Heinkel He 111

[Roy vd M.]

Tried to sand the lifting column. Better to use a grinding block on my Proxxon. Then I tried sanding again... it works eventually, taking good care not to damage the raised detail. 

 

 

Problem is that my U-shaped sanding paper holder held a LOT of sanding paper today. This is sanding paper cemetary: 

 

 

Unless being VERY careful they just break very easily. I have to find another solution. 

 

Meanwhile I measured the bulkhead's doorway because I didn't feel the doorway should be positioned so high. I compared the dimensions with those on a picture and I turned out to be right. Here's the drawing:

 

 

 

So what does it mean:

 

Dimensions of the real model: 

[top to bottom] [top bulkhead to top door] [top door to bottom door except L-shaped thin piece] [bottom door to bottom floor except raised lines] [door width]

 

Real model: 

13.95 / 2.03 / 8.42 / 3.50 / 4.65.

 

Revell part:

5.14 / 0.65 / 2.95 / 1.55 / 1.67.

Should be:

5.14 / 0.75 / 3.10 / 1.29 / 1.71. 

 

Master Details part:

5.11 / 0.63 / 3.00 / 1.52 / 1.68.  

Should be:

5.11 / 0.74 / 3.08 / 1.28 / 1.70. 

 

As I will use the Revell part, the following has to be amended:

 

1) Top of the doorway will be lowered 1 millimeter. 

2) Bottom of the doorway will be lowered 1.5 millimeter.

3) Both sides of the doorway will be widened 0.2 millimeter.

 

Those who will use the Master Details part can use the above Master Details numbers for their build.

 

On top of the drawing you can see the Revell part with the new height of the doorway drawn on it (obviously the drawing is much too far to the right).

 

Time spent building, planning, drawing: 38H. Studying: 13H.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Roy vd M.

[Iain]

Amazing stuff Roy!

 

Iain

[Roy vd M.]

Thanks Iain

 

Here one can compare the completely flatted bulkhead front and the lowering + widening work. Quite a difference, especially the lowering part! Of course I haven't filled the top of the doorway yet. 

 

[Roy vd M.]

Filing the bottom and sides, having cut out and filed a piece of 1 mm Evergreen card (= perfect thickness):

 

 

Little drawing on the new card piece:

 

 

The piece:

 

 

Fitted, I was content with it:

 

 

Also filling the slot below with 1 mm. plasticard (use the minisaw, not scissors or knife):

 

 

Here you can see the difference in height and size of the doorway:

 

 

But then I saw something I didn't like at all!

[Roy vd M.]

... I noticed that the curves at the top of the doorway were too small. Busy trying to find out whether to use the photoetch fuse panel or whatever it is. Positioning and comparing it to pics.. something doesn't look right. So I had to make new corners. This is one of them, made with (again) 1 mm Evergreen card cut, files, Proxxon thick grinding disks and sand paper. On the picture you can see the difference between the two corners:

 

 

Here are the two cornerpieces; for the right one I made a small lengthening part.

 

 

One piece positioned:

 

 

Both:

 

 

See the difference in height and size of the doorway and compare to the original example on the computer screen: I'm happy!

 

 

After applying multiple thin layers of Mr. Surfacer 500 and half hour of sanding 3.200 and 6.000, a smooth piece:

 

 

Time spent building, planning, drawing: 41H. Studying: 13H.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Roy vd M.

[Guest Peterpools]

Roy

I feel like am rookie just reading and learning form your build. Yotally amazed at your incredible abilities.

Keep 'em coming

Peter

[Roy vd M.]

Peter, guess you're wrong about being a rookie next to me. I would be the rookie, I just try to imitate what I see and struggling to do so. It will take me years to finish this plane. If I take a look at your incredible builds I'll still have to learn a LOT. If I see other people's reports of having finished 6 planes a year, all looking astonishing, it makes me realize as well that I'll have to learn a LOT.

 

Just one example of your art: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=35205&p=334443

 

But I do appreciate your compliment. As a Dutch guy 'typical mentality: tell me something and I'll give you an honest reaction in your face straight away' on this forum I do not only learn about modelling but just as much about modesty.  

[Roy vd M.]

So... the bulkhead issue. I thought Mr Surfacer had hardened and would not shrink anymore. I was wrong. So I have applied again and after a day it had shrinked some more. Waiting another day, I added another layer and now it seems better. Next will be careful sanding. 

 

 

I decided I'll put in as much detail as I can. I think this bulkhead is an important part, bearing a lot of detail on both sides. Furthermore I have come aware that several decisions about the rest of the interior have to be made taking this bulkhead as basis. Will I try to recreate the bomb emergency release system? The two sliding doors? The chain for the release system? Different widths of the bulkhead structures? Yes to all of those. 

