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I don't have many Heller kits in the stash but I've dug out this one; I think I've seen a couple of other Rapides already here! A later boxing of the 1979 kit and this is what I got in the box; three sprues of silvery plastic goodness, some pretty good looking clear parts, basic instructions, and some rather mottled looking decals. Fortunately, tucked into the box with all of the above was this Arctic Decals set for Rapides operated by Railway Air Services Ltd. As a West Country boy it will have to be the "City of Bristol" option (although as a Bathonian I will also feel slightly dirty for this choice...). Can't remember when I bought them but current me is grateful to past me. The decals look "gert lush" and with the included masks and chrome window frames I'm nearly afraid to use them for fear of getting something wrong and wasting them! There's even a diagram included showing all the errors in the Heller kit; I'm trying hard to ignore it as I'm not feeling up to any major surgery which it seems is what would be needed. What's in the box will be close enough for my purposes. Right, time to get cracking! Cheers, Richard.

Still no Heller 2025 catalogue but at least some news. A/c new tool kits programme for short - a beginners series, all in 1/72nd: three military & two civil. Confirmed Grumman E-2C Hawkeye (expected in March - thread) followed by C-2 Greyhound (thread) and a rumoured Sud-Aviation SA.342 Gazelle (thread) kit. And that's it for the moment. Source: https://www.facebook.com/heller.fr/posts/pfbid0328AB1serdT91Dv2HUC5dv44VjpqWrxNLuXjbY2727RFaGDgM1QQAvNqcHYm1T2L8l To be followed V.P.

My contribution to the Group Build is Heller kit No.150, the Messerschmitt Me 163 "Komet" in 1/72 scale. I have an original 1977 boxing that I bought for £5 about 25 years ago from a stall at the Duxford Airshow. Since then it has been been shuffled around the back of my stash waiting for the right moment. This GB has provided the prefect opportunity/motivation to finally build this kit, the Soviet BI-1 rocket plane I built during the recent Blitzbuild is also looking a bit lonely and could do with a fellow rocket powered friend too.

No attractive box, unfortunately, I seem to have lost even the instructions... but since the middle sprue is marked "249", the sprues must be from reissue 249 (which does have an attractive box) of the old 099 Heller kit. Judging by the decals, I think this is a reissue by Směr, kit no. 154. So, a reissue of a reissue. I will try to boost things with an instrument panel from Yahu (also shown) and possibly a pilot I may have lying around, we'll see. Two aircraft inspire me, one from an experimental flight for camouflage testing that had no national markings or numbers (except perhaps on the bottom of the wings), or one of the ex-Mandchurian wiggle-over-silver/grey machines found during the German onslaught. Looking forward to starting this old kit from the bottom of some dusty box of ziplocks!

The kit is from 1978, my boxing from 1979. It was a present of colleagues, when I left the firm in 1984. I wasn't very interested in this type of car as I prefer classic sports cars in an attractive design. So the kit rested in the stash. But at the moment I am reducing the stash and this is the opportunity to build the car. DaveCov has built this model in a former Heller groupbuild in classic black. I have studied his buildthread if there are any traps that I may avoid. So here are the sprues. I want to go with a colour scheme in green and dark green that I have seen some years ago at a meeting of vintage cars on an 11 CV. The interior will be in beige, medium brown and dark brown (from top to bottom).

