border model Border Model 1:35 Heinkel He 111H-6

[JayDee]

1:35 Heinkel He 111H-6
Border Model
Catalogue # BL-018
Available for around £150

 

The Heinkel He 111H-6 was one of the most widely used versions of the famous German medium bomber developed by the Heinkel during the early years of World War II. The He 111 itself was originally designed in the mid-1930s by the brothers Siegfried Günter and Walter Günter, initially disguised as a civilian transport aircraft to bypass restrictions imposed after World War I. By the start of the war in 1939, the bomber had become one of the primary aircraft of the Luftwaffe, serving extensively in early campaigns and gaining recognition for its distinctive glazed nose.

The H-6 variant appeared in 1941 as an improved model designed to increase performance and payload flexibility. It was powered by two Junkers Jumo 211F-1 engines, which provided greater reliability and allowed the aircraft to carry heavier ordnance. One of the defining features of the H-6 was its ability to carry torpedoes, enabling it to operate as a maritime strike aircraft. Because of this capability, the aircraft was frequently used against Allied shipping in areas such as the North Sea and the Arctic Ocean, where German forces attempted to disrupt supply routes.

During the middle years of the war, the He 111H-6 served in multiple roles including level bomber, torpedo bomber, and sometimes as a transport aircraft. It participated in operations on the Eastern Front and during the Battle of the Atlantic, often flying long missions over hostile territory. However, as Allied fighters and air defenses improved, the He 111 design began to show its age, suffering heavy losses by 1943. Despite this, the aircraft remained in service for much of the war due to Germany’s limited ability to replace it with newer bomber designs.

The kit
This is my first experience with a Border Model kit, and this release may or may not be indicative of how the previous releases faired, so forgive me for basing this solely on how I see this new kit. The He 111H-6 comes in a large and deep box with a very rigid lid which gives a lot of protection for the many sprues within. Some of the more fragile sprues are stored within boxes of their own, printed with images of contents. One such box contains the three clear sprues. In total, there are around eighteen sprues of mid grey styrene. For some reason, two of these aren't shown on the parts map, despite being used. There are also three clear sprues, one fret of photo-etch metal, two decal sheets, and one large instruction manual.

SPRUE A
This sprue is the first thing you see when opening the box lid, as it sits on a boxed sprue immediately below it. You can straight away get an idea of the size of this subject in 1:35, albeit minus the tail cone and forward cockpit glazing. The main parts here are obviously the fuselage halves. I've played about with the lighting for a number of my photos, so you can see that oil canning that is one of the main features of this release. Addressing an elephant in the room here, you'll also see the raised riveting. Looking at plenty of images of the He 111, both historical and museum, the riveting is somewhat of an anomaly, but then again, so are the rows of divots we also see, albeit less of an issue to the average modeller. Maybe Border are also aiming at armour builders, hence some of the agricultural aspects of surface detail! Anyway, this is no deal breaker for me. 

 

The breakdown of the fuselage is clear to see, with joints along panel lines, removing the need to start sanding, filling and adding more rivets. I quite like this aspect, also seen on the big scale Airfix birds, and most recently on Kotare kits. The upper section of the fuselage is a separate part, as is the belly and lower gondola too. Internally, the fuselage contains stringer and ribbing detail. Other parts on this sprue include the gondola itself, and internal wing root insets which plug onto the main internal framework.

 

 

SPRUES B & C
Apart from a few smaller parts, these sprues are for the wings. Again, I've tried to show you the surface textures in my photos. I do quite like that canning. Not sure how many 111s ever survived long enough to stress like that, but hey! Also note how the wing leading edges are separate parts, so no seams to eradicate. Spacers are moulded within the wings to separate the halves when glued together. This is instead of spars and any possible sinkage along internal construction elements.

 

 

SPRUE D
This sprue contains the inboard landing flaps (cumbersome as they are), wing leading edge strips, undercarriage doors and gear bay side walls, and oil cooler air intakes. The surface textures are quite obvious in these images. 

