Airfix 1/72 Heinkel He 111 aircraft with an engine on fire
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A full build and review of Airfix 1/72 Heinkel He 111. This is painted in an RLM 70 / RLM 71 splinter camouflage scheme seen in France 1940. In this video I try something I haven't tried before - using electronics and cotton wool to create scale model fire coming from the aircraft's engine.
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Music credits:
Push Me 10 Minutes by Twin Musicom (twinmusicom.org)
Piano Moment (www.bensound.com) - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
I love the idea of a light in the heart of the fire - As a teenager in the 70s I won an 'Airfix series 1' competition run by a local model shop with a BF-109 trailing cotton wool fire and smoke. Made bullet holes with a hot needle, and in my bloodthirsty youth I splashed the inside of the shot-up canopy with red paint.
Looks great!
Had a thought: swap the port engine propeller for a disc so it looks like it's spinning. This will contrast nicely with the motionless prop on the flaming engine.
Thanks Frank - it's a good suggestion.
I have done a similar thing on my old planes I had as a kid. Make sure to rough the disc with some sandpaper too. I used a thin clear acrylic sheet, cut into a circle and roughed up with a circular motion, then used a yellow wash for the blade tips. I have also used a hot needle for bullet holes in the paper sided aircraft as it adds a realistic burr like when a bullet has passed through and aircraft.
@@tmd63 I don't understand the bullet part.... what do you mean with "paper sided aircraft"? With blur, you mean the trail of the bullet?
@@AlbertoDsign Maybe hes talking about ww1 planes that had canvas skins. Also he said "burr" as in jagged edges around the bullet damage.
Hans! Our stuffing is coming out!
"Don't worry I got my grandma in the back she can patch it up for us"
@@someguyontheinternet8282 grandma: goes on to wing with nitting equipment
Built these very same Airfix models when I was 13.... didn’t have the skills, the tools or the imagination to make them realistic.... but looked great hanging from my ceiling with a Lancaster bomber..
I reckon if it looks good and makes you happy, it doesn't matter if it is 'realistic' or not. That reminds me - got to get the Lancaster finished....
Not sure it’s the very same model, this version looks far more detailed than the one I built. Perhaps it’s a retool?
@@sirrathersplendid4825 this is a new 2010s tool yea. 2012 IIRC
Yep - Scalemates is great for checking the history of kits like this. www.scalemates.com/kits/airfix-a05021-heinkel-he-111-h-20--109397
Me too
That idea of using cotton wool to simulate smoke/fire is surprisingly effective! Nicely done.
Thank you. Yes, I was surprised by how well it worked too!
After watching this video. I need my youth again to make my models properly! You have a gift, patience and skill.
Go on Paul - you know your youth is still there!
One of the greatest 111's you'll ever see!
Thanks Bonnie
It’s fun to read the comments. Lots of good ideas. I think it would add realism if both pilot’s heads were turned to look at the flaming engine. They would definitely be concerned! 😊
I think you're right!
I made a model like this with my father very long ago
Good memories of this plane and kit
But that was the he 111 h-20
Is only for me He111 the most scary bombers?
This bombers did so much damage to so many places and country's
They formation was also scary
Great job I wish I could make sucha a models
What's going on here? Just 1 day after i've finished my he 111 h22 with v1, this video is recommended for me 😂 and before i wasn't even watching you.... but nice work👍🏼
Haha!
13:57 looks like you skinned a ferret.
How did you know?
@@swaldron5558 I have had worked ferrets for years. :-) Fantastic intelligence and wonderful animals.
I like the effect of the smoke. When they were on the table side by side they looked like cotton wool sprayed in different colours but when attached to the aircraft transformed into smoke - Amazing!
Cheers Simon. Yes, I was quite surprised that the smoke effect worked so well too.
13:32 as a pilot IRL I'll just say these all look amazing. IMO the top looks the most realistic. One thing to keep in mind are the vortices that come off of any airfoil while in flight, particularly the engine props and wingtips. The smoke and flames would likely be spiraling behind the engine, very tightly at first. I see that movement in the top example :)
Cheers!
