multiple "snail drum" MG magazines (part number C-50).

I wanted these parts to fit properly, so the side glass had to be installed so that I could make sure these rack parts fit as they should.

I ended up gluing the rack in place before the glue set up completely.

Here you can see where they rack is glued to the inside of the rear window set.

There is a small hole in the rear most window for a beam mounted MG. Hopefully these glue seams will not be visible once everything is buttoned up...

Calling it a day... and it's been a busy one with other stuff.

as usual, comments are encouraged.

Good grief! I have never seen a photo of them before. Looks like some bizarre lantern...

Great progress Louis, coming along well. Any thoughts yet concerning a kit comparison? Fit, instructions, detail, etc?

Hey there David T. ! It's great to hear from you. Thanks for the compliments and I am very pleased that you are finding something useful with my postings. Sometimes I think I have a tendency to ramble on too much.

It's been raining for most of the last few days. After taking care of some "life" things, I got some more work done on the ICM He-111.

It's supposed to be raining here for most of the next week. Hopefully this will equate to more "bench" time.

Here's how the tail wheel assembly looks after some details were painted. I also applied some bare metal foil on the oleo strut. Hopefully this will be visible once the fuselage is glued together.

I have installed the tail wheel into the fuselage in this photo.

ICM provides a lot of dual feed snail drums for the 7.92 MM MG's. They would have you assemble this as a separate section then glue it in place once completed. I opted to take a different route and installed the braces in their respective locations on the fuselage. Once I got everything aligned I glued the spare magazines into position. This assured me a proper fit.

Remember that part that I incorrectly called the "relief tube" earlier in the Build journal ? I waited until now to install it. Here's why: It has to fit properly in between the various snail drum magazines and be properly oriented against the fuselage side wall. So I waited until now where I test fit the interior parts into the fuselage.

Then I glued the part into its proper location.

I am fairly certain this part is a funnel used to collect empty brass casings and links. The MG's and the 20 MM FF weapons all had brass and link collection bags. This makes more sense to me to think that this part (that looks like a little black funnel), is actually just that. A funnel for the empty brass casings and ammunition links.

Here I test fit the bomb bay. I'm happy with this so far.

*** UPDATE **** TEST FIT ONLY **** DO NOT GLUE IN PLACE JUST YET****

Speaking of the MG's and 20 MM's...
Here they are. These are tiny little models in their own way. Each one consists of several parts and look pretty good once painted. Believe it or not, this was very time consuming.

Here's a closer look at the 20 MM FF Cannon. I am fairly certain this one is based on the 20 MM Oerlikon that was in widespread use during WW2.

The smaller MG's were 7.92 MM MG 15's. The kit replicates them fairly well.


Lastly I painted and installed the various "black boxes". Some of these parts are for the radio and still need some more work. Others are instruments for the pilot. I still have to add the decals that were provided by ICM to represent gauges.

One more thing... The smaller side windows in the gondola and the larger side fuselage windows were added. I messed up one of the larger ones and had to sand out and polish it to get rid of the glue marks. This took a while but luckily I was able to salvage the side window. ICM has molded tiny markings into the clear parts in between the windows. These markings correspond with markings on the interior fuselage plastic. It helps to properly orient the glass.
I hope to get more done on this one and will post updates as I can.

As usual comments are encouraged.

Thanks for looking !

Thanks Paul ! Funny thing isn't it ? We want it to rain so we can get some bench time. 🙂

I was watching the movie "Memphis Bell" last night (the one made in 1990). It's been a while since I have seen the Battle of Britain movie. I'm past due ...
Hopefully I can get this one knocked out fairly soon and get cracking on another one for your 100 Years of the RAF soon. I have a little surprise for you there.

Thanks for the compliments. Saying that it reminds you of the real thing is about as good as it gets for a compliment. I sincerely appreciate that.

I also would like to compliment you on your Storch build. It is amazing how it looks ! The metal bits are a bit intimidating for me. You're knocking it out of the park ! Well done.

Oh my ! I didn't think about that Dave ! You're absolutely correct my friend since you live in Seattle. You guys don't get too much sunshine out there. Sort of like us during a hurricane. Rain and all ...

Honestly, I’d swap with you in a heartbeat David. I don’t know if you’ve been in Aus during the Summer? I find it intolerable. The Winter however (and Autumn if you don’t blink) are beautiful. I probably need to head South. Sorry to digress Louis, us Brits and the weather...Anyway you now have me very interested about the RAF100 thing. Don’t let me distract you any more!