There comes a time when despite all the usual waiting for a kit or a specific variant of an aircraft, it doesn't appear and it is up to aftermarket to help us out. In this case, Cutting Edge has come to the rescue of those who want a 1/48 early He-111. This particular conversion set is to do an early He-111D/E as used during the Spanish Civil War and during the early campaign against Poland in 1939.

The first thing of note is the warning that this set is only for advanced modelers. This is mainly due to all the parts in the set and the considerable modification needed to the kit in order to get things to work right. If you have not had many resin conversions or had a lot of experience with really bad short run kits, then you'll probably be frustrated with the amount of work that is required.

As you can see from the image, there are a huge number of parts in this set which basically includes a completely new nose, engines and wing leading edge. You also get a new 'Dustbin' turret for the underside of the aircraft. In the set are a set of Black Magic wheel and canopy masks, which will surely help in the construction of the model.

The instructions are superb with photos of the cuts needed on the kit as well as the completed subassemblies. There are many hints and tips throughout the construction sequences as well as specifics on the airframe version you are doing as the D and E were not exactly the same. About the only thing that doesn't come with this set are decals, but Cutting Edge produces several sets of decals that include these early aircraft and that is listed in with the instructions.

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