Air France Concorde, Heller 1:72

[neilg]

Here's my Air France version to go alongside my recently built British Airways build.  I think they look good together.

 

The build took me longer than the last one because I didn't take the time off work, and I ran out of paint supplies and had to wait until I was back in the UK to stock up.

 

The decals were the worst part of this build, specifically, the coloured pieces for the rudder actuator fairing, and I am still not convinced that they will still be there this time next week, even with the decal softener and varnish.  There is little-to-no adhesion, and they don't conform to the complex shape of the surface.  However, the two oval shaped decals on each side of the vertical stabilizer fin are actually a single piece (it's a wrap-around type decal) went on very well.  It seems like it's the parts with colours that don't adhere or conform.

 

I had the same issue with the Heller decals I used on their 1:125 Concorde.  I wouldn't have minded so much, but that was a kit a friend asked me to build for them, so I wanted it to be perfect, and I really struggled with the adhesion and conformity of the decals around complex shapes.  I've not had this problem with the decals from Revell kits.

 

I used the same techniques on both builds to get the nose and visor mechanism operational, and as you can see below, it works nicely.  I've fixed this achilles heel!

 

Hope this gives some inspiration to those of you who have the desire to give this one a go.  It's worth it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Darby]

Not my usual genre but they both look excellent. I know of another who has had a tail decal fight.

[neilg]

8 minutes ago, Darby said:

Not my usual genre but they both look excellent. I know of another who has had a tail decal fight.

Thanks, I really nearly gave up and was going to hand-paint the rudder actuators - then I foresaw trembling hands and wobbly lines which would ruin a build right at the end stages, so I tried again and again and again to get them to stick...

[Valkyrie]

Magnificent and they look incredible together, great builds 

[stevej60]

They certainly look great together,brilliant work!

[David H]

These are absolutely fantastic models Neil.

 

Its amazing that doing something as simple as building up the fuselage into two separate haves, can side step so many of the problems encountered with the model. As you know it has a reputation of being user-hostile. You'd think the folks at Heller would have built up a couple of these before they wrote the instructions??

 

And as for the gloss white, my guess is enamel paint would respond well to gentle wet sanding and rubbing out with toothpaste to get an extra slick, smooth finish. I imagine just the time involved in waiting for the coats of white paint to dry must be a test of one's patience.

 

But at any rate, you got it done in the end. You know, a North American XB-70 looks good in gloss white too.....

 

Thanks for posting. brilliant work.

 

-d-

[neilg]

16 minutes ago, David H said:

These are absolutely fantastic models Neil.

 

Its amazing that doing something as simple as building up the fuselage into two separate haves, can side step so many of the problems encountered with the model. As you know it has a reputation of being user-hostile. You'd think the folks at Heller would have built up a couple of these before they wrote the instructions??

 

And as for the gloss white, my guess is enamel paint would respond well to gentle wet sanding and rubbing out with toothpaste to get an extra slick, smooth finish. I imagine just the time involved in waiting for the coats of white paint to dry must be a test of one's patience.

 

But at any rate, you got it done in the end. You know, a North American XB-70 looks good in gloss white too.....

 

Thanks for posting. brilliant work.

 

-d-

Thanks, I actually toned down the gloss because it was too bright, and didn't look very natural:  

 

 

The finish I've got now is more silky and not as garish.

 

I saw the 1:72 XB-70 in the shop at at the same time I was buying this kit, but I'm not quite sure where I would put it!  I said to myself no more 1:72s!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Watched the WIP and an excellent build it is sir I admit im not a huge fan of airliners but the concordes are very good models.

[woody37]

Fantastic pair, they must look quite imposing in the flesh in 72 scale, what a great feature to have in your cabinet

 

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

It looks nice with the gear tucked up on the stand Neil. I will have to go over your build thread again when I tackle mine which will be gear up.

 

[neilg]

6 hours ago, TrojanThunder said:

It looks nice with the gear tucked up on the stand Neil. I will have to go over your build thread again when I tackle mine which will be gear up.

