He-111Z-1 Zwilling, 1/48 ICM Kit

Started by Walt · 150 · 2 years ago · 1/48, Glider Tug, HE-111, ICM, Luftwaffe, Zwilling
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    Walt said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    I have always liked the He-111, and have built the Monogram kit and have two more in that stash. The Monogram kit builds up nicely with few surprises. I won Best Out of the Box for my division at IPMS Nationals with it.

    I had been looking for the resin conversion to make the Zwilling by using two Monogram kits (thats why they are in my stash). When ever I did find the conversion kit, the price was always way out of line with what I wanted to spend. Then fate stepped in and ICM released it as a kit. A friend of mine ordered it through his shop and MONTHS later it finally showed up.

    I don't know how it will all go together but I have to say the plastic looks lovely! It will really be like building two He-1111's at the same time finally joining them together to make one model with a wingspan of just over 29 inches (740mm).

    I will start on this when I finish my my build of the Bf-110G2 ZG1 that I am nearing completion on. https://imodeler.com/groups/work-in-progress-aircraft/forum/topic/monogram-revell-bf-110g2-skeletal-hand-build/

    I am really excited about this and hopefully I will not make any big mistakes along the way.

    8 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Colin Gomez said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Looks like it will be a fun build, Walt. You've got to love the He 111 to build two side by side! Looking forward to this one.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    That will be an impressive build, Walt.
    You will need to find some space on the shelf.
    Looking forward to it.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    What a great choice, Walt!
    Looking forward to it!

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Of course a Zwilling arrives in two boxes! I am going to follow this massive build with great interest @luftwaffe-birdman!

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Holy cow! Guess the award for the biggest model in this GB is yours Walt 😉
    Terrific choice , all you need now is a 1/48 glider to go along

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    Paul Higgins said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Good choice, Walt... ICM are also intenting to release the Gotha Go242 glider later this year in 1/48th scale. Two of those would go well with your He111Z, wouldn't you say? 🙂

    Image source: ebay 07/09/09

    Look forward to seeing this twin completed.

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

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    Walt said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    That sounds pretty good Paul, @paulh, I would love to build one or two of those, also, but man would that be a very big diorama! I would really love it if there was a 1/48 Me-321/323 Glider. That offers great potential with all the Tamiya 1/48 vehicles they have.

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

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    Paul Higgins said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Indeed, but that scale of Me321/323 would be more than a big diorama..., it would be a visit to the bank to remortgage your house! ;-).

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    Louis Gardner said 3 years, 6 months ago:

    Hey Walt,
    Thanks for starting this build. It looks spectacular in the box ! Years ago I had the Italeri He-111Zwilling and the matching Me-321 Gigant to go with it. My eyes are not what they used to be, so I sold off all of my 1/72 scale kits. Since then I have always wanted to get another Zwilling, but this time it would be in 1/48... I'm currently not in a position to afford one of these ICM kits. Someday, hopefully I will get one.

    I have started building the first kit that ICM made of this 111 type and I think it is a Heinkel 111-H3 going from memory.

    I placed this build on hold when I accidentally knocked over a bottle of glue on it... I have started a detailed build journal here on Imodeler. Here's a link if you're interested.

    https://imodeler.com/groups/battle-of-kasserine-passtunisia-campaign-build-group/forum/topic/1-48-scale-monogram-he-111-h-stab-stg-3-north-africa-1942-43/

    The parts fit together perfectly on the ICM kit. I made a mistake with mine (besides the glue incident), and I had to use a little bit of filler around the bomb bay and the gondola. It is very likely induced by my sloppy building and not a fault of the kit. So please make sure that you have all of the little plastic sprue attachment nibs removed from the parts, the fit is that precise.

    Somehow I managed to get the bomb bay installed a little bit off center, and this cascaded as the build continues.

    It has been a long time since I have touched the ICM Heinkel. It's the perfect candidate to start back up again now this Luftwaffe group has been started.

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    Walt said 3 years, 5 months ago:

    Well I got of to a start on this kit. I started with the engines. It is like a small bit of mass production. This is just getting started, I am about a third of the way in, as each engine actually contains 19 parts. I am generally pleased with the fit of the parts, but I am not sure I like the plastic all that much. To me the ICM plastic seems a bit soft. I don't necessarily dislike it, just not sure I like it, I know I like Monogram and Tamiya Styrene. Both of those are a harder and probably more brittle plastic.

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 5 months ago:

    Nice start, my friend @luftwaffe-birdman!

    I remember about 20 years ago that soft plastic was praised of being more workable, so it was kind of preferable by a respectable number of modelers, especially in kits with less than perfect fit. Indeed it was better at some cases, especially in limited run kits (ill fitting main fuselage or wing parts and the like).

    On the other hand, when the same soft plastic was used to replicate scale thickness items, resulted in those parts being hopelessly weak, barely able to support any weight, like NLG main legs, for example. I also believe that soft plastic molds is easier to manufacture than "hard " ones...

    Anyway, as much as I love the at cases easiness of working with soft plastic, I generally prefer the hard (or harder) one...being better safe than sorry...

    Looking forward to your super build!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 5 months ago:

    A good start, Walt.
    Indeed a mini engine factory.
    Looking forward to get them fitted on this rather large build.

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    Walt said 3 years, 5 months ago:

    Tonight I decided to finish one engine it took me about an hour between cutting from the sprue and cleaning the parts before installing. I have to say if the rest of the kit fits as well as these pieces did I will really enjoy this build. Everything fit excellently. With paint and a wash they should look pretty impressive. I really only plan on leaving one nacelle open, with the best engine displayed. Seems a shame to spend so much time on these engines only to close them up, but damn they are fun.

    4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 5 months ago:

    Those are some spectacular looking engines, my friend @luftwaffe-birdman!