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My contribution to this group build and the first one at BM, there's a time for everything. It's the Mirage IV, not the only one in the field, in the most recent re box. The decals from the kit are nicely printed and in register, however they will not be used. Instead I will be using Syhart's decals from a 2005 special retirement livery. So, if someone needs a set, I can supply... The Kit is nicely molded with exception of the nuke (which I won't use) and the pilots. I am considering a wheels up version so I need to think what to do with the pilots (improve or replace). Details are not super refined as in the older kits but still it looks like a nice kit. Probably the spine will need some support but let's see. Pictures: 20201005_093921 by Robert Mooijaart, on Flickr 20201005_094024 by Robert Mooijaart, on Flickr http://20201005_094200 by Robert Mooijaart, on Flickr Well, it finally worked, although I am not happy with the link showing underneath. Anyone knows how to avoid that? Anyhow, there's been some progress, pictures tonight. Rob

Hi folks, Just a placeholder for my second build, assuming my Ju52 build goes ok. The kit I will use is winging it's way to me as I type. No clues to its identity, beyond noting its an aircraft from my general period of interest and it's not yet on the GB build list. Rgds Martin

Hi folks, Like Heather, I will be building the Ju52/3m; likely with a fading winter whitewash finish from the Eastern Front. At least that is the plan. Heather has saved me the trouble of displaying sprues shots, but here is the artwork on the classic black box: Knowing next to nothing about the '52, I will be raiding Heather's build thread for ideas. However, my plan is to build this as close to oob as I can. I have made a start. The plastic is quite hard and clean up of pieces is fast. I'm hoping it's not too brittle, as one of my fuse sides is a bit bent. Hopefully the interior and glass work will correct this, more or less: You may be able to see a slight short shot notch out of the rudder trailing edge of the far piece. Hopefully, milliput should solve this. Here's the interior: No assembly problems thus far. Once that's set, it'll get a scoosh of primer, ready for the RLM02 interior. I build slow, and I've got a few more things on the workbench. However, I hope to have this complete before Christmas, as I've got a second build planned for this GB. . . More soonish. Rgds Martin

My second entry is Thornier Armour, a tuna fishing boat originally released in 1978. Didn't plan this built, saw it on eBay a couple of weeks ago, thought it looked interesting but didn't press the button. Price was later reduced to £5, couldn't resist that, so here it is. Not many parts and a sheet of vacform sails. Need to a bit of research, my sailing knowledge is limited, it has been over 30yrs since I got my RYA competent crew certificate, which was also the last time I set foot on a sailing boat.

Hi so this is a recent rebox (number 80717) of their original kit released under their 'Bobcat' label number 3201 from 1983. It's a pretty simple kit (a whopping 39 pieces) which is what originally attracted me to it, given a lot of more modern kits I've been doing with far too many fiddly bits. Even with the low parts count it has a rudimentary engine, opening doors, bonnet and rear hatch. It comes in a fairly sturdy flip-top box, most of the parts in a single poly bag, with the clears in a separate one. Here's the parts view... As I mentioned in the GB chat. it's part started (below the 25%) - some parts cut from the sprue and the 3 parts of the lower chassis / inner tub and dash glued together, also the 2 engine halves + fan belt attached together. Other than that the only thing I've done is remove a few bits from the sprues to dry fit and done some rather rough rudimentary initial painting on the engine parts and chassis. The instruction booklet is pretty nice, clear, multi-colour and stapled. The decals look like they might be somewhat on the thick side but that might be as well if the white parts have to go over the yellow coloured paint. In terms of the kit - so far I've noticed a few minor annoyances: I noticed the driver side B pillar seems a bit misshapen when I dry fitted the door, it seems may have got a bit squashed at some point rather than a mould issue, hopefully fixable but if not I'll just leave the door open. The pins to hold the various hinged parts and glass parts are a bit huge and out of scale, still probably better than having flimsy ones. There's not much rally specific detail (if any), they also do a road going version of the kit, and judging by the seats, etc. I imagine it's exactly the same kit with just some road decals. The seats are the part that annoy me the most - looking like sports ones and just roughly extruded from the inner tub part, annoying given the doors open! I've ordered some after-market bucket seats and may use them - if they seem in scale and I can fit them in, though cutting the originals out might involve a lot of swearing, if only I hadn't attached the tub already! I may also try scratch building some fire-extinguishers for the co-driver's side. I did find some reference material which although not the actual Tour de Corse (Corsia Rally) winning car from 1982 that the kit decals represent, was still driven by Jean Ragnotti the following year. Reference material here. Ideally I'd like to do the car from the Monte Carlo Rally Ragnotti/Andrie won with in 1981, from the photos I've seen the markings are pretty similar but the seats were unusual in that the drivers was red and co-drivers was blue (I'm guessing the works team just grabbed whatever they had in the parts bin). Maybe I'll just use these decals and do the funky seats colours if I get the aftermarket ones in.

