Stew Dapple Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hi all, It was my intention that my first build for this GB would be the Heller Bloch MB210, however things have panned out a little differently... I travelled up to deepest rural Aberdeenshire to visit my folks for Easter; now for those of you unfamiliar with the place, Aberdeenshire is a slice of paradise transported to the north-east corner of Scotland - however, if the weather decides to play up, leaving the house becomes a painful test of endurance, one not to be undertaken unless you really have to. In early April there is every chance of this being the case, so I packed a simple kit and a few pots of paint to tide me over (though in the event the weather was spectacular, like high summer in fact, but I started the kit anyway). Here is the kit in question, I believe it is the original 1978 issue: ... and the sprue shots: ... the clear part, fossilised glue-bulb, instructions not to eat aforesaid glue-bulb (in three languages just in case), and crispy, possibly deep-fried, decals: Instructions - all in French, luckily the pictures are in English: I won't be using the kit decals because 1) they are old and suspiciously stiff to the touch and 2) I have the Pavla D510 decals somewhere in my stash and will pinch the 'La Faucheuse' markings from those, as I read somewhere the Heller ones are slightly too large for the fuselage... More to follow shortly... Cheers, Stew 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Construction began with the cockpit I mixed an approximation of Chamois for the interior, I neglected to take any silver paint with me (I was in a bit of a hurry) but fortunately my Dad had some silver spray paint, so I decanted a bit of that and brush-painted it onto the seat and made some seatbelts out of masking tape. Then the fuselage was closed up: It fitted quite nicely, but test-fitting showed that the front-piece and upper cowling would not sit comfortably on it, so I made a spacer out of stretched sprue: Which sorted the problem - I'm not sure if this was a feature of the kit parts, or whether I just squeezed it together too hard when I glued it. The upper cowling was fitted: ... and the tailplanes added: The tail-struts were a bit of a pain, but eventually accepted their fate and did my bidding Then the lower wing was fitted: ... followed by the upper wings: ... both of these fitted very well. Once they had dried, I added the radiator and the gun-pods: ... and then the engine-front part and the propeller: That's as far as I got in Aberdeen, I am now home and will continue shortly. Cheers, Stew 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Yes! Another Stew Dapple build to follow along with. Glad you had a nice Easter trip. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) Good morning Stew Very good job you've done during the Easter Week end .. Another build I will follow with great interest .. Patrice Edited April 8, 2015 by TEMPESTMK5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Rather nice, that! I don't think there is anything much that would persuade me to try a set of 1978 Heller decals. Heller decals from that era were deeply, deeply ropey when they were fresh and new. After this length of time, it's a miracle they haven't fallen apart completely! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT 876 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Nice I love the Dewoitine 500's a/c was going to do the 48th one, that's now on the cards to start after the GB finish. I used to live up Aberdeen way in the 80's Burghead then Peterculter & last Auchattie loved it. I was a member of Aberdeen Model club for a while till I move back down south. Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Great! Another Dewoitine convertible!!! Fantastic! The skeleton is definitely a must (by the way, it is called "La Faucheuse", as nasty things are always done better by women... Or so the French think!). Aberdeen and its surroundings bring back very fond memory of noisy choppers, smelly oil rigs and smoky dancing establishments barely tolerated by the law... You can keep the weather though! Have fun with this lovely kit! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT 876 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I worked at RGIT Offshore Survival Centre on King St. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Yes! Another Stew Dapple build to follow along with. Glad you had a nice Easter trip. Thanks Cookie, nice to have you along Good morning Stew Very good job you've done during the Easter Week end .. Another build I will follow with great interest .. Patrice Thanks Patrice , it has been pretty straightforward so far but I have been struggling with the undercarriage today Rather nice, that! I don't think there is anything much that would persuade me to try a set of 1978 Heller decals. Heller decals from that era were deeply, deeply ropey when they were fresh and new. After this length of time, it's a miracle they haven't fallen apart completely! I'm inclined to agree Mitch, though these decals seem to have got tougher over the passing years, and would now, I suspect, simply sit atop the paint like a leather patch Nice I love the Dewoitine 500's a/c was going to do the 48th one, that's now on the cards to start after the GB finish. I used to live up Aberdeen way in the 80's Burghead then Peterculter & last Auchattie loved it. I was a member of Aberdeen Model club for a while till I move back down south. Paul Thanks Paul; in a brief (and fortunately for me, passing) moment of insanity I did once consider shifting scales to make the Montex 1/32 kit... I know Peterculter from passing through, Burghead and Auchattie I don't know though I expect my folks do. There are quite a few of the AMS guys post on here, perhaps you already know them? Great! Another Dewoitine convertible!!! Fantastic! The skeleton is definitely a must (by the way, it is called "La Faucheuse", as nasty things are always done better by women... Or so the French think!). Aberdeen and its surroundings bring back very fond memory of noisy choppers, smelly oil rigs and smoky dancing establishments barely tolerated by the law... You can keep the weather though! Have fun with this lovely kit! JR Thanks Jean, I have corrected my text to reflect the likely gender of the Reaper (and with grovelling apologies too, just in case, it is hard for a layman like myself to guess the gender of a skeleton )... actually I do see our continental cousins point of view, I'm not sure why we have traditionally portrayed Death as male... As I indicated above, I have been having a bit of a trial with the undercarriage but I think I have got it now and it is currently setting, next will be the primer... Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT 876 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hi Stew Not heard of the 32nd kit must look that up I like 32nd. Burghead is up by Lossiemouth & Elgin was there when in RAF, Auchattie is just over the bridge from Banchory. Keep going and enjoy the kit I have a few to make both the 500-501 and 510 kits and 4 in 48th to do both kits also. I did meet with some of the AMS lads at Telford but none of them from my days there the club was and still is a very good club. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hi Stew Not heard of the 32nd kit must look that up I like 32nd. Burghead is up by Lossiemouth & Elgin was there when in RAF, Auchattie is just over the bridge from Banchory. Keep going and enjoy the kit I have a few to make both the 500-501 and 510 kits and 4 in 48th to do both kits also. I did meet with some of the AMS lads at Telford but none of them from my days there the club was and still is a very good club. Paul Hi Paul, Ali of A2Zee Models took it over I think, it's still available as Hannant's bought his stuff when he gave up the retail side of things - here - it looks lovely - there is a preview of the Montex release here - but it is rather pricey, not an adventure to be undertaken lightly, I think Elgin and Banchory I know or at least know by name, my folks are up by Tarves (or at least that is the nearest village, they are quite isolated where they are and that's the way they like it). Agreed that the AMS is an impressive club, several of them post on here and all seem like nice blokes as well as talented modellers. I got the undercarriage into some sort of order, and once it had dried I sprayed the model with Alclad black primer: Next up will be the 'silver' for which I shall use Alclad 'Semi Matt Aluminium' as I believe the aircraft were painted in the same way that RAF aircraft of the period were rather than being left in natural metal. Cheers, Stew 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Quick work Stew! I really like the tip of using some sprue to widen the fuselage where you needed it to. I'm also glad that the instructions included pictures in English. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Nice to see another D.510 ! Yours is definitely faster than mine.. Looking forward to the painted model ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I really like the elegance of the D.510 and I've got a couple of these in the stash - unfortunately the decals have had it in those too but on the plus side I got some LF decals for the type which will make a nice change. This is coming together really well - thanks for bringing this to the party. Wez 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I worked at RGIT Offshore Survival Centre on King St. Hi Paul, I went through the RGIT and had great fun in the underwater helicopter escape!!! Thank god never had to put it into real practice! And that was after being almost fried in Montrose in the offshore fire fighting course... I love Scotland! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Quick work Stew! I really like the tip of using some sprue to widen the fuselage where you needed it to. I'm also glad that the instructions included pictures in English. Thanks Cookie, I picked that tip up ages ago, it was useful on the old-tool Airfix Hurricane to spread the lower fuselage a bit to eliminate the gaps at the wing-roots without filler Nice to see another D.510 ! Yours is definitely faster than mine.. Looking forward to the painted model ! Thanks Giorgio, I suspect you are going for quality above speed I really like the elegance of the D.510 and I've got a couple of these in the stash - unfortunately the decals have had it in those too but on the plus side I got some LF decals for the type which will make a nice change. This is coming together really well - thanks for bringing this to the party. Wez Thanks Wez, it is a strangely lovely bird isn't it? I hadn't heard of the LF decals, I'll check them out, cheers Yesterday evening I applied the Aluminium: So it will be mostly detail painting later... Cheers, Stew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Good moning Stew Good painting job .. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Good moning Stew Good painting job .. Thanks very much Patrice I got the tail struts, tyres and the leather headrest and cockpit edging done... I hope to get the rest of the painting and the decalling done tonight... Cheers, Stew 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Ooooh. Got one in the stash, but this one looks very tasty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 It's a nice little kit Dave, but the undercarriage was a bit of a trial - apart from that it's been an easy build so far though, and it is a rather beautiful er... good-looking erm... attractive... it's got character Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Great(and quick) work Stew,hopefully the Heller kits being built here will spur a few others to give them a go,personally I love them and their refined(for their age) panel lines,I know a few are now being re-released which is good news given you wont have to play "decal roulette" with older boxings,that said I also love getting these old battered boxes and building the contents which is what they were made for! Looking forward to the rest of the build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Thanks very much Steve... unfortunately (in a way) that was all of the build I'm calling this one done: As Steve notes above, the old Heller kits are generally very nicely done and have the additional benefit of novelty value to anyone raised where the corner shop had Airfix, and nothing else. The decals are problematical but in most cases these kits can be bought second-hand so cheaply that an additional expenditure on decals still makes it look like a bargain This was a nice little kit, and it went together without issues although the undercarriage does demand care and attention (I may have already mentioned that ) The Pavla decals which I used were nice, a little thin and brittle and after two coats of Klear still much glossier than the 'aluminium' paint - I also had to mix some blue to extend the rudder stripes as the Pavla one must be a couple of millimetres shorter than the kit one - but I can live with it and I am very happy with the final result. More pics in the gallery, thank you all for your attention and input Cheers, Stew 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Found you just as you've finished! Sorry to miss this Stew but she sure looks purdy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Good afternoon Stew she looks very nice good job you have done .. Patrice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Great job Stew,clean,simple and very effective! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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