 

One thing that had to be done was file off the sides of the Eduard fuse panel. They were a bit too long and there was a border which is not present at the original. I am VERY happy with Eduard's depiction of the original, extremely neat and precise. Having filed off the sides, it fits perfectly. Size is very satisfactory. 

 

 

One challenge will be to cover the RLM66 on this photoetch part with RLM02. 

 

The last two days I spent sorting out the pictures of the bulkhead (both sides + 1st type 111 for the doors; they seem to be of the same type as later 111s). What I did was:

 

1) Create 3 maps: front of bulkhead, back of bulkhead, back of bulkhead 111E. 

2) Collect all online pictures I had saved and spread them among those maps.

3) Make pictures of the Squadron and Aero Detail books, upload them to my computer and also organize them. 

4) Make printscreens from the pictures I found in PDF manuals and organize them. 

5) Make a series of screenshots of the youtube video

and organize them.

6) Per each of the 3 maps, rename each picture from "01" to "99", starting with overview pics, then pictures of the upper left of the bulkhead and ending with pictures of the upper right of the bulkhead. For example, a picture from the doorway detail exactly in the middle, got the number "50". A picture of the fuse panel got named "85". A picture of the left door at the back of the 111E was named "28". 

 

This way, I can browse easily through all reference material getting detail pictures 'from left to right'. This solves the problem of having to work with, in total 36 pictures coming from 5 sources (which were of course not sorted in any logical order). 

 

Having done this, it was time to make a couple of drawings of the main structure elements that have to be dealt with as regards the bulkhead. 

 

 

Very happy to finally be out of the dark. Only after studying many pics does it become really clear how the structure (especially of the doorway threshold) was made. Mainly the last picture is important for the construction. The bulkhead itself is quite thin (so the plastic needs sanding from both sides) and the doorway's front threshold contains a gap (!). The doorway has U-shaped (vertical) beams as sides. These vertical U-beams border a horizontal U-beam along which the two sliding doors run. That horizontal U-beam is positioned on the front wing spar. 

 

To see how realistically wide I could make the wing spar (which in reality is quite wide) I decided to prepare one of the bomb containing structures. Eduard's is really very nice with detail I thought I'd have to make myself. 

 

While folding (using a Hold and Fold from The Small Shop... great stuff) I made two mistakes. Although my version of the H&F is quite long, it appears that the holes of the two fasteners are wider than the two black knobs suggest. So two very ugly semi-circles appeared in raised relief in the structure's front and back. Oh no! Trying to bend back in shape, trying to roll with a round weight on it trying to put it back into position made it ugly. But I managed to fix it and I am actually very happy that finally I found something out myself that really works, rather than learning everything from others... this is what it looked like after my best attempt to flatten it back:

 

 

Solution: take a Proxxon (or dremel) plus small tubular grinder and start to drill the piece back into form. This works well by using a combination of rolling and hitting movements. The following happens:

 

 

 

 

 

After sanding 320 / 600:

 

 

No torque or widening of the part which I feared for a bit, and no problem as regards thickness. Finally, the rivets are still visible for those who will want to keep them like that. I will apply raised rivets on the inside as well as the outside of the bomb bay so it wouldn't have been a problem anyway. 

 

The other mistake I made was that after bending the top stuff I bent it back. Very tiny connectors... so it broke off almost immediately! Wow I hadn't expected that. No problem, that makes painting the inside of the bomb bay a lot easier.  

 

Time spent building, planning, drawing: 45H. Studying: 16H.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Roy vd M.

[Roy vd M.]

This is the bomb bay in approximate position:

 

 

 

 

So there is plenty of room for the wing spars! Thank you Eduard... As has been pointed out in other threads, Revell's bomb bay is (incorrectly) much longer and thicker. 

 

Now I have a better view on what I'd like the diorama to look like. I hope you will comment on it and take the trouble to answer my hereunder questions, as those comments will surely help me in choosing my path...

 

... The diorama will be part of a hangar in which the He 111 is positioned. There will be a workshop in the neighboring part of the hangar. 

 

So much I already knew. My NEW idea is derived from the perception that VERY little is to be seen of the bomb bay room through the windows. This idea combined with the question why the Heinkel would be in the hangar next to the workshop led me to the result that this plane suffered bullet damage. One of the allied planes managed to fire one line of bullets all the way from the fuel tank to the bomb bay. The pilot, seeing his fuel gauge drop, had to land at the nearest German airfield while he still could. In the diorama we see the Heinkel in the hangar, mobile stairs next to it, one technician just in the process of bolting tight the replaced panel above the fuel tank (the fuel tank itself already having been repaired) and another technician having detached the damaged fuselage panel above the bomb bay. Both the bulleted panel and its replacement are seen resting against the mobile stairs. Through the removed panel hole there is a clear sight of all bomb bay and bulkhead detail.

 

My questions:

 

1) What do you think of this idea?

2) Do you think it's (possibly) realistic? 