Released as a new tooling in 1977, according to Scalemates, this crushed three man kit was found in the loft and as most of the initial builds in this GB look to be aviation based, I think I’ll buck the trend by pitching in with a 1/35 figure kit before I start my two Heller aviation kits. I think I’ll build this up as a vignette, maybe with just a hint of scenery and possibly only using two of the kit figures, but we’ll see how inspiration and creativity evolves. Much will depend on whether I can track down the Waffen SS books I’m looking for. Each figure comes on a separate sprue, which makes things nice and organised.

Build #1 - 1/72 MiG-21 Fishbed Original tool/boxing. I forget how I ended up with this one, but it is the oldest kit in the stash...both in terms of possession and outright age. The only kit I've had longer is the Academy F-8...which is currently next to the bench technically in work, therefore I don't consider it part of the stash. There has been a little painting started...however it's incorrect for the early F-13s so it will all need to be repainted anyways. I've got a couple little bits to dress it up, though I'm not certain on the decals yet. I'll have to size them up, as technically the set is for the MiG-15. I do have some Polish MiG-21 decals (from a MF) that I can rob from if need be. Intent is to build wheels up in flight...hence the addition of the pilot (hope they fit ).

Hi guys and girls, I am entering a second kit into this Heller GB. This means that I have lost my marbles: 2 kits!!! The lucky winner is the Nieuport Delage NiD 622 in 1/72. porting the kit number 80224, this is a 1993 rebox of a 1979 kit. Here are some photos: My priority build will be the Etendard IVM, but I reckon that this Nieuport will come together fairly quickly. So, it is worth the try. Cheers everybody! JR

Hi Guys, I will be building the 1/48 Mirage IV. It is a re-box from the 90s. I have got a new resin cockpit, exhausts and wheels for it and also a few new decals. I will be put on some pictures later. I first need to finish the Heinkel He-111 STGB, before I can start this. Cheers,

Hi all, after those months of waiting, this keenly expected GB has finally arrived! I shall enter it with one of my favorite French Navy aircraft: the Etendard IV M. This beautiful kit is a Christmas present (with a few other gems) from our Scottish Father Christmas Pat, aka @JOCKNEY Here are a few photos of the box and sprues: All in all, it looks like a lovely kit! I have to finish my Me 109 for the BoB GB first and then try and make some serious progress on the Huey. But I am looking forward to this kit. It has been a long time since I last built a plane with a hook. Have fun! JR

Hello Friends, Presenting the Sa315B of the Indian Army. The kit is from Heller and is of the SA313 in 1/48 size. This was modified into the Sa315B. The Model is 100% Brush Painted using locally available acrylics. Stretched Sprue was made using discarded pieces of the kit sprues and was used extensively for the detail and scratch-building. The rear fuselage skeleton was chucked away as it was too thick for this scale. This was made with stretched sprue. More detail was added to this using the same stretched sprue. Cockpit was bare with little detail thus this too was detailed using sprue. Seat belts were also added using masking tape. The whole engine was basic too and the grills were represented by clear parts. The hydraulic lines and the various pipes and tubing were represented by stretched sprue of varied thickness. Do Enjoy the build and looking forward for your inputs. Best Captain Adi