With the Frog Squad II GB going strong and a Classic Airfix GB on the way, I reckon it could be time for a Heller Classic GB II. What does everyone think? I'm minded to follow the parameters of the last Heller Classic GB, so anything from Heller prior to the Humbrol years would be admissible for this GB. This means any Heller-produced mould originally released prior to 31st December 1985. It doesn't have to be in a Heller box as Heller kits were released by many other manufacturers. Airfix, Buzzco, Encore, KP, Lodela, Revell and SMER are examples. Scalemates is your friend here. Heller also released kits from other manufacturers in their boxes, Airfix for one. These would not be eligible. Who else is up for this? 1. @2996 Victor Host 2. @JOCKNEY 3. @CarLos 4. @klr 5. @Corsairfoxfouruncle 6. @Richard Humm 7. @Wez Co-host 8. @TEMPESTMK5 9. @Doccur 10. @Mjwomack 11. @vppelt68 12. @psdavidson 13. @jean 14. @Max Headroom 15. @theplasticsurgeon 16. @Rafwaffe 17. @Rabbit Leader 18. @Bertie McBoatface 19. @Pig of the Week 20. @IanC 21. @bianfuxia 22. @silverfox63 23. @Marklo 24. @Karearea 25. @stevehnz 26. @Jinxman 27. @Alex.B 28. @RidgeRunner 29. @Giorgio N 30. @fightersweep 31. @Romeo Alpha Yankee 32. @MrB17 33. @UberDaveToo 34. @zebra 35. @Enzo the Magnificent 36. @davecov 37. @Ray S 38. @Old Man 39. @AdrianMF 40. @Modelling Masochist 41. @Bjorn 42. @airfixpeter 43. @Listel 44. @stevej60 45. @wimbledon99 46. @alancmlaird 47. @Threadbear 48. @Dermo245 49. @paul-muc 50. @Illusive 51. @marvinneko 52. @silverfox63 53. @Chris A 54. @erniewise 55. @srkirad 56. @ColonelKrypton 57. @Zephyr91 58. @PhantomBigStu 59. @Nick McV 60. @Redstaff 61. @PLC1966 62. @George Norman 63. @hakkikt 64. ? Who's up for this? Cheers, Mark

Hi folk's,well first for the year in RFI is Heller's Tempest built for the Classic GB not long started on the forum,it's the Smer boxing which had three nice schemes including this D-Day period offering.Many thanks for taking the time to look.

Heller is back with a new tool aircraft kit! Announcement with 3D renders (Kinetic looking...) 1/72nd Grumman E-2C Hawkeye kits. Three boxings are already scheduled: US Navy, Japan/Taïwan and French Navy. Source 17.59' :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5qG8llYFqY First boxings - ref. 82300 & starter kit with paints - ref. 83300 - Grumman E-2C Hawkeye - US Navy Sources: https://www.glow2b.de/view.php?sku=1000823000 https://www.glow2b.de/view.php?sku=1000583000 V.P.

Heller Gmbh is to release - probably in 2026 - a new tool 1/72nd Sud-Aviation SA.342 Gazelle kit Source: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235133543-172-grumman-c-2-greyhound-by-heller-gmbh-in-project/#findComment-5143493 V.P.

Bonjour folk's,we're of to France for this build with Hellers Citroen van,I cosidered this for the Heller GB but checking it out realised its a recent tooling and a very nice one too and some subtle weathering practice in order..Au Revoir for now.

So, here's the placeholder for my entry for this Groupbuild, which is definately non military and very peaceful: A double kit with a flimsy bit of plastic that counts as the 'diorama', which I might see about casting in plaster using the said 'diorama' as the mould. I'm not sure yet if I'll build just one or go for both as a side by side build, but this will depend on time available. Anyway, should be fun to build..... he says optimistically! 😬 Keith ☺️

Hi everyone, I now intend to bring this Breguet 693 to completion. It was started in a previous Heller GB, and is still nowhere near the 25% threshold. So here it is. Some photos of the kit; Since then, I managed to get a PE sheet so full of small parts I am not yet sure where they all go. Bottom line I spent time on the fuselage inner structure possibly for nothing as everything is on the PE fret. Oh well. So little of it will be visible when the half fuselages are glued together that nobody will ever see my shoddy job. So here we go, another kit to finish in 2025. Very possible, as I am only entering three GBs this year. It has taken me a long time to finally understand what had to bee done. Have fun with Heller kits!!! JR.

Looks like after its still future E-2 Hawkeye (thread), Heller Gmbh is to release a 1/72nd Grumman C-2 Greyhound - ref. 82303 et 56303 (with brush & paints) Source: https://www.master194.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1652352#p1652352 V.P.