Would they still be spiralling if the engine's stopped, as depicted? There'd still be all kinds of vortices but not as coherent a spiral as in propwash, surely
@@RoamingAdhocrat If the engine had seized or the prop had been feathered (as it appears in the box art), then that's true. There would still be a counter-clockwise (as viewed from behind) and outward vortex trailing the aircraft but it wouldn't be nearly as tight of a spiral. Without getting too critical here, the view at 16:38 looks much more like an explosion from the top of the engine than a steady stream of flames and smoke (another reason why the top example looks more realistic to me). I don't think an HE-111 would have been able to sustain a fire that intense for longer than a matter of seconds.
Interesting concept and great execution of the fire so will be looking forward to seeing the completed diorama. Definitely needs some damage to the wing and bullet holes to complete the scene.....just thinking!!
Thanks Robert. Yep, some bullet holes are definitely needed (heated pin through plastic maybe?). The good news is I found the tip of the nose glass so I can add that and the nose machine gun now!
Very impressive , a lovely model of the HE111 , keep up the good work.
Thanks Robert
great time saving tip on the canopy!
Nice work though! Good looking model.
(Missing a certain WWII decal on the tail though... Understandable, no one likes getting demonetized.)
Thanks. The extra decal just wasn't included in the kit :)
Was It a
napalm
And
Zyklon
Insurance
Symbol
@@ModelNerd In Europe most model kits are sold without the naughty cross as part of the decal sheet. It's actually illegal in some countries. They can be bought as after market decals sheets however.
Used to build model kits in the late 70s, god I wish they looked like that. Very impressed with the build
Thanks mate
epically awesome!!!
Thank you!
My favourite thing about the He 111 is the pilot's seat is adjustable - for landing he'd open a panel in the canopy above his head, raise the seat and land with his head outside the aircraft.
Wow, I've never heard this. I read that the bombardier's seat moves backwards to allow him to go prone on the bombing run.
@@ModelNerd Think this photo shows the panel in the open position - or possibly there was another smaller panel.
Looking at your vid, the detailed seat components suggest the seat and flight controls might all pivot up together with a parallelogram-type mechanism at the back of the pilot's seat.
commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Captured_He_111_in_Libya_1942.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
That is just beautiful! So well done. Great vid.
Thanks Sven
Looks like it's easier to assemble than all the Airfix kits of the 60s and 70s i have made :D
For sure! The new kits are very nice.
Brilliant!!!! Look forward to seeing the diorama with the Spitfire in chase !!!! Superb... Thank you so much for this, ah the memories of my Dad 😥😥
Thank you Shaun
Good show, jolly good show major!
Thanks Daniel!
Clear concise , and very interesting . Many sincere thanks.
Thank you mate
This looks fantastic! You did a great job of this
Thanks mate
A beautiful video,reminds me of my first Airfix kits in 1975 and my personal favourites were the 1/32 scale german/8th army/Afrika korp/Japanese/US/Australian/Gurkha infantry boxes. In 1982 l got the 1/24th scale Messerschmidt 109 D,now that was a Beast of an aircraft kit to assemble,the box was bigger than me. Thank you for reviving Great childhood memories. Airfix went by the wayside for me in '82 as l discoved TAMIYA Military Minatures and never looked back. The Heinkel he111 has to be one of the most filmed planes in colour Movies,two appear (constantly) in Patton (1970) and about 80 in The Battle of Britain (1968) as Franco had tons of them left over after the Spanish Civil War and some scenes from both films were made in Spain,l wonder were these the type of Plane that bombed Guernica? Great video and wonderful Modelling skills.
Thanks Daniel. I think some He 111s were involved in the Guernica bombing, but I think it was primarily other aircraft used.
Great vid, looking forward to the duo.
Thanks Andy
Beautifully done
Thanks mate
Very nice, love the smoke!👍
Thanks Bruno - I'm glad you liked it.
This is very impressive! I hope the crew got out, to spend the rest f the war in Canada!
Thanks Scott
Love that canopy, that took some time.
Thanks William. It was actually fairly quick using the technique I described (paint everything then gently scrape away). Quicker than other methods I've tried, at least.
Fantastic job keep up the good work 👏🏼
Thank you Jaimie.
Very good effect! Thank you.
Thanks Pete
I have this model to build plus a F Fortress a B25 mitchell a Lancaster plus Do17 which im slowly working on at the moment,thxs for the vid for inspiration 😀
Thank you, Mark. Yes, I've been doing aircraft a bit more recently too.
