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A very simple build from 9 years ago, as a reply to a question in one of the threads: Some Heller kits are a source of joy, as their molds are very good and compare more than favorable with some current “short run” offers and are most of the time better than their Airfix cousins. While old Airfix kits convey a feeling of chunkiness, old Heller kits feel more subtle and refined. The subject this time is the famous Caudron Simoun. I got this kit from fellow modeler Diego Fernetti, for which my deep thanks go to him. It is a welcome break from the scratch enterprises. The Heller kit has been reviewed already a few times, so I won’t repeat here what you can read somewhere else. No flash whatsoever was present in my kit and the parts were fine and crisp, even the transparencies. The specific plane represented here (F-ANRU) participated in the 1937 edition of the Oasis Circuit race, a remarkable endeavor that started and ended at Cairo visiting a number of other cities in Egypt. Simouns F-ANXJ and F-ANXB did also participate in that race. As said the kit parts are good, but care is needed in order not to obliterate the fine raised detail. You may protect said detail while gluing, puttying and sanding by using masking tape on the concerned areas. I don’t know who made the masters for this kit, but the parts are very clean. For example the prop assembly, which is usually a group of chunky parts in certain kits, is a fine, to-scale-thickness part. The building started by scoring the flaps and lowering them before joining the wing upper and lower halves; the same went for the elevators, all this easy because of Heller’s neat engraving. The interior followed –this area is reasonably detailed, with a good instrument panel too-. By the way, all Simoun interiors are stated as red by the sources. Wheel pants’ halves were glued removing the pins that hold the wheels, since I wanted to add them later to avoid messy masking or touch-ups. Besides, I don’t like rolling wheels since a couple of times my models rolled off the building board and had a not very successful flight that ended abruptly on the floor. The only challenging part of the build might be the windshield, provided as transparent left and right halves that represent also a section of the fuselage. The clear areas would have to be masked and the seam neatly glued, then the whole added to the fuselage trying to obtain a clean transition. Some modelers just superglue those parts and then restore clarity by sanding and polishing. I glued them carefully with the usual styrene cement and bathed them in Future. Beware that the instrument panel is glued to the base of the “windshield” –there are guides on the parts- and not in the foremost position shown on the plans. Side windows are actually left and right-handed; one clear strip has the “sliding” pane marked; that goes on the pilot’s position. I removed the molded-in Pitot tube from the wing to facilitate handling of the model and later on added one made of wire. Heller’s kit has a small cut-out where the stab tongue is inserted in the fuselage and a stub small piece of the stab molded with the fuselage; the real plane had those too because the stabilizer could be adjusted, so you may choose not to putty that area. In order to provide a bit of detail I hollowed the nose part from inside and glued there a spare engine cylinder. Beware of the tail wheel/fairing. It is a very tiny part and mine twanged into the great beyond being recovered be a miracle. Glue it at the very last, and mind that it has a fragile attachment. I inserted a wire where the locating pin was. The decals in my kit were a bit fuzzy, but nevertheless I managed to use some for the necessary bits for this version, printing the remaining ones particular to this model at home. Oh, the Heller Nostalgia!

Hi, My idea is build four St.Exupery's planes. First is Breguet 14. My understanding is that he was flying these machines in his early career as a post pilot. Main questions in this plane are: Was it standard Brequet 14, or was there some modifications for postal service? Is AZ kit good starting point for this? Was there specific aeroplane that he was using? I assume that no and he was using any machine available. Any pictures planes he was using in aeropostale will be interesting Second civil model will be Caudron Simoun, that he was using during Paris to Saigon atemp. Where there extra fuel tank installed? Any known modifications? Was plane used F-ANRY? Any pictures from this plane as well would be good. TIA Vesa