1/72 Matchbox Heinkel He170A

by Oliver Weston

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Based on the Heinkel He70 F-2, the He170 was a derivative of that aircraft. Produced under licence for the Hungarian air force as an armed reconnaissance aircraft. The He170 was powered by the Gnome et Rhone radial engine instead of the V12 BMW unit of the G-1 (civil) and F-2 (military) variants. The basic airframe was the same with only minor changes to better suit the requirements of the Hungarian air force. The aircraft pictured is one of the Royal Hungarian Air Force Reconnaissance unit 1942.

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History lesson over, this kit is an old Matchbox one that I snapped up on Ebay. Fancied making something a bit different so the He170 seemed ideal. The kit is build straight out of the box, with the only mods being tiny holes drilled in the exhaust stubs and a radio antenna made from fishing line. Incidentally the decals are Revell as they now produce the old Matchbox kit. I bought one at my local model shop with the intention of someday making the BMW powered version. 

You get three lots of decals in the Revell kit, so I pinched the Hungarian set as they looked allot better than the tired ones that came with the Matchbox model. Everything went together nicely with no problems with fit, I did however have to estimate the colours as I don't posses a conversion to Humbrol (so I don't want anyone mailing me telling me the colours are wrong!). Hope you all enjoyed looking at my model, I thoroughly enjoyed building it.

Best Regards

Oliver

Photos and text © by Oliver Weston