When I were but a wee lad
I used to build primarily 1/48th scale models. I think
it was Monogram's super duper Black Widow kit that first
turned me on to that scale and after that it was "the
bigger the better" for me. Yep, size mattered, baby....
I'm not sure why, but I
decided I liked 1/72 better around my late teens/early
twenties and it's been my favourite scale ever since.
This Heinkel was one of my first efforts in 1/72nd and
although I like to think I've come a long way since then,
I'm still quite happy with this one.
Built pretty much straight
out of the box, I originally rigged this with invisible
sewing thread which I didn't like for two reasons: 1)
it was too thick, and 2) it needed painting. Not having
an alternative at the time however, I let it be. A couple
of years later during one of my frequent moves, a poorly
packed tennis racket - obviously frustrated at its lack
of use - wreaked coldly calculated vengeance upon me and
completely destroyed the unwary Heinkel. Why a dedicated
couch potato like myself actually owned a tennis racket
in the first place is one of life's mysteries, but I suspect
it had something to do with the fairer sex ;-) . Anyway,
when I finally got around to rebuilding the He 51 I rigged
it with stretched sprue and was much happier with the
result. I've used it for rigging ever since.
I was amazed to find that
this model survived the treacherous voyage from Canada
to the mother country completely intact - rigging and
all. The racket, I might add, didn't live to see if the
next girlfriend looked as good in a short tennis skirt
as her predecessor did.
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