@@ModelNerd l do mainly 1/72 scale got a small collection of allied and axis vehicles and figures.
looks awesome, well done!
Thanks a lot!
Absolutely amazing, great skills to have achieved this model. Wishing I had your talent, unfortunately I have hand's like feet. 🤔
Thanks. Sorry about your hands :)
looking good ill have to get me this kit keep them coming
Thanks Gilbert. I've really enjoyed and been pleasantly surprised by the recent Airfix kits. I've got the RAF B17 and the Sea Hurricane in the stash still.
Awesome work.
Thanks mate.
Very cool. GREAT job!
Thanks Josh
G'day MN, That's a great experiment and it seems you've pulled it off... that looks quite realistic and would benefit, I think, if you displayed the finished diorama with its own darkened lighting in a separate display case arrangement. Apart from the BV 141 (because it's weird and unique), I generally don't do Axis aircraft, just Allied WW2 and Korean War models. However, if one can build destroyed or battle damaged Axis aircraft, I'd give that a go.
I think you're on the right track with the cotton wool. When I was in the RAAF, I went through a very basic airfield and flight line fire training course. So, I've seen old airframes up close and on fire. I think if you do this again, and I hope you do, perhaps you can tweak the overall effect by making the 'smoke' and 'flames' conform a little more to the effects of the aircraft travelling, at speed, whereupon the fire would be more shaped by the aerodynamic effects of the aircraft’s forward movement.
I have no idea how you might do this but it's something I'll devote some thought to and maybe experiment myself. I think you've chosen the right medium in cotton wool as I can't think of other materials that would simulate flames and smoke as well as you've done here.
The person who suggested having a plastic disc to simulate the props of the damaged engine makes little sense if the other props on the model are static. Maybe all 'turning discs' or none at all; or at least show the damaged engine props having been stopped and feathered. It's more to think about to achieve the best look. NB: G'day Frank Rizzo, Sorry, mate I misread your suggestion for the rotating discs. You are, perfectly right. It would look good!
Years ago I modelled a downed Hurricane and I found one could bend the props, as if they hit the ground, by gently heating up the prop blades while slowly bending them. That seemed to work well.
I've also managed to simulate a bullet hole in a cockpit window by masking the window with on both sides with tape and then firmly, quickly hitting the middle of the pane of 'Perspex' with the very sharp tip of a dental probe. (Really good if you’ve got one spare to practice on.) Then I removed the interior tape and applied a tiny amount of PVC glue and let it dry, clear. Now I could remove the outer tape to show the shattered 'Perspex' window without any pieces falling out of the frame. Showing bullet damage to the pilot is, of course, up to the modeller.
MN, you're a good modeller and one who thinks outside the box, literally, not just building a model as the instructions suggest. The 'devil' and the accuracy are in the tiny details. Well done! Cheers, BH
Hi Bill. Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate the feedback. Yes, I will definitely tackle the 'fire' effect again sometime in the future. Good tip on the damaged windows too (something this model could definitely use) - thanks. I had to look up the BV 141...definitely weird and unique, I can see why you would want to model that for sure.
Lovely job MN ! More please 😉
Thanks Steve.
Really good work mate! Keep going!
Thanks Alex
I dig it. I wonder if you thought of putting in a bit of clear sprue, married up to the led, where you tore out the excess cotton... and spread a bit more light into the cotton that way?
Thanks, that's a good suggestion
Nice job!
You have a like and a new subscriber!
Looking forward to working my way through your back catalogue and seeing what you create next!
Thank you Darren - I'm glad you liked it. Welcome to my channel!
good job - interesting build
Thanks Richard
great detail
Thank you Troy
Parabéns, foi a melhor montagem que já ví.
Thank you Vicente.
Fantastic built. I guess you'll build the propellers to look like running.
Thanks. I'm not going to use the spinning disk technique on this model, but perhaps on a future build.
Klasse ! Gut gemacht !
Thanks!
Back again! I just had a thought at the end of the video - have you thought of using a sub miniature magnetic reed switch? They're only a couple of mm in width (these are the switches in door alarms which switch over when the magnet moves away) You could fit one to the underside of the undercarriage bay and put a round magnet inside the wheel/tyre. If the undercarriage was moveable you could then switch the LED on or off by raising or lowering the undercarriage!
