British model kit company Airfix has announced a 40th-anniversary edition of its Heinkel He111 H-6 bomber model, complete with Motorhead decals and custom box to mark the 40th anniversary of the band’s Bomber album.

In 1979, artist Adrian Chesterman used the Heinkel kit to help him create the sleeve for the album, which features Lemmy Kilmister, “Fast” Eddie Clarke and “Philthy” Animal Taylor crewing the World War II German aircraft.

“Lemmy, himself a collector of WWII memorabilia, insisted the plane be German,” Airfix said on its website. “I suggested the Heinkel plane," Chesterman noted. "They wanted this photo-realistic effect, so I designed the thing with the detached bomb coming towards you. I worked in airbrush in black and white, which I would then tint. That’s why my work always looked very doomy. To get the lighting right, I got a little Airfix kit of a Heinkel 111, made it up and sprayed it black. When you work realistically, you’ve got to have a realistic reference.”

Airfix recalled that the "album sleeve made such an impression, the band insisted on a remarkable 40-foot Heinkel replica to accompany them onstage for their now notorious Bomber tour." "It’s the most famous cover I’ve ever done," Chesterman added.

The 1:72 scale kit is suitable for those eight and older, consists of 180 parts and should take around two hours to build. It’s available for pre-order now.

 

 

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