Air France Concorde, Heller 1:72

[neilg]

Hi guys, 

Well here it is!  I've got the Heller kit from the store:

 

 

It's a lot more expensive than the Revell one.  The Revell one was £50 [€57[ in the UK, and the Heller one, which I bought from a model store in Paris was €83.50 [£73].  

 

The Revell one didn't come with any accessories; this Heller one comes with a bag of acrylic paint pots, two brushes, and a tiny tiny tiny tube of Powerdrop glue.  I've never heard of it before, but I'm guessing it's regular poly cement?

 

I thought first of all it had two instruction books by accident, but the second book gives detailed black-and-white photos, and a "log book" of important events in each aircraft's history.

 

For those of you who have not seen the unbuilt kit, here's what you get:

 

 

The decals sheet gives clean, crisp decals, but I noticed that the only "no-walk" markings for the upper wing surfaces are for the section of wing above the main landing gear bays.  There are none near the leading edges of the wings, like the Revell one had.

 

 

I couldn't find any photos online or in the book that clearly showed the upper surfaces of the wings, to see if these markings were left out of the Air France Concorde fleet. 

 

Also, the decals for the static port areas are different dimensions to the Revell decals, and to the Draw Decals I bought for the windows.  They look squashed lengthways, maybe to fit on the actual recessed panel lines (the Revell decals for the static ports were too long to fit the panel lines):

 

 

And my last observation is that the marking for the wing tips (they're red on the British Airways model, and had to be painted), are supplied as a fluorescent orange decal on this kit.  Again, I can't find any detailed photos of just this part of the aircraft to see if this is accurate.  

 

I'm not going to worry unnecessarily about inaccuracies, but I'm going to have the British Airways and Air France models side-by-side, so difference between the two would be pretty noticeable.  

 

More pictures to follow.

Edited July 13, 2017 by neilg
Replaced photo links

[neilg]

Evening guys, 

 

Quick update on the first part of the build, and the first little modification.

 

I've built the flight deck (all parts primed with Halfords grey primer).  There are decals for the instrument panel and overhead panel, and I've painted the seats and the distinctive yokes.

 

This detail is nice, but there is nothing that you can see through the flight deck windows once the kit is built.  I did actually try to shine the light from my phone in the windows of my British Airways build, and I can *just* about see some seats...

 

The floor of the flight deck is secured by two "catches", fore and aft (there are two on each half of the forward fuselage section), but the aft catch has a rear wall to fix the flight deck in a certain position.  In this picture, I already removed the rear wall of the aft catch with a Stanley knife, but this is the position that the flight deck is designed to be in, according to the instructions:

 

 

However, this puts the flight deck too far forward.  So much so, that the flight engineer's panel overlaps the starboard side-windows:

 

 

With the little piece of plastic removed from the aft catch, I was able to slide the floor of the flight deck backward, to bring the flight engineer's panel away from the windows.  This panel fits on the flight deck floor on two moulded lugs.

 

 

There is a corresponding pair of catches on the other half of the forward cabin, and I cut the aft catch on that side also.

 

I have read on other builds that the main instrument panel interferes with the front windows when the window section is installed.  By this point, it is difficult to make any corrections to the cemented parts.    

 

This modification should prevent that issue (I didn't encounter any interferences between the instrument panel and front windows on my British Airways build, but I did the same modification with the flight deck on that build).

 

More to come!

Edited July 13, 2017 by neilg
Edited photo links

[SallysDad]

I love this plane.

This kit is also the Airfix kit reboxed?

I will enjoy watching your build.

 

[CedB]

You are a brave man Neil. It's a 'challenging' kit and there are a few builds on BM (including mine)... some of them even got finished!

Lots of traps to watch out for - have a browse through the other WiPs and, hopefully, you can avoid most of them

Those sprues look the same as the Revell kit so hopefully the decals etc make up for it.

In my WiP we had a post from the chap who created the decals - he commented that the decals were to scale from the original aircraft and suggested filling in the moulding.

 

Good luck, I'm in!

[neilg]

8 hours ago, Bendinggrass said:

I love this plane.

This kit is also the Airfix kit reboxed?

I will enjoy watching your build.

 

 

It's beautiful, and in this size, it really does look good.

 

It is exactly the same kit as the old Airfix and the current Revell offerings.  I hope this one turns out ok...

 

[neilg]

1 hour ago, CedB said:

You are a brave man Neil. It's a 'challenging' kit and there are a few builds on BM (including mine)... some of them even got finished!

Lots of traps to watch out for - have a browse through the other WiPs and, hopefully, you can avoid most of them

Those sprues look the same as the Revell kit so hopefully the decals etc make up for it.

In my WiP we had a post from the chap who created the decals - he commented that the decals were to scale from the original aircraft and suggested filling in the moulding.

 

Good luck, I'm in!

 

Thanks, I did read up on your build, and it looks great I must say.  Many useful tips, thank you!

 

I've just finished a British Airways one myself, but it looks somewhat alone by itself, so I'd like to have the Air France one alongside!

 

Space for a third even do you think??

 

[neilg]

This evening was a very quick session on the nose linkages.

 

I widened the holes of all of the related parts with a 1.2-mm twist-drill, to make sure there is little friction between the pins and the linkages:

 

 

 

 

I've also trimmed the pins so that they are not as long and easy-to-snap.

