RS MODELS 1:72 HEINKEL HE 112B-1/B-2
'INBOX Review'

 

Reviewer: Johan De Wolf  (rec.models.scale)   

History

In 1933 the newly appointed head of the RLM, Hermann Göring, confidentially issued a requirement for a “lightning fast courier aircraft”. Four companies responded and each of these where given a contract for 3 prototypes. In 1935 the machines where ready for a competitive fly-off and it soon became apparent that the Heinkel and Messerschmitt designs outclassed the Arado and Focke-Wulf entries. Further flight testing finally edged the pilot’s preference to the Me 109. Had the He 112 V9 been available at that time the outcome might have been different. However in 1936 it was decided that the Me 109 would become the new fighter for the rapidly expanding luftwaffe.

Although the Heinkel design was an outstanding aircraft it became totally over shadowed by its Messerschmitt rival. In the end only 98 He 112’s where built. Some flew in Luftwaffe markings for a while, but this was mostly for propaganda goals. Most aircraft where exported, with 28 going to Japan, 19 to Spain, 3 to Hungary and 30 to Rumania. Those who flew the He 112 loved the aircraft for its excellent handling characteristics and heavy armament.

The kit

It comes in the dreaded flimsy end opening box. On the back of the box there are four helpful b/w pictures of the real aircraft. Inside the box you’ll find one sprue containing all the parts. Surface detail is finely engraved, and there is no flash or sink marks anywhere. Molding is of high quality with even the small parts being sharply cast. There are no location pins on any of the parts. The vacuform canopy is a bit cloudy and has a few small blemishes, but a good polishing will be enough to cure this. The decal sheet is well printed, however the white parts are probably not opaque enough to cover any underlying camouflage demarcations. The A-4 sized instruction sheet has a short history, a drawing identifying the parts, 3 construction diagrams and two color schemes. 

Accuracy

Span and length are both spot on. The model captures the sleek lines of the He 112 very well. The gull wing has been captured convincingly, and all fabric-covered control surfaces have been subtly reproduced. The canopy is another matter. While looking through my references it seemed to me that the canopy in the kit had a too steep and too short windscreen. Although the early prototypes had many different styles of canopies the later ones, and the production machines all had the same windscreen. There is however one machine that indeed had a shorter, steeper windscreen. This was the V9, which became the prototype for the B series. This machine, initially registered as D-IGSY, was sent all over Europe for demonstrations. Therefore many pictures of this machine exist. Eventually it was sent to Spain for evaluation. To cut a long story short: out of the box you will only be able to build the V9 as it flew in Spain. Before it was sent to Spain it had a 3-blade prop fitted. If you want to build a true B series machine you will need to replace the canopy. In the Falcon clear-vax set #5 you’ll find an accurate canopy for the production machines.

Construction

The cockpit is pretty busy with, in all, 9 parts. The fuselage walls also have some detail molded onto them. The instrument panel is rather bare though, with no raised detail nor a decal provided for it. For the nose section you get a bulkhead and two engine bearers, but oddly enough there is no engine with this kit. As far as I know there is no after market Jumo 210 available either, so it is a mystery to me why this detail has been provided. For the engine covers you have two options: a panel with a collector pipe ending in a single exhaust, or a panel with the individual exhaust stacks (for the He 112 B-1/U2). These panels do not fit very well so careful dry fitting and adjustment is called for. The wing is made up of 3 parts: a full span lower half and two upper halves. The wheel wells are boxed in but devoid of any detail. Again careful dry fitting and some minor adjustment is called for to achieve a seamless fit with the fuselage. The 3-piece radiator bath looks very nice and can be fitted in any desired position. The landing gear also looks very nice, with detailed gear doors and weighted wheels. Next up is the prop, followed by the canopy. The last detail to be added is the antenna mast.

Colors and markings

Detail colors are given throughout construction. They are listed in generic terms with the equivalent Humbrol, Agama and FS numbers given also. The decal sheet provides options for 2 machines: An overall grey RLM 63 He 112 B-2 with a German civil registration (D-IYWI) that was exported to Rumania in 1939. And a Hungarian He 112 B-1 (V3+03) as it was seen in 1943. This machine was painted in a disruptive pattern of light grey, dark green and brown on the upper surfaces and light grey on the lower surfaces.

Conclusion

This is a state of the art kit of an interesting German aircraft. But even though it is of high quality I don’t think it will sell well. The vacuform canopy will put off many potential buyers. Although it is showing its age, the Heller (Encore) kit of the He 112 builds up into a nice replica as well. On top of that the Heller kit can be found at swap meets for as little as 3 euro, which makes the price for the RS kit look all the more steep.

This kit comes in 3 boxes (9206, 9207 and 9208) with only the decal sheet being different for each box.

References

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