#18/2020 And now for something completely different... Being usually an aircraft builder and doing from time to time some armour, this is my dad´s first car model since 30 years. The last one he built was this same Heller kit, now he gave it a new try. Built oob without any scratchbuilding or improving. The kit is not that bad, but some parts were warped, that´s why it doesn´t stand on all four. Had to cut away some parts of the engine to make other parts fit, therefore the hood is closed. Painted with an altered Tamiya Sky Blue. A pity there aren´t any modern kits of these classic race cars from the 30ies and 50ies. DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0006 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0007 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0008 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

HIC SUNT DRACONES (Parchment II) (Here be Dragons) (The WiP is here: (The companion Dragon is here: This second conversion of a Dragon Rapide to seaplane configuration in Canadian registrations sprouted from the first one, which used (refurbished) EDO floats for an Uruguayan conversion. In this case, Fairchild Canada floats were needed, and those were procured from an Execufom Fairchild Super 71 vac kit I build long ago on skis. The floats needed detailing, but the general shape was there. As with the other seaplane mentioned above, these are the needed mods: 1) Getting or fabricating the floats 2) Modification of the bottom of the engine nacelles, removing landing gear and it's fairing, then fairing again the bottom according to photos. Beware that these modifications differed from one plane to the next, depending on the float used and particular machine. 3) Reshaping the fin extending it as per photos of the original plane. 4) Researching and fabricating all the associated float struts. 5) Adding a mirroring door on the other side. 6) Deleting/painting over back windows, depending on model. 7) Reducing the number of seats. 😎 Modifying exhausts to match photos (they vary) 9) Modifying props as needed (some were metallic Fairey-Reed, others seem to be wooden ones. The kit's prop spinners are the wrong shape for any version and need correcting. The decals were commissioned from Arctic Decals, and I used also their "metal" window frames set (self-adhesive pre-cut chromed vinyl) and their painting masks. I have built a few Dragons before from the venerable Heller kit, but was taken by the photos showing them on floats, where it looked so smart. I had to build them! Now, being these floats also used by other planes (and kits), would we at some point be graced by some cottage industry-fabricated EDO Yd-6470 / Ya-6235, and Fairchild 5500 floats? Some (nice, please, not ridges-ridden trash) 3D printed ones? Or resin?

Dear all, In my builds I tend to swap between 1:72 aircraft and armour. This is my latest in the latter category; the Heller M4 Sherman with deep wading gear from their D-Day boxing. The little vignette is depicting one driving up the beach in Normandy. The building and painting went pretty straightforward, just the vinyl tracks annoyingly wouldn't hold their paint. I may swap them for after market tracks from OKB Grigorov later on. The deep wading trunks are included in the kit, but also a regular rear engine deck in case you want to build a standard M4. The kit also has three different gear cases that IMHO are way better than what UM provides in their kits. The canvas cover and the tarp over the stowage were made with tissue paper soaked with thinned white glue, while the stowage items themselves are from Black Dog Resin. Weathering was done with diluted black brown enamel paint and 'mud' from Tamiya weathering set 'A'. I hope you like it. Peter

Been secretly working away at this 1980s kit. After building the 1975 Airfix Magister, I thought id try another Magister! Model was painfully & slowly re-scribed & sanded. Seat belts made form tape. Given a coating of mr hobby 1500 primer, thinned around 60% cellulose thinner (otherwise it would stick). Then 'polished' out before paint. Not happy with the result. I used revell acrylic silver. Fantastic paint. It almost as shiny as Alclad polished aluminum. BUT in my opinion it came out TOO shiny for a tiny 72nd model. Out of scale. Also every mistake, gap, scratch, orange peel, depression in plastic/filler came out magnified. I gave it another soft sanding/buffing session and am considering either... 1) use same silver and finish with a light matt coat to dull it down OR , 2) trying revell enamel silver (different to acrylic) OR , 3) Model master aluminum. Something not as shiny. These aircraft were not polished metal, but a dull silver. Model re-scribed and sanded a few times! Pretty good canopy. Raised details. Just needed a dipping in Klear. Masking was tough. Im sure the glass is all blade scratches. Primer on and polished. Way too shiny???