 

PART TWO in a short while...

[JayDee]

PART TWO

SPRUE E
All parts here are to build the two F5b torpedoes. Photo-etch parts are also included to supplement the plastic details. The weapons mounting points for inside the belly mount, are seen here under the halves on the right hand side.

 

 

SPRUE F
There are two belly options in this kit, with this one having the fixed mounts for the SC1000 bombs/F5b torpedoes incorporated into it. The detail is excellent and everything looks amazing crisp and refined. The rectangular part on this sprue is the mounting plate for the internal bomb cages. 

 

 

SPRUE G
This is one of the sprues that IS shown on the parts map, but not labelled along with E & F. These parts are for the SC1000 bombs, along with their mounting   racks. 

 

 

SPRUE H
Quite a few obvious parts here, such as the fuselage mid upper section with the gun position, waist gunner platform, bomb bay fore and aft bomb bay sections, and the  stabiliser halves. The latter parts, along with the vertical stabiliser, are the only real fixed structural elements that will need a swipe of a sanding stick to remove seams. 

 

 

 

 

SPRUE I
This isn't shown at all on the parts map. Here you see the alternative bomb bay belly section, with cutout sections for the bomb drops. Different door sets are provided for both open and closed positions. The vertical stabiliser is supplied here, along with the two-part rudder. Two different tail cone options are also included; one with a remotely controlled MG17. Also seen here are the main gear strut units, internal fuselage bulkhead, interior waist equipment, etc.

 

 

SPRUES J, K, L
All of these clear sprues are supplied in separate sleeves, and then within a protective cardboard box. It's difficult to convey here, but these parts are crystal clear and are superbly moulded with definitive frame lines etc. Where parts of these sections are not glazed, the plastic is textured to represent the rest of the superstructure. As you can see, the He 111 isn't shy when it comes to glass!

 

 

MORE SOON...

 

[JayDee]

SPRUE M
If you ignore the belly bomb section and gondola position, Border have split the lower fuse into two further sections; one immediately aft of the gondola and the last part extending to the tail wheel. There's some serious oil canning distress in this area too. Maybe that's likely indicative of the stresses of multiple landings...I really have no idea. Also seen here are the ailerons and multiple cockpit parts. 

 

 

 

SPRUE N
Yet another sprue not on the parts map. This is located in a box, along with Sprue S. Here, you will generally see smaller parts for both the cockpit and Jumo engines.

 

 

SPRUE O
The added graphic shows there are two of these sprues, dealing with many of the Heinkel's doubled up parts, such as engine frames, wheels, prop blades and parts, engine intakes, cowl panels, Jumo engine, and also exhaust stubs. The wheels are weighted too, with a flat that indicates what a weighty machine this was. Again, this sprue is further protected within a cardboard box. Look at the fragility of some of these parts!

 

 

 

SPRUE P
This is another sprue for which two are included. This should need no introduction. Here are found the internal SC250 bombs, along with the bomb cages. A few non-weapon parts have snuck onto this sprue, such as the spinners and more prop blades of a different shape. The included prop blades in this kit give the modeller the choice of using the aircraft's wooden blades, or the VDM metal prop blades. I am sure that very early in construction, you will need to establish exactly which aircraft you'll be building, but I'm not very confident that for some details that these are clearly indicated. Might be useful to do a Google image trawl.

 

MORE SOON

 

[JayDee]

SPRUE Q
This is very much a sprue for weapons (with the odd exception), with plenty of slide moulding in evidence. 

 

 

 

Photo-etch
A single fret of PE is included, containing seatbelts, some glazing internal structure, and also parts for the cockpit and torpedoes etc. All appears to be good quality, although I will see what I can source in 1:35 for replacement seatbelts. I've never been a fan of metal ones.

