MPM 1/72 Heinkel He 100

MPM 1:72 HEINKEL HE-100
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Myself (smakr@bigpond.com)

Kit: MPM Limited Run kit No. C72016 - Heinkel He 100

Aircraft: The Heinkel He-100 is a sleek fighter design that was developed to compete as a higher performance aircraft against the Messerschmitt Bf-109. Ernst Heinkel's intention was also to develop such an excellent fighter that its capabilities and performance would overwhelm anything else it's competitors had to offer, and the German hierarchy would have no choice but to award him the contract. Unfortunately it was not seen by the powers that be, that this aircraft was superior and thus it never made it into production.

Parts: 1 Sprue in plastic bag of about 20 injection molded parts in light grey colour, small bits of flash evident with many parts requiring only a very minor and quick clean up
One vacform canopy is also included in the kit
Photo etched instrument panel and 18 piece brass etched detail set

Instructions: A single A4 sheet folded to make a small A5 booklet. A brief history is on the front in English, Czech and German. A sprue diagram is provided showing the part numbers (as the sprue itself does not have any numbers) and a four step construction assembly that is quite adequate but not for the novice. Sketches of the cockpit side-on and the aircraft front and side profiles are also provided. A four view diagram on the back page shows the colour scheme and markings for the versions produced including how an open cockpit should look.

Versions: There are two aircraft, both in overall upper black green with light blue undersides (RLM 70 and 65 respectively), from a "speculative" unit based in Germany, Spring 1940. Only the serial numbers (13 and 21) indicate the differences between the two aircraft.

Decals: These are produced by Propagteam and are in good register. They are also thin and have a matt appearance, based on my experience with these types of decals I would hazard a guess in saying that they might be prone to curling and bringing some backing paper with it if left soaking too long. There are no swastikas provided, however, there are four decals shaped like an incomplete "5" without the top of the number, and also without any rounding (as if writing it in straight lines). I gather that putting two of these decals together might result in a swastika, but they are all facing the same way and I am not good on puzzles so I have no idea how this could be done. I will be using my own swastika set of decals when I do this kit.

Accuracy: Measures to scale very well according to the dimensions published by MPM in their instruction sheet (which matches my complete book of fighters reference). The aircraft also has a very unique shape - one which looks hard to replicate. On examination of the fuselage and wings, I don't think MPM have scored accurately. The fin is very slightly out of shape, the rounded nose to the nosecone hasn't been quite captured, the spine behind the cockpit seems a bit too straight and the wings are slightly suspect (but may end up being fine - it's just how they look in the bag).

Detail: Externally nothing to write home about, panel lines are adequately provided but are very fine, no wheel well detail to speak of. Cockpit detail is excellent by virtue of all the brass etched material that includes harnesses, seat belts, rudder pedals, instrument panels etc. The seat provided is simply a typical rectangular shaped piece of plastic.

Options: If you wish to have the canopy open you will need to carefully cut the frame on the vacform one-piece provided. Propeller is fixed in one position.

Impressions: This should be a relatively straightforward kit for anyone who is used to MPM limited run kits. A few test fits show that there will be some filling, sanding and a bit of effort required but nothing out of the 'norm'. This is not a kit that I would be telling novices, or anyone who is not familiar with MPM stuff to go running out and buying. While there are some perceived imperfections in profile accuracy above, this is only based on how it looks in the box, it may turn out to be different once it is built up. In any event it still looks to capture the sleek lines of this fascinating aircraft quite well. Exhaust stacks are molded onto the fuselage and could do with some serious spicing up. The wings are broken down into a one-piece underside that will be affixed to the bottom of the aircraft and two upper side pieces. I would suggest affixing the uppersides first or at least testing out this area for best method of attachment before you go ahead and do it. Only very minor flash but most of the parts will just need a once over with an #11 blade to clean them up.

Other Comments: I've also seen artistic impressions of this aircraft done up in a snow coloured scheme, a splinter camouflage and mottled like the Bf-109's of the era. I can see no reason why one could not provide an alternative scheme than that offered by the kit given that MPM are encouraging the modeller to produce a fictitious subject anyway.

Related Reviews:-

MPM 1/72 Heinkel He 100 (Myself) : (Richard Stracey)
HiPM 1/48 Heinkel He-100D

Here's a sideview shot of a Heinkel He-100D-1
Colour scheme and overall markings similar to what the kit provides

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