Well less then 6 days after I recieved this kit she is as far as I think (please disagree if not) finished. This kit is my first ever completed 1:24 model, and a subject very close to the top of my 1:1 want list. I was offered a 1957 example back in 2008 during a summer trekking the west coast of France, it had been tucked up in a shed for 20 years and although structurally sound there was not 1 panel that wasnt suffering from surface rust. The passenger seat was a bare frame with remnants of a basic cushion, the drivers seat had been covered with a proper heavyweight tarpaulin so was a very grubby mouldy vinyl seat but remarkably intact. As I still have photos of this particular van my plan was to try to replicate it to the best of my ability. She now stands on a piece of ply, static grass covered with a bit of a gravel track surrounded by bushes and a cobbled together typically french rural fence. Hopefully she looks as good as I want her too??? The kit went together extremely well with next to no fettling or filing, a bit of a different story to articles I'd read prior to starting her. Thank you for looking and please any comments will be greatly recieved

Hello, this is my entry for the GB, a Heller Ecureuil (or Squirrel as it was more commonly known in the UK). The kit has been a long term (39 years!) resident of my stash, so this is the perfect opportunity to get it built at long last. Dave

A few pictures of my DC-6B, the Heller kit in 1/72. The model depicts the very last DC-6 built as she looked during most of the 1990’s, when being flown by NCA on charter flights and a weekly scheduled service from Windhoek to Victoria Falls. This aircraft was originally ordered by Yugoslav Air Transport, and immediately used my Marshal Tito as his official aircraft. When he upgraded to a jet, this DC-6, along with the second last DC-6 built, where donated to Zambia. Here they were hardly used and eventually stood abandoned for almost 20 years. The two aircraft then came to Namibia when the charter company NCA was offered several tonnes of DC-6 spares to keep their cargo aircraft doing UN relief flights in Angola operational. The deal however required the two abandoned DC-6B’s to be removed from Lusaka airport. The two air frames were found to be in remarkably good condition, due to the low initial usage. In a 2 week operation both aircraft were made flight worthy and departed to Namibia. Here they were restored for the charter business. Being christened “Fish Eagle” and “Bateleur” respectively. However, as everything flying is becoming more and more cutthroat, the feasibility of operating them diminished. Fortunately for this DC-6, Red Bull bought the aircraft, and they did an even more thorough restoration of the aircraft and kitted her out with a nice health monitoring system and the works. As part of my studies in engineering, I had to do some industry relevant work/job shadowing. I wanted to gain some insight to aircraft maintenance, and as my dad knew the boss of NCA, I was able to spend a few months at their maintenance facility. With my anorexic student build, I was put to good use for cleaning the inside of the fuel tanks and any confined spaces. I learned that I could fit completely into the nose gear bay of a Cessna 310 for example. The DC-6 on the other hand was like going first class…. During my time there, I decided to build the DC-6 kit I had; taking the opportunity to cross-reference details in person (remember that this was before cellphone cameras and proper internet). All extra detail on the model is scratch built and the markings were hand painted with toothpicks and fine brushes. Alu-foil covers the bottom of the fuselage, as that area was always polished clean. I have since acquired another DC-6 kit, with the intention of building it as she currently looks in Red Bull markings. R

I'm building Heller's old Caudron 714 and there are some parts that need replacing, the flimsy propeller being one of them. I managed to copy some new wheels in tin from the RS kit, but had no success trying the same with the propeller; the tin cooled and set halfway the prop blades. Does anyone have a suggestion how I can make/get a good propeller?

Hi all, here we go again with another Heller bike build, this was a commission build, to replicate the owners full size bike. He requested the seat to be painted in a dark blue colour, not found any reference pictures to confirm it was a factory option, but I mixed up a colour to blend with the pin striping on the bike. I have a few minor details to finish off but I am calling the build complete for the purpose of the pictures. I will have to see if the client wants the bike mounted on a base, it would finish off the model nicely I think. Hope you all like this 70's German classic. (Update) Client requested a base to display the bike, so here are the final pictures. Base was built from scrap materials and the badge was a spare the client had that should fit on the rear seat cowl. Front wheel was secured with some fibre optic strand epoxied into the base and the bikes centre stand is also glued to the base.