 

 

 

Decals and colour profiles
FOUR schemes are supplied in this release. These are:

1. Sturzkampfgeschwader 3, North Africa, 1941

2. 9./KG 4 „General Wever" on Pathfinder and Marker Missions for I. Fliegerkorns, Hungaria, Summer 1944.

3. 5/KG26, Sicily, 1941

4. 5./KG 26 „Löwen-Geschwader" (Lion-Wing) Grosseto, Italy, December 1942.

 

TWO decal sheets are included. Printing is nice and thin and with minimal carrier film. Registration is excellent too. I've no idea who printed these, but I can't see any potential issues. Swastikas are included too, supplied as halves in order to satisfy the requirements of some countries.

 

 

 

Colour call outs are given for Ammo paint, but it'll be easy enough to determine the colours needed from other manufacturers.

 

Instructions
The manual is a 48-page, full colour tome, albeit with the construction sequences generally in black and white line drawings, with some annotation given for various parts options. There has been some consternation about the clarity of the drawings, and having spent some time with the manual from an online source, I can understand what folk are saying. Some illustrations seem a little muddy in relation to parts fitment. I wish someone at ICM had created this manual for them! You will need to do plenty of forward working and test fitting to ensure you get everything correct. Just take your time. A parts map is included, as is a full colour chart for Ammo paints, and a whole page each for the colour schemes, as shown previously. Some of the construction sequence is quite unique to this release, such as adding the engines to the wing frame, and having those delicate structures in situ while manipulating larger parts like wing panels. 

 

Conclusion
Well, what can I say? This is a superb release and encompasses everything about scale modelling that attracts my attention. I know, it’s not 1:32, and a lot of aircraft modellers feel uncomfortable stepping away from the recognised scale, but face it, it’s unlikely we’ll see Revell re-pop their 1:32 kit anytime soon, and compared with this kit, the Revell is very much lacking in both internal and external detail. I’ve seen a few Revell kits being offloaded fairly cheap since this was announced. That scale disparity dislike perhaps isn’t as widespread as thought. From the oil canning, to the raised rivets, engineering breakdown, and sheer number of options, this release is likely to be many things to many people. I do think the canning is overdone, and the raised rivets raises a few eyebrows on an airframe which was likely flush riveted almost in its entirety. I might do a little surface rework on this when my time comes, but as I don't want to screw an entire project, I may build almost as moulded and treat the surface textures for what it is. Everything is a compromise, so this is just another one. No masks are supplied in this release, which is a real shame, although the manual has templates for those. I think I'll wait for there Eduard set though!

My next project is the ICM Do 217K, but this will follow straight afterwards. 

My sincere thanks to Border Model for this stunning kit. To buy directly, click this Scalemates link and check the Marketplace section.

 

 

 

 

[Martinnfb]

I love the unorthodox approach to the surface detail. Thank you for the review James.

Cheers

Martin

[JayDee]

24 minutes ago, Martinnfb said:

I love the unorthodox approach to the surface detail. Thank you for the review James.

Cheers

Martin

While some will piss and moan about 1:35, more will about the surface details. 

While the externals look incredible, I am aware of the raised rivets anomaly, but I was when I asked for this kit to be sent, so it wasn't a surprise. I've seen many of the test shot images, plus the painted wing panels on the sprues. I'm happy with it generally. I may or may not do something with the rivets. It's not a deal breaker for me.

[Martinnfb]

I believe the solution will be available shortly in a form of raised rivet sets ( HGW, Quinta, etc.). Overall this kit looks like a gem and the scale opens its potential even more. 

[PanzerWomble]

Saw them for sale in Jadlam UK today.......... huge box...

but.........

 

£160???????? .....honestly ????.....feck that for a box of plastic ....I've bought roadworthy cars for less. 

I wonder how many will be bought and never finished , traded endlessly 'unstarted' on eBay ....less is more sometimes IMHO .  

Still if it floats yer boat who am I to naysay ?