3) Would all bombs be unloaded after such emergency landing? Or would it be thinkable that half of the bombs (in the far end bomb bay) would remain in place, so that the plane could leave again as fast as possible after reparation, possibly that same day? (It would be nicest of course to show one part of the bomb bay with bombs in place, the other part without). 

4) Do you have any other tips in this respect?

 

Much looking forward to your answers!

[mattlow]

Hello Roy

 

Making good progress I see..

 

I'm no expert but I think that bullet damage would have been repaired by fixing small patches where each bullet went through the aircraft's skin. With a stressed skin aircraft, I don't think whole panels can be replaced without jigs to ensure the aircraft isn't twisted when repaired (think of restoration photographs).

 

Not sure how to realistically show that area of the aircraft on view.... crash scene I suppose or a derelict crash site... like some of the airframes you see that have crashed on mountains etc and were still (until recently) still there.

 

Maybe you shouldn't worry too much about realism though... it can still be a realistic model even if the circumstances in which it is displayed aren't necessarily realistic.

 

Matt

[Roy vd M.]

Thanks Matt for this answer, very helpful! I like it to be as realistic as possible and I hadn't thought about this (even didn't know about it). 

 

Perhaps I'll find a 20mm or 30mm damage example that will open up the fuselage enough so it shows the inside. 

 

I also don't know if a bullet or shell will go all the way through the wing->tank->wing.

 

Any thoughts on this subject are welcome...

Edited January 19, 2014 by Roy vd M.

[Roy vd M.]

This for example is a nice shell exit hole:

 

Edited January 19, 2014 by Roy vd M.

[Roy vd M.]

And another question.. does anybody have any idea how this door pulley / cable system would have worked? 

 

 

Practically speaking, I'd like to know where the cables go and how they are connected. 

 

Answers are much appreciated, also if you're not sure they are accurate! Or if you're just guessing... in the end I'll have to do something so an educated guess would help me. Matt's answer (see above) for example is wonderful as it keeps me from investing a lot of time and energy trying to depict something that isn't realistic. 

[Kahunaminor]

Hi Roy,

Great work and I will be referring back when I start my build.

On the question of doors, I note from the pinned He 111 thread (about page 3) above that the doors were "generally" removed by the crews on operations. Not sure if you had seen that but it may save you some time and effort (notwithstanding that you can build whatever you like)!

 

Regards,

 

Kent

[Roy vd M.]

Thanks Kent and an interesting point you are making. 

 

I had read that statement (it's actually an estimation) about a year ago, being for me the reason to cut out Revell's doors in both the 1st and 2nd bulkhead. Happy to do so, as it draws light into the bomb bay room. 

 

But the more I studied pictures and video material, the more I've begun to doubt it. From references of that period (pictures / video) I have only seen the doors installed. They were always open but installed nonetheless. Looking at the neutral / contra's of having the doors removed:

 

Neutral:

- Guttorm says: "I really think that was up to the crew (...) I know that B-17 crew only removed the doors when entering operational status and arrived at combat theatres... most likely the same thing was done with German planes but this I can't be sure of... but I don't think you do any wrong by removing the doors."

- The remaining P2 and H-20 don't have their doors anymore. For the H-20 the reason could be to have more space for the troops to be seated (for the P2 that's no argument as the place where the doors would go would have no other use as it directly borders the bomb bay structure). The P2 was left in the mountains for years. According to Aero Details: "(...) souvenir hunters cut away and hauled off just about any part of the airplane that could be easily carried."Those thin doors would have been easy souvenirs. So there's no proof that the doors were ever removed by the crew. 

 

Contra: 

- Original contemporary footage known to me almost always shows the doors present (but open).

- Eduard had the doors built in (be it that they use only small slice of the door, to be glued behind the bulkhead to give the impression of a door almost slid all the way to the side).

- Removing the doors had no real advantage, as they were of the sliding type. They could just leave them in the open position rather than having to open/close them all the time. 

- The only remaining 111E (Museo de Aeronautica Y Astronautica, Madrid) still has its doors! 

- Revell had the doors built in.

 

I have encountered no 'proof' that the 1st bulkhead's doors were ever removed. Perhaps other bulkheads' doors but I strongly doubt that the 1st's were. That being said, I think that the 111E's bomber/front gunner's door could have been removed more often. That's a massive 'normal' door entered from the cockpit (!). 

 

So, everything taken into account (mainly the contemporary pictures) my conclusion is that it is by all means correct to have the doors in the plane but fully opened. By the way, in my search I have not encountered A SINGLE picture of the doors closed. 

 

The only reason why not to include the doors in the kit build is that they are practically invisible once the fuselage is closed. That must also be the reason why Eduard only included the part of the door which is visible from the cockpit. 

 

So guys... any ideas / educated guesses how the pulley system would have worked are much appreciated...