I have become very keen on French WWII aircraft and recently ordered a Heller Bloch MB 174 light bomber kit in 1/72 scale. It arrived promptly but when I opened the sealed kit box I was shocked at the quality of the moulding. Virtually every part on the two sprues has sinkholes the surfaces are bumpier than a ploughed field. I always remember Heller kits as being a bit ropey for flash and bent parts but this is unbuildable I would end up with no surface detail and a model comprising 50% filler. I know its a fairly old tooling but the transparencies are perfectly moulded so it looks like either Bertrand the machine minder was skiving off having a quick Vin Blanc and a Gauloise or the tooling is goosed. I dont know wether to send it back for a refund or a replacement with the chance that the whole batch is the same. IMG_20200530_212431556 by Stuart, on Flickr IMG_20200530_212608483 by Stuart, on Flickr IMG_20200530_212526458 by Stuart, on Flickr IMG_20200530_212503485 by Stuart, on Flickr IMG_20200530_212455028 by Stuart, on Flickr

This is a commission build for a customer who has the full size bike that I have been doing some restoration work on. He bought this kit from another BMW owner, it’s a very nice looking kit, but no pinstripe decals are provided, so I will have to paint them on. Overall this is the same model kit as my previous build of the RT model, the only real difference is the more sporty nosecone fairing and sports seat, however the client has a standard passenger seat that is also in the kit, so it will not be as the box art. Shame really, as I like the look of the sport seat unit. I will show more build photos soon guys.

The latest in my 'lockdown'-series. Actually it's part 1 of 2, but you'll have to wait a bit to see the full concept. This is the Heller 1/24 Honda NSR 500cc racer, but I build it as a custombike. First up is the original: And this is my version: It's not a big model!: Cheers for now Hans J

Back when I was young and they were talkin... sorry, wrong thread Through my teens, my dad worked in a ship repair yard. He would often bring home interesting bits and bobs. One day he brought home a magazine I'd never seen or heard of before; Born in Battle - an English language mag produced in Israel. This very issue in fact: I was aware of Israel and the seemingly endless state of war that seemed to be going on (Yom Kippur and Entebbe both made a big impression when they were on the news), but hadn't made anything Middle Eastern at that point. That magazine changed all that. The IDF/AF was the new cool and I had a modelling theme that would last through the next 15 years at least. What to build though? I went into Newcastle, and climbed the stairs to the kit department of The Model Shop (on Blenheim Street, and if your going to be amodel shop, that's the address to have). I asked the bloke behind the counter for advice and came away with the Heller kit of the Ouragan. My first Israeli aircraft, my first kit from the very exotic (at the time) Heller, and my first solo purchase from a shop I spent a LOT of time in over the years that followed. There were many more Israeli aircraft over time (and a few Arab ones too, almost all Matchbox and Airfix MiGs) Forty years later, it's time for another go. The box has changed a little since that first time, although the picture is still the same Inside the fold up lid and ahhhhh, such memories There are three sprues rattling around in there which seems a lot for the modest parts count, but Heller have made good use of the space... Now THIS is a decal sheet A French line jet, Patrouille de France, Israeli and Indian air forces. I may need more than one of these. Let building commence. Andy

Hi everyone, well I am calling this done, I scratch built the tote bag on the rear carrier and made the bungee cords. I also added the notched trim around the centre of the rear panniers or bags, for this I cut up a zip tie [cable tie] and epoxied them to the panniers. The original panniers had some similar details. Although I went for a shiny finish on the paintwork, I also wanted to add some road grime and so the look I was shooting for was a the rider and his companion had just spent 4 hours on the road in some pretty lousy weather, heavy rain, road spray and gusty winds between more thundery downpours. So they have pulled over for a well earned break, hopefully by the time they have had a brew, and hot soup the sun will be out for their final journey home. Paints used are: Mr Hobby 1500 black, Aqueous H89, H94, Molotow Chrome, Tamiya Clear orange, blue, red, 2k Clearcoat and Alclad pale gold.