1/32 Heinkel He 100D

[Allok]

Special Hobby gained another big fan when they released this gem. Although the little Heinkel was built in very limited numbers (25?) and was never used operationally, the appeal is undeniable. It's a real shame there are none left.



I'm going to put this together at a leisurely pace and mostly OOB, with the exception of the cockpit, which I will attempt to correct using some of the terrific references supplied by other LSP members and the GPM card model.

So I may as well start with that
Wish me luck.

[jeroenpeters]

YEAH!!

Indeed finally (another build of this cool lookin' plane).

It's in my stash (waiting for more reference on the pit.

If you need any info, PM me and I'll mail you the books I've got. (got 'm scanned and as pdf)

The Waffen arsenal and the Airwar series.

 

Still, reference is very limited when it comes to the pit...

There's a nice rendering in the Il-2 simulation game, but

I don't know how accurate that is..

 

Cheers,

Jeroen

[LSP_Kevin]

Ah, I was wondering when a build of this kit would show up. Took longer than I expected, but I'm really looking forward to it Keith. Have fun!

 

Kev

[LSP_Mike]

I just started this one as well Kieth. I have the ancient Aero Series book, and the 'pit pics all seem to be from the He-112/113. I'd like to find more pics if possible as well.

[csavaglio]

I've got one mostly built up, but I put it aside when the canopy broke while I was cutting it apart. I got another free of charge from CMK/Special Hobby (great customer service!!), just for the price of shipping from the Czech Republic, but it took long enough, I lost interest in the project.

 

The only big issue I found was that the canopy is too wide for the fuselage, so unless you know this going in and correct before gluing the fuselage together, you can't have the canopy closed, forcing you to cut the thing open. I have seperated the front part of the canopy successfully, but I haven't taken the razor saw to the rear part yet. Go slow, support the inside and you should be ok. It gets pretty hairy around bottom corners, where I cracked my first go.

 

Chris

[Allok]

Thanks Fellas. I'll take some photos as time permits.

 

Good point Chris. One of the very first things I did when I bought the kit was cut the windsheild:

What a nightmare.

 

[DougN]

Woohoo! Looking forward to seeing this build! I too have one in the stash and plan to get to it someday. What scheme will you be doing?

 

Cheers,

 

Doug

[csavaglio]

I'm going to take a wild shot and say a splinter of RLM 65/70/71 since that was it for these. You do get your choice of number and faux squadron art.

 

 

As an aside, I took a photo of what I believe is a photo of the one that was destroyed in the bombing of the Munich in the Deutches Museum. I know it's confusing. The photo was from the museum's history and was displayed in the current museum....something like that. I'll post it if I remember....it's not great quality for a lot of reasons, but you may get the idea. It's got lots of girders and debris laying on it.

 

Chris

[Allok]

Indeed.

So far this looks like a nice, straightforward little kit.

 

I'm just going to do an out-of-the-box scheme, probably No.8. I won't be doing a "Nightfighter" Scheme. Who's silly idea was that? So unfortunately, it will just end up looking like another plain German plane.

 

The Racer would have been a more interesting choice but would have required more work.

 

Looks like Jeroen is sending me some more info, can't wait to check it out.

[Allok]

As we have already discussed in the forums, details of the cockpit layout are sketchy. A few small clues have come to light recently but there are still some large gaps in the data (which I will have to make up as I go along). One thing is for sure; the cockpit that comes with the kit is not the right one:

Due to an almost total lack of clear references, I've decided to use the kit floor. I've got a vac seat that looks like it might do the trick- care of Jeff Roberts (Combat Models). After studying the available photos very carefully, I've decided to fill in the cavity behind the seat and make it look similar to a 109. I've also removed the headrest cushion and rounded off the head armour.

I'll use a fairly standard German control stick but I might have to scratch-build the appropriate pedals from some very thin plastic.



Making all those tiny square holes proved impossible, so I've settled for round ones. Both pedals seem to be mounted on a couple of sliding rods, similar to what can be found in a few US planes. I can't see how far back these go, so I'm going to have to guess. I'm also going to take a huge gamble by installing a 20mm cannon breach between the pedals. You can't see that in the photos either but if you compare this airframe with the likes of a 109F/G, it should protrude into the cockpit.

[Allok]

I will make the side panel(s) out of bits of plastic basing my design loosely on what I've been able to find and also using the layout from the He 178. I'm going to have to take a big guess with the Starboard side of the cockpit and the rear bulkhead but at least there is no argument over the instrument panel, I've got good refs for that.

Little levers are made from tiny plastic rod with the ends melted into a blob. I'll add hand-grabs and wotnots to the canopy too.

The left hand cockpit wall looks to have a similar layout to a 109 with the exception of the cover, which hides most of the control wires. The oxygen bottle also sits on this side of the Cockpit, next to the pilots elbow. The trim wheel is not evident in any photo but I'm assuming it is there and the bulge in the lower part of the cover conceals the trim chain.

[Allok]

I don't have any reference for the right hand side of the cockpit so I'm going to have to use some artistic license. In reality, I've just used the kit parts and added a shelf/cover similar to the other side.

All the parts are test fitted again and again and again until I'm confident everything will fit

[Allok]

On to the instrument panel, which I'm going to copy largely from the paper model, while copying the layering technique seen in most modern kits. The shape of the kit panel seems to have been copied from a Bf 109G but I need the shape to make the new one fit.
And speaking of the new one, this is a great opportunity for me to have a go at using Radus Bezels. Just a couple of quick notes about these: You need to position them precisely as you attach them as you don't get time to manoeuvre them and if one flies off the tweezers- don't even bother trying to look for it.

So:
Template cut from card model, matched up to the kit I.P., cut from 1mm styrene and tweaked to fit.
The new 1mm I.P. is then copied to .25mm Styrene, which is drilled and has the Bezels added.
The .25mm facade is then detailed and painted.
Decals are then added to the 1mm backing and the two bits are sandwiched.

[LSP_Paul]

Keith with the process of deduction and sketchy ref's and your great work, I'm sure youre going to have a Great looking pit in no time.

Keep up the excellent work,

Paul

[Allok]

Test fit:





After numerous test fittings, it will all get a coat of RLM66 and then some detail painting. I'm not going to do any weathering in here. It's a very confined area and as far as I can make out, these planes were barely used.