Hi everyone, For the umpteenth time, I am entering this great kit in the KUTA. Even the kit is embarrassed to be dragged once more in front of everybody. Only today have I made any inroad on my Airfix GB Spitfire... less than 2 weeks before it finishes... No pressure. So advertising this Etendard is preposterous. But nothing will be started in 2025 until it is finished. OK, I've said it. Just a few photos to show that it is not far from completion: Anyway, there you have it. A superbly beautiful plane. So this model deserves to be finished. Not to mention that @JOCKNEY, who offered it to me eons ago, is now sending me threatening messages. Is that what the British call "peer pressure"? Enjoy your KUTAs. JR

I’ve always wanted to build one of these an to be it epitomises quirky French engineering and the range of off beat subjects Heller have produced over the years. I know I have at least one other Heller kit in the stash but I’m pretty sure there are more, I seem to recall a mirage of some type, so time to scour the stash…

Hi all, this will be my entry for the 2024 Xmas Blitzenbuild GB, the venerable Heller 1/72 Hurricane Mk.IIc. Obligatory shots. This original 1977 release is now looking, shall we say, a little foxed: Although, in the words of the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett, it may well have been badgered, wolved and quite possibly beared as well. The contents were still sealed! 🦭 Let's have a look inside the plastic bag: Standard Heller instructions, a sheet of surprisingly healthy-looking decals, a nice transparency sprue with separate windscreen and canopy, and a shrivelled glue capsule with the kind of health warning I thought we only had in more recent years. Perhaps idiocy isn't such new thing after all..... Typically lovely Heller mouldings on four sprues: Raised panel lines, of course, but look at just how fine they are! The exhausts, however, are quite horrible This will be a completely OOB wheels-up build. I'm not even going to replace the exhausts because then I'll be tempted to "improve" other aspects like the cockpit, that's not the purpose of this build. I'm not interested in the dimensional accuracy of the kit. This will be a nostalgia build, a model like it would have been in my yoof (although I never built this kit "way back then"), just hopefully a bit tidier! The subject will be the all-black 253 Sqn scheme, Z3971/SW*S - I'm not heading down the markings rabbit hole, either! My airbrush is off-limits until my new hobby room is fixed up, so I'll be off to my LMS on Saturday for a selection of rattle cans to paint the thing once it's assembled! Cheers, Mark

One day long ago, a friend called me who, while on a business trip in border town, came across a here rare old Heller box. From behind the counter, he called me and said that a stunningly beautiful Polish plane is available, which you can't miss. At the same time, I googled and agreed and asked to buy it. pretty soon I felt a strong desire to build it. Part detail set is included I like Poland:) ps. the machine guns will have to be replaced at some point here.

Hello, a late entry here with quite an old kit: I have an Heller Mirage III which I tried to build in a previous GB as a 5BA but was aborted due to horrendous distorsions of the fuselage plastic. Now, after several months of treatment, I managed to reduce the issue to a manageable size and started the build a few weeks ago to see how stable would be the plastic ( I got some worrying cracks which I would like to repair BEFORE the painting stage 🙂 ). I also needed some references for the scheme I chose in an equally old Modeldecal sheet, see here my successful search: So, now I think I'm ready to do some real progress in this build. Thanks for looking!

hello guys. here is my last ( painful ) work job. So many pieces to re built and replace. This kit is a mess...never buy it. It was a poisonous gift from my "best " friend... anyway i did it !. My reference pic : My model :

