Stew Dapple Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 (edited) Thanks to the magic of ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301073381488?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 I will be building the Heller Potez 631 heavy fighter Cheers, Stew Edited May 8, 2014 by snapper_city 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 (edited) Well that's an interesting looking plane and kit. One of the many I had never heard of - and there's a lot. I shall be interested to see what you do with this one! Kind regards, Stix Edited January 31, 2014 by PlaStix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hgbn Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Does it have the Batman nose art??? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 Thanks Stix, Henrik Mark - I only won it last night and haven't received it yet, hence no sprue shots, but it had better have the Batman nose art else I shall be digging in the decal bank I'll post pics when it arrives Cheers, Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Well everything arrived more or less safely, in time for a brief crack at it first thing tomorrow before a weekend away... All the parts appear to be present, one of the prop blades is hanging off and a couple of parts are off the sprue but nothing too upsetting... the clear parts are very thick and slightly foggy-looking, I hope a dousing in Klear will go some way to improving that. The 'exploded diagram' type instructions with all the text in French; obligingly they provide an English translation overleaf... The decals... not too bad, a bit yellowed and stiff looking but... Having looked in the 'Armee de l'Air' section of the decal bank I find I have sufficient markings for three different 631's if replacements are required... I even found some reference material in the bookshelf... To be honest though I will be building this OOB as far as possible (well I would except it had no box). I might add a few Airfix crew members if there is enough room but apart from that... Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hgbn Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Ready to watch this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Batman decals made it. Tuned in like the caped crusader staring over the Gotham skyline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Made a little progress - mixed up a dark blue for the interior (the kit instructions said it was a medium green?) and got the crew production line going: Painted the crew and fitted them to the internal cockpit parts - the crew are wearing completely the wrong flying gear, but if that is the worst thing that I do in building this kit I shall be both happy and surprised: ...and finally joined the two fuselage halves (which required foot amputations from both the pilot and the gunner) and added the horizontal tail: I don't think this was the correct point to do this but I seem to have mislaid the instructions hopefully they will turn up, I don't think they could have gone far and the undercarriage looks rather complex Cheers, Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Good thing you took a picture of them. Really nice job on the crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Ha, yes that would have been handy, luckily I've found the plans now The crew aren't all that good close up, but no-one will be able to see them close up one the jam-jar canopy is fitted Cheers, Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 It was a bit of a struggle, as the cockpit framing was represented by rows of raised dots on the canopy, but I got it masked and attached to the fuselage and gave it a quick and scrappy coat of primer to see if any work needed doing: I decided I could probably get away with it So I made up the undercarriage; it is pretty complex and has quite a lot of parts but it actually goes together very well once you get over the initial fear : Next to get the wings fitted... Cheers, Stew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Hi Stew, This seems to be coming along nicely. Undercarriage looks good - nice detail for 1/72. If you don't mind me asking - where were the plans? Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 Hi Stix, Yes, it's a nice kit especially when you take its age into account, and I've been pleasantly surprised by how well almost everything has fitted so far How to tempt fate... The plans were on the table all the time, on top of a newspaper. My only defence is that I looked at it - several times actually - and thought 'nope, that's the newspaper' Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Szczudlyk Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hi Stew What a nice little plane you have .I'am wandering how it going to be look when you finish. To bad that you have to cut crew legs.Now they can park on disabled spaces:) Keep up with good job Cheers Pawel Ps How old is this kit? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks Pawel, I'm hopeful that it will turn out to be quite a pretty model My kit didn't come with a box, so I can't tell which particular issue it was, but from the translucent brown plastic I would say it is an early one - the first issue of this kit came out in 1967 according to Scalemates, so it could be getting on for 50 years old Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Almost an antique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Almost an antique. Yeah that's how I feel sometimes too Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 I added the wings - it needed smear of filler at the roots, but not much: ...and then I fitted the vertical tail and rudders, and assembled and fitted the engines - if you ever build one of these please note that the propellers are handed - I paid particular attention to this and then I think I went ahead and stuck them on the wrong way round... I'm still not certain of it and looking at pictures is just making my head hurt I added the cannon fairings underneath, either Heller made this much too short or the MMP drawings show them far too long. Then everything got a coating of primer: I might not get any more done before the weekend but it is at least ready for the paint now... I might decide to spray the camouflage as it looks like the kind of scheme that would be adequately soft-edged though perhaps not at this scale - however it would be quicker than brush-painting so that's probably what I'll try. Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Such a great shape of this plane. Looking forward to seeing it with paint on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 You did get the props the right way round. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thanks Mark, I am looking forward to getting some paint on it Paul - thank you, I am most relieved to hear that, it would have been shamefully typical had I got that wrong after spending so long thinking about it Cheers, Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 I had a major airbrushing session; first the Light Blue-grey (I used Humbrol 87 which I think is called Steel Grey) - it's a bit bleached out by the flash and is in reality both darker and bluer: Then the first topside colour, Dark Blue Grey - I used Humbrol 144 (Intermediate Blue): The second topside colour, French Kaki (which is pretty green and not like the Brown of British Khaki) - I used Humbrol 86 (Light Olive). If I had known it would turn out this colour I would perhaps have used Humbrol 155 Olive Drab; again it is darker in real life than in the glare of the flash: And the last topside colour, which I guessed to be Burnt Umber, I used Humbrol 98 (I think it is called Chocolate Brown) - I had started using this in the picture above as you might see from the wingtips, here is the completed application: More soon I hope. Cheers, Stew 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Really liking it in that scheme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Looks really nice, Stew. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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