Wow - that sounds both complex and interesting! Thanks - I'll have to check it out.
Magnificent mate awesome , I’ve subscribed really great vid hope your well stay safe 👍🇦🇺
Cheers Kevin
the kit looks great, i think i liked the fire option with a lot of black.
Thanks
@@ModelNerd no problem!!!
Wow, really nice work there. I was thinking maybe you could use some fiber optic cable in the trail of flame for added affect, but I suppose you've heard that one already.
Actually I haven't heard that suggestion before. I've used fibre optics in another project, but only those that provide a point of light at the end. I'll have to look into it more - thanks for the suggestion.
Airfix have certainly improved the quality of the detailing compared to these same aircraft that I built over 50 years ago now! I love the 'add on' inner fuselage panels, really well thought out. So many kits these days have no crew figures at all so it's nice to see Airfix continuing with their traditional pilots but I've always wished they could produce them as mini 'multipose' figures with separate arms to vary the positions etc. By the way, at 0.08 is that a tailors dummy in the bomb aimers position? Didn't realise the Luftwaffe was that short of men!
Well done on a great video.
Haha - I agree. An aircraft with no crew comes across as a bit cheap (and it is surprisingly hard to find crew figures) - but these guys are all in *identical* poses. And that is sitting calming with their arms at their sides. A bit disappointing considering the amount of glass on a He 111, allowing you to see inside easily.
Nice work dude
Thanks mate
Wonderful video man I really enjoyed it. Nice music, your skills are awesome and your explanations and narrations are perfect and clear. This channel has a lot of potential. Hope to see lots of Luftwaffe and RAF builds in future :)
Thanks. I've got a Ju 88, a Hurricane, and a Beaufighter in the stash (and maybe a couple of others I forgot).
Model Nerd awesome, I recently built ICMs ju88 (revel boxing) in 1/48 and it was an awesome kit. Look forward to seeing your builds!
Kind words from the Führer himself!
Truman Ehrhorn Jawohl my friend, I am actually a lovely guy.
I wish i had stuff like this
Give it a crack mate - there are some nice accessible 1:72 kits that will still build up well if you're a beginner.
No my problem is the caronavirus im kinda scared it comes in the mail
Sick ( and an relaxing voice )👍🏾
Thanks
As a kid, I used to make my flame effects from clear red and yellow cellophane sweet wrappers, long before leds were invented.
Good excuse to buy some sweets too!
@@ModelNerd I used to have to wait until Christmas when my parents would buy a box of Quality Street!
Great job.
Cheers Mark
Looks great but more black for the engine fire I would say but great work
Thanks. Yes, I think you're right.
I have never done this so I have no idea how it would turn out and I never was this good a modeler but here is my idea. The starboard engine is fully ablaze and the prop is likely dead. The port engine is running but in the model the prop is stationary. Why not remove the prop and replace it with a piece of clear plastic the same diameter as the prop. You then paint a smudge on it to imitate the spinning prop. Do this by attaching the clear plastic onto a drill and spinning it. With diluted black paint you barely touch a brush to the spinning plastic from hub to tip. The paint should be really light in color as all you want is a blur. You should be able to see through the blur. On the tip you dab it with yellow for a warning. The yellow will be just a tiny tiny drop that will encircle the round plastic edge. Of course you paint the blade tips on the dead prop as well. This is beautiful but I do think you have too much cotton.
Thanks Jeff, it is a good suggestion and especially in a situation like this it does look strange that the engines are both in the same stationary state. I hadn't really planned to do the spinning prop thing and unfortunately now I am locked down and can't go out to get supplies, so I think this is a technique I'll have to try on a future build.
Awesome 👌
Thanks Gregor
I really wish you talented people would stop calling yourselves 'nerds'. You are skilled creative artists, craftsmen, subject matter experts and entertainers. Fabulous end result. I could almost feel the heat!. Okay, now back to scraping messed up primer spray off the ME 262 model I am in the process of totally ruining.
Thanks mate - I'm glad you liked it. 'Nerd' isn't an insult though (at least not to me) - I take it to mean somebody who has invested lots of time and effort and passion into something :) I'm slowly trying to convert the world to this definition of the term :)
Nice. I built this kit in 1968. It came with tail swastikas like it should have to be historically correct. I'm not sure how I feel about why it is felt that historical models should not have them today. In the museums I've been to they haven't painted over the swastikas of the actual planes, accurate history is important. Nice job regardless.
Thanks mate. Personally I don't worry about the swastikas too much. The simple fact is that swastikas are illegal to display (in this context) in a number of countries, and it makes sense to produce one version of a kit rather than multiple. It's similar to many of the 80s and 90s F1 kits I build - they don't include tobacco advertising logos. Sometimes I buy replacement decals to fill them in, sometimes not.
Great work and the fire and smoke trail is superb.This model seems like a huge improvement to the version I made in the 70s.Has it been completely retooled since then ?. Far more detail and the crew look different than the old ones.
Thanks James. Yes, I think a lot of their kits are retooled - but not all, so there are still some that can you out. I use ScaleMates.com to check what has changed between each version and make sure it isn't just a new set of boxart.
Very nice!
Thanks!
Looks great! When my kids were younger, I helped them (or rather they watched me help them) with dioramas for school projects. One involved a Kamikaze attacking a ship. bottom line had to show the plane diving from the sky (heavy foam board painted scene to hit the deck of a ship (painted cardboard with details, sea of painted latex). We did several things to the aircraft model: painted to show the oil leaking as you did but added smear to the windscreen with the broken glass and a splotch of blood on the inside of the canopy. Used painted cotton for the smoke trail as you did but used it to hide a wire that was inserted into the tail of the fuselage and attached to the foamboard "sky". Finally using a hot needle, punched bullet holes and made selected gashes in the wings, cowling, prop and so on and mounted the plane, bending the wire to illustrate a diving turn into the ship.
Along with his written report, the project was a real hit with my son's classmates...
Nice! Sounds like a great diorama. I particularly like the "they watched me help them" :)
Good effort, can’t wait to see it with the spit.
Cheers Robin. I've been working on it a bit today, so hopefully in a week or so....unless I get distracted...
Cool!... innovative 👍
Thanks!
Outstanding job, love the attention to detail.
Quick question. Do you do the oil wash right at the end, after the matt coat ? I'm really struggling with washes at the moment. My aircraft look like they have flown through a proper shit storm.
Thanks Mr Biscuits! I put the oil wash down after the gloss coat, then when that has dried I put a matt coat down. The gloss coat definitely makes it easier to remove. To be honest I haven't really got on well with artists oils and struggle to remove them myself sometimes.
Superb
Thanks
I had seen some photos and movies of bombers having a fire in the engine. As far as I experience the fire is just to big. It will normal not reach back to the tailfin? And maybe some bulletsholes around the engine to show it actual had been hit with multiple bullets? But really a nice build. You are far better than I. And yes I also remember this kid from I was a boy. But that version was not so smart as your version. There were no interior but the pilot seat and a frontgunner laying on the floor in the cookpit and a roofgunner in a rotating turret where the gun could move up and down. But man.. I was so proud anyway and put a lot of playing hours into it with all my other models. But He 111 was my favorite. :-)
Thanks Henrik. Yes, I plan to add bullet holes :)
Fantastic work. Wish ya motorized the propellers and have them spin. One full speed, the other slower to mimic engine problems or a sign it was hit
I think spinning propellers are a definite requirement for my next aircraft project :)
i've seen people use tiny magnets to keep pieces they might need to remove together, maybe you could see if you can find a few that fit inside the wing.
Yes, it's a good idea, thanks. Once this lockdown is lifted and shops open again I will try to source some.
@@ModelNerd I got a packet of tiny neodymium magnets online years ago, probably off Ebay. They're discs about 2mm dia and 1mm thick. Pretty sticky.
@@RoamingAdhocrat Cheers - I'll check it out.
Very nice presentation. New sub here. Thanks
Thanks mate
Awesome.
Thanks Jay
Just wondered if there should be bullet holes?
A row of dots from a 303 Browning.
I used to have loads of these on my ceiling. I once stretched a line of cotton from wall to wall and flew a B24 from it. I stood back and watched as the cotton broke and the Liberator flew nose first into the wall.
50 years ago and still vivid.
Ouch! Yeah, I think I would remember that too :-|
Uh sir there seems to be a lively glow on the left wing...
Haha
Try a thin piece of acrylic rod sanded on the outside and placed next to LED. This will transmit some light through the flames and smoke
Thanks Nigel, that's a good idea.