 

Thanks, I wasn't sure I liked the gear-down look too much.  I thought it ruined the sleek lines somewhat, which is one of the reasons I decided to give it another go (plus my French friends were upset I built the British Airways version...)

[CedB]

Another great finish Neil and kudos for getting the noses working - great stuff  

[exdraken]

Wow!

 

Very impressive!! And big I guess!

Have one in 144....

Edited August 15, 2017 by exdraken

[neilg]

22 minutes ago, exdraken said:

Wow!

 

Very impressive!! Abd big I guess!

Have one in 144....

Here's a comparison with the Revell 1:144 I made a while ago.

 

I'm thinking I want another 1:72 in Landor, but that red stripe was hard enough to get right on 1:144 scale!

 

 

 

 

 

[Meatbox8]

A couple of absolute beauties.   A great, smooth finish and I personally think the Air France markings are nicer than BA's.   Concorde looks even more stunning with the wheels up.

[DJJunis]

Stunning...absolutely first rate!

Don

[Bristow95]

Wow these are fantastic. I agree that the level of gloss is perfect, too glossy and it looks wrong, too Matt and it looks wrong, yours is spot on.

 

Regards

[cngaero]

Two absolutely stunning models of an aircraft that has always fascinated me, both in looks and technology.

They're a highlight to any collection.

[Graeme H]

There is not much that is more beautiful than a Concorde, and you have done a wonderful job on both of those

[spiton]

In "fly configuration" looks better !!

[neilg]

22 hours ago, Meatbox8 said:

I personally think the Air France markings are nicer than BA's.

Sacrilege!!

 

Though the box art looks very sleek and clean, and that's what made me want to do the gear-up Air France version, I think it looks very smart.

 

In my opinion, the Landor livery was virtually perfection on Concorde.

[Meatbox8]

41 minutes ago, neilg said:

Sacrilege!!

 

Though the box art looks very sleek and clean, and that's what made me want to do the gear-up Air France version, I think it looks very smart.

 

In my opinion, the Landor livery was virtually perfection on Concorde.

Ha ha.  Fair enough.  It's just that I've never forgiven BA for doing away with the 'Speedbird' (a timeless design classic in my opinion) and replacing it with that ribbon thing (which looks horribly 80s and dated). 

[Nocoolname]

That's an absolute beauty! I've got one of these in the stash that I was going to built lighted and this has helped to spur me into action. My main conundrum is whether to build as a BA Negus and Negus or Landor and whether to build wheels up or wheels down or try and find a way of having removable gear so I can alternate. Choices choices... 

[neilg]

1 minute ago, Nocoolname said:

That's an absolute beauty! I've got one of these in the stash that I was going to built lighted and this has helped to spur me into action. My main conundrum is whether to build as a BA Negus and Negus or Landor and whether to build wheels up or wheels down or try and find a way of having removable gear so I can alternate. Choices choices... 

I'm not good with choices, that's why I built two versions!

 

I have seen a few lighted kits, and they look beautiful!

 

I said at the start of the build that I wasn't that bothered about fixing the inaccuracies of the kit, but the one thing I did "fix" was the cabin windows.  They are grossly oversized on these kits, and I filled them, replacing them with Draw Decal windows.

 

For your lighted version, you will have to keep the windows open, but they will still appear too large.  Would you make them smaller somehow?

[Nocoolname]

9 minutes ago, neilg said:

I'm not good with choices, that's why I built two versions!

 

I have seen a few lighted kits, and they look beautiful!

 

I said at the start of the build that I wasn't that bothered about fixing the inaccuracies of the kit, but the one thing I did "fix" was the cabin windows.  They are grossly oversized on these kits, and I filled them, replacing them with Draw Decal windows.

 

For your lighted version, you will have to keep the windows open, but they will still appear too large.  Would you make them smaller somehow?

I'd love to have two versions - a BA and an AF one - but simply no space unfortunately. As for the windows, hadn't really thought about it to be honest. I'll add it to my 'scratching my head list'.