1:48 He 70

The Heinkel He 70, a machine faster than the fighters of its day

The slim single-engine He 70 first rose into the air at the close of 1932 and soon went on to collect several speed records. Lufthansa put it on express services, where it left the biplanes of the day behind, and the nickname Blitz stayed with it even when the airliner became a reconnaissance and light bomber type. The elliptical wing and the carefully smoothed skin foreshadowed the shapes Heinkel later developed on the twin-engine He 111. In the He 70F version the machines flew with the Condor Legion over Spain and some of them stayed in service for a number of years afterwards.

Why the set pays off

The cockpit glazing consists of a long row of narrow frames and painting them with a brush without the paint overflowing takes more time than the spraying itself. The pieces are laid straight onto the clear parts, follow the outline of the framing and, once the finish has dried, come away together with any excess paint. The dimensions come from the glazing of the 1:48 AZ Model kit.

• the frame looks the same from outside and from the cockpit, because it is masked from both sides
• the material holds its shape, can be pressed carefully into a curve and leaves no adhesive residue once lifted
• it works with paint from an airbrush as well as from a spray can
• the package holds no plastic and no resin parts

The procedure in brief

The clear part is degreased before applying, the piece is transferred with tweezers, pressed into the corners with a toothpick and only then does the paint follow. It pays to take it off while the finish has not hardened completely, as the edge then stays sharp.