This is the old and simple 1/72 Heller kit of the Mirage III, built once as Mirage 5 BR recce variant, and once as Mirage 5, both in anniversary markings of Belgian squadrons. I did not care about improving the kit details, since for me, they simply were the canvas for the gorgeous paint schemes, the "Mephisto" and the "Blackbird". The decals came from Daco and were old as well. Rather thick, they needed massive decal-setting employment to be convinced to settle down. That all decals had to be applied twice, the first time in plain white as a base, then the real coloured ones, so that the black paint base would not tone down the colours, did not make it easier. Especially the long and thin stripes on the "Blackbird" took some time and concentration to be well aligned with their white base decals. This were also the first models I used an airbrush on upon restarting modeling last year. I thought plain black could be no problem, well, it could. I was unable to prevent silvering on several decals, and trying out liquid masking on the canopy of the "Mephisto" resulted in a debacle. Somehow, the liquid did not protect the canopy from the paint, resp. it did not really come off the plastic, so I desperately scratched off some, but then I gave up. Meanwhile, I use masking tape. Marcus

These brush-painted bare-metal jets appeared nicer than they had under their dust layers. At least the F-84F Thunderstreak (on second thought this might have been a Monogram kit?) has found a space in my display area, the RF-84F Thunderflash has more flaws and will stay only as long its space is not needed otherwise. The decals are not from the kits, I cannot recall who was their manufacturer. Marcus

Hello fellow modelers. This is my last project, the Renault 4L in 1/24, by Heller. This model is the Renault 4L basic, (labeled "TL", ) which means that has no antenna for radio system, or side protect panels alongside the body. Year 1985. I have decided to represent it in a quite acceptable condition, without being excessively worn out. The built is totally OOB. Most of the time was spent in the engine bay, that I tried to reproduce according to the real thing. The front bonnet an the right door are not glued, in order to see the interior: A fun model, that I hope you like and enjoy, as I did during the modelling. If you want to see the bulidng process, this is the link to the WIP thread: Rhank you for watching! Josep

Joining with this kit.

Hello fellows, Here, my current project, the Renault 4L, in 1:24 scale, by Heller: The mould was released in 2015. The first impression is quite good. I only noticed that the frontal grill is a compact piece... ...and that windows and doors are indeed the same clear part, as tipically in Heller models. That means that you have to carefully mask the doors when painting. And neither allows you to depict the windows open. Following the instructions, I started with the engine: Here, the engine is already installed in the chasis. For practical reasons, I removed the air filter. I painted and put the sats in place. This pic shows a little test, in oder to fit the wheels... After this, I started the body painting process, masking the clear parts, etc... I liked my 4L in yellow. There are a wide variariy of tones, starting from an ultra intense yellow, others with orange or cream tonalities, untilI a very palid... Here, one example of the real thing, with the yellow I liked the most: To achieve this tonality, I used the Vallejo 71.288 UK BSC 64 Port. Stone, which in my opinion fits very well: The idea is to show the vehicle in an accepatble state of conservation; so I'm thinking only in a light weathering Here, the dashboard already painted, and put in their place over the chasis: After putting the decals and the steering wheel, the dashborad is also completed: After installing all the windows, I put the body and the chasis together: All fits quite well. In this part, I added the steering column. In this pic, the radiator is also in their place, altogether with some decals: The next step was to install the battery, accesories, additional wires, etc. According to the instructions, there are two bars that connect from the dashboard with the engine bay. The long one connects with the gearshift lever. But the second one (the short) I don't know what function has. You can see both installed in the next pictures: Surpringly, after checking in the Internet, I did not find any picture of this second bar (the short one)... So, finally I decided to remove this bar. I used the hole for adding some wires: This is the engine bay, almost totally finished: So, that's all for the moment. I hope you like it! Cheers, and thank you for watching. Josep

Royal Danish Air Force F-84G Thunderjet Esk 725, 1950s Heller kit / Lima November decals Worked away at the old Heller kit for this one. Wing top surfaces were re-scribed but I left all those fuselage panels as raised details. In hindsight I should have put in the effort and scribed them as I did in my previous F-84G build (USAF version - see photos). My inspiration was the release of those excellent Lima November decals. I was always going to do one of the camo options but I struggled to find out whether the undersides were in PRU Blue or Medium Sea Grey. There is a colour illustration in the decal instructions but it looks about mid way between the two so isn't much help. In the end I found a couple of discussion items on this forum and went for the PRU Blue option. USAF version built some years ago: