The Heinkel He-70 was a German response to the fast Lockheed Orion single engined passenger aircraft of 1931. Actually, it was the He-65 that was the original design, but it was soon obvious that the fixed gear He-65 would not be fast enough and work on that was stopped. The He-70 used ever aerodynamic refinement available to make it the faster than the Orion. 

Heinkel used retractable main landing gear and a closely cowled 630 hp BMW V1 liquid cooled V-12. This engine used glycol instead of water for coolant to keep the radiator as small as possible. Work was not only done on the prototype, but production aircraft as well, first flight of the He-70v1 being made in late 1932. It was named Blitz (lightning) because it was faster than even contemporary fighters at 234 mph. Production versions entered service with DLH in mid 1934. One was used by Rolls Royce as an engine testbed, flying until1944!

Because of its speed, it was perfect for the new Luftwaffe and several were bought as the He-70F as a reconnaissance and high speed courier aircraft. The He-70 was also sent to do duty in the Spanish Civil War, 18 examples seeing duty there and staying with the Spanish Air Force until the last one was retired in the early 1950s. However, the He-70 was not the aircraft that the Luftwaffe actually wanted and by the start of the war, it was replaced by other aircraft. By this time it was also no longer in service with DLH.

The He-70 was modified with a 910 hp Gnome Rhone radial and as such was flown by the Hungarian Air Force. However, it proved to be vulnerable to defending fire and was soon withdrawn from front line service. The type carried on until the end in various second-line units, despite its age and the dislike of most crews that flew it. None of the 234 examples built have survived.

Before Matchbox stopped making new kits, they had gotten pretty sophisticated. Though some kits still had the trenches that passed for panel lines, a number of the later kits were very nice. If nothing else, Matchbox provided some pretty incredible kits that most mainstream manufacturers wouldn't touch. The He-70 is one of those. What is more, one can make the radial engined He-170 from this same kit without having to buy another model to do so.

This kit is in three different colors of plastic. For some reason, Matchbox thought that would be a sales point. Detailing is raised panel lines and some of the detail is a touch soft. There is an interior that includes some detail in the passenger compartment, but there is lots of room for improvement. The cockpit consists of two seats and a control stick, where the aft compartment has either a single seat for the military version or a pair of bench seats for the airliner.

Doing the different versions is quite easy and all the required bits and pieces are there to let you do any of the three variants offered. As with all Matchbox kits, the fit of the parts is probably very good, despite the rather large seams that will invariably be there. There is no wheel well detail and they are not boxed in. Transparencies are thick with large frames. Those in the fuselage are flush fitting so will be tricky to glue in place.

Instructions are a 20 step process with all colors listed in a separate section of the sheet. Color callouts are generic as is typical of the time. Interestingly, in the German language section of the color guide, some RLM colors are given, but no where else! Decals are very good and for three aircraft. First is a civil He-70G of Lufthansa circa 1935. This is in silver and black. Next is a Spanish Civil War He-70F-1 from 2 Gruppo of the Spanish Nationalist Air Force in 1937. Finally a radial engined He-170A from the Hungarian Air Force of 1939. Both military aircraft will be interesting to paint as they have a rather complicated upper color scheme.

Overall it shouldn't be that difficult to build and will definitely look very nice in your 1/72 aircraft collection.

German Aircraft of the Second World War by JH Smith and Antony Kay, Putanm, 1972

Review kit courtesy of me and my wallet!

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has over 1,100 visits a day, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.