Special Hobby 100-SH72428 Heinkel He 59B 1:72

This re-release of the Heinkel He 59B is suitable for more experienced modellers. It contains four grey styrene sprues, newly designed resin cast parts, 3D-printed parts and a fret of etches. The new clear plastic injected parts replace the original vacuum-formed items. The Heinkel He59 was a large, twin-engined biplane fitted with a pair of floats. Its development took place in secret as it was meant for the newly built German naval air force. Production began in late 1933 and the aircraft were deployed in Spain and on both the Western and Eastern fronts during WW2.

   Our kit set corrects the oft-published mistake about the armament of the Legion Kondor He 59s. It was thought that these machines had the armament consisting of MG FF machine guns. The truth is that in their nose gunner stations had the very little-known Solothurn ST-11 canon and as it seems that it was also the sole combat deployment of this weapon, which although being rather effective, was also quite heavy. The ST-11 had been produced in very small number only and later it was developed into the Solothurn S-18 anti-tank rifle, which by coincidence is also offered by Special Hobby as a 1/35 scale kit.

   The decal sheet brings markings for a Legion Kondor machine flying over Spain during the civil war and a machine in the colours of the German Luftwaffe in 1940. The ST-11 canon and the machine guns are 3D printed.