The Little World

Every so often you encounter a model kit that is so old, warped, and manky that it could stand for election to the Sydney City Council…and win. This is the Airfix Heinkel He111 kit I have just opened. It is marginally older than Keith Richards but not in as good a condition. It dates from a period when Airfix were struggling. That is between their initial struggles and their current ones.

It is a gift from my friend Paul and treasured as such – and is a particularly poignant pack of plastic as I have also built a brand-new Airfix Heinkel He 111 from a modern mould. It was superb – this promises to be dreadful. And I’ll love it.

I’ve said before I’m the kit rescuer and this one promises to be a real Lassie-down-the-well job. Rivets, warped panels, flash, sinkholes, and the sort of clear styrene mouldings that make a beer bottle look like a Venetian glass goblet. It is moulded in light blue plastic with the oldest instruction sheet and decals known to man.

As I do not paint Luftwaffe schemes , it will be assigned to a different air line or air force – probably as a stable-mate to a Savoia Marchetti SM. 79 doing similar duty. The best time period to put this in is the later 1940’s or early 1950’s – postwar surplus aircraft re-purposed.

I do admire the landing gear legs and wheels – they look like they will fit into the nacelles with no problem.