To make bullet holes use a small heated nail and go across the plastic-as if it was done by a machine-gun from another plane then take silver paint and put inside the holes to make it look like the planes metal
Thanks for the tip Fred
@@ModelNerd your welcome
That’s an interesting effect. I think you have your fire colours the wrong way round. It should be yellow near the engine and red near the black smoke. You have made a big hot rod flame. The brighter colour near the engine might also help the lighting.
Yeah, you might be right....
Ding dong sir 😁👍
Cheers Tim.
Nice
Thanks Max
could you lease explain what i would need for the electrics - great vid :)
Sure. Start with the LED you want. Then select the battery type you want (e.g. button battery, 2 x AA, etc) depending on what will fit in your model. Then you need to work out what resistor you need to use to reduce the current from your battery to the level needed by your LED (using an online calculator is easiest). Then grab a switch of your choice and some wire and solder everything into a circuit :)
An original idea, 👍
Thanks mate
Cool! Would the pilot have feathered the propeller on the burning engine? Maybe too soon after being shot at! 😎 Would be an idea to simulate rotating propellers for the remaining engines in the diorama. Anyways -- really nice build!
Thanks Mark. Yeah, I might give the rotating propeller disks in a future diorama.
get a pin and into a candle flame... then make bullet holes for the diorama! Especially round the engine.
Will do!
Hi! Great job on the model kit! How did you attach the bottom section of the wing with the led?
Thanks. A couple of options - Blu-tack or similar, PVA glue, or maybe some micro magnets
@@ModelNerd Thanks!
Will glue be required in the assembly of the model glue ?
For the wing use small magnet that you glue.
Thanks - that's a good idea. I'll have a look for some on eBay. That would really solve the problem.
@@ModelNerd If you don't find on ebay! Aliexpress or Banggood have a very big selection.
Great video! What painting technique do you use to paint the canopy? Do you brush paint and scrape off the paint as you go or something along these lines? This is a technique i've never seen before and i'd be interested in trying it for my own models. Thanks for the help
Hi Andrew. I airbrushed the paint on and then scrapped it off the glass with a cocktail stick
I think some smoke from exaust should be nice
I love anything Battle of Britain.
Me too! I wish there was a recent, decent release of a BoB Hurricane...having to make do with Airfix's Sea Hurricane at the moment.
Quick question droping by
What solutions do you use for the transfers?
Hi. It's Tamiya Mark Fit
Could you add some torn up wing and bullet holes and maybe cracked glass? Really nice build btw 👍
Thanks. I'm going to add some bullet holes, definitely. For the torn up wing, I think I will save that for a future build (I already have an idea) because that would involve quite a lot of butchering of the wing and adding of metal or foil to simulate the aircraft's metal. I need to practise that first!
As a young boy I made several combat damaged aircraft and in hindsight I realized the machine gun damage shouldn’t be a nice neat line of holes. The flight paths of the 2 aircraft would literally cause the bullets to often hit in a very haphazard way.
Ok great can’t wait! Right now I’m building a 1/32 b24 liberator from hobby boss and am making it crashed on Guadalcanal
Keep up the great work
Wow! That I have to see. Sounds like an incredible diorama idea - looking forward to it.
Model Nerd thank you very much! I will be sure to show you!
amazing model but where did you find the P-2 variant?, ive been looking all over for that! Great job on the fire effects.
Thanks mate. Yeah, these modern Airfix releases tend to only be available for a short time, I find. I got mine from Hobby Link Japan (HLJ).
@@ModelNerd thanks! ill have a look
I built the Matchbox He111 as a kid in the 80s. Easier to build but with a better external finish than the Airfix equivalent. I didnt know the Airfix version had so much detail. Unusual for Airfix at that time. This must have been revamped at some time. Is this a Hasegawa mould?
Hi Andrew. Airfix were bought by Hornby a couple of years ago and since then they have released a lot of high quality completely new tooled kits, of which I believe this is one. I've also built the 1/72 Spitfire (video elsewhere on my channel) and I have the RAF B17 and the Sea Hurricane to build. Both of have received good reviews. That said, I believe there are a couple of old toolings that have just been reboxed, so its good to check reviews first. It's really good to see the brand being turned around because they were really in dire straights several times in previous years.