 

And the finished pieces:

 

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by neilg
Edited photo links

[GrzeM]

12 hours ago, neilg said:

Space for a third even do you think??

If you already have two real - French and British, you can make third in fictional what-if scheme as supersonic strategic bomber like Avro Vulcan etc.successor.

[neilg]

19 minutes ago, GrzeM said:

If you already have two real - French and British, you can make third in fictional what-if scheme as supersonic strategic bomber like Avro Vulcan etc.successor.

 

In anti-flash white, maybe - I hate painting camouflage!!

[neilg]

Here are the New Ware Masks that I received in the mail today from Hannants:

 

 

 

I've applied Maskol to the inner surfaces, ready to prime and spray.

 

I also assembled the nose and visor linkages, and painted them a dark colour (along with the inside of the nose) to reduce their visibility.  I'm not going to scratch-build the visor panel that closes off the interior of the nose.  It looks like other builds that have this cover have the nose fixed up or down.

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by neilg
Edited photo links

[WV908]

Hi Neil,

   I love the progress, will be nice to see an Air France machine built for a change. 

It's definitely worth creating the blank that sits underneath the visor and it can be made flush to the bottom of the visor and not be intrusive. If you want to wait, i'm doing a full 3D printed nose to the correct profile (see my WIP) as the Heller one is so bad. At least, it may be worth modifying your nose to shorten the visor if you don't want to go down that route

 

Cheers,

 WV908 

[neilg]

12 minutes ago, WV908 said:

Hi Neil,

   I love the progress, will be nice to see an Air France machine built for a change. 

It's definitely worth creating the blank that sits underneath the visor and it can be made flush to the bottom of the visor and not be intrusive. If you want to wait, i'm doing a full 3D printed nose to the correct profile (see my WIP) as the Heller one is so bad. At least, it may be worth modifying your nose to shorten the visor if you don't want to go down that route

 

Cheers,

 WV908 

 

Wow that's an ambitious project you have going on there.  

 

I'm going to do minimal modifications again to this kit, because this one will be sat next to one I've already made and I'd like them to look the same.  

 

Are you making the moveable nose with the blank in place?

[WV908]

Hi Neil, yes I will be. To make the visor work correctly it actually works opposite to the Heller method - all the attachment points are on the blank and the clear visor is just tacked on top - I can make it work with the production visor, as it is in one piece, but when I get around to doing the prototype nose it will be static as I can't figure out how the two piece visor works and there are no drawings online at all 

 

Cheers,

  WV908

[neilg]

Today I was able to complete the front section:

 

 

The second bulkhead goes in before the two halves of the forward section are attached.  The instructions are incorrect for this part.  The bulkhead has two lugs on one side that fit in recesses in a flange (the lugs need to face rearward), but the instructions say to install it with the lugs facing forward, where they would not go in the recesses.  The recess is actually double-sided, to engage with related lugs on the middle section of the fuselage.

 

 

 

The nose and visor mechanism requires some alignment with some holes in the nose cone, and I installed the front windows and flight deck on the same side.  The instructions say to put the front windows on the port side, and the flight deck on the starboard side, then assemble the two halves together (while keeping the engagement of the nose hinge, and nose cone link).

 

It is easier to install the front windows and flight deck to the port side, then the starboard side can fit easily on.  Here's the sequence I used:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think I'm going to be able to make much more progress on this build for a while.  Next weekend is the Paris Air Show, and I'm running out of appliance gloss white.

 

I'm back in the UK at the end of July for a concert, and I can stock up on accessories and paints then.

 

I can work on the engines in the meantime, which will probably use up my remaining appliance gloss white.

Edited July 13, 2017 by neilg
Edited photo links

[neilg]

I'm getting back into this build after the distraction of the Paris Air Show this weekend!

 

I've attached the cabin halves to the forward section, using the "two halves" technique.  The instructions say to assemble the forward section, then assemble the center section, then assemble the tail section, and then to attach the three sections together.

 

However, many people have noted that there is a large difference in the diameters, causing a step when the sections are attached together.  The "two halves" technique lets you match the diameters better.

 

 

I've also started with the engines, priming them with Halfords grey primer to make the translucent plastic opaque:

 

 

The engine pieces are moulded in white and black plastic, which is representative of the basic colours of the engine intakes and hot sections.  However, I think the black plastic sections are too large (from the notes I made of seeing the Air France Concorde at Le Bourget).

 

I painted the intakes with Halfords gloss appliance white, then masked the border with the hot section, a bit further aft than the joint between the white and black plastic:

 

 

Here's where I'm leaving off for tonight:

 

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by neilg
Edited photo links

[CedB]

Nice engines Neil  

[neilg]

Thanks, CedB, I have new photos but I have to open an account with another image hosting service, since like many other people here, PhotoBucket is causing a problem.

[neilg]

I've set up a Flickr account and deleted my Photobucket one.  400 dollars for image hosting, I don't think so...

 

This is how my Air France build has been for the last couple of weeks:

 

 

 

I've had to stop because I've run out of appliance gloss white.  I've still got a few more layers to go to get the finish I want.

 

I'm back in the UK from the 25th, so I can stock up on my supply then!

Edited July 13, 2017 by neilg
Added photo

[neilg]

Well I am back in Paris now after a busy trip back to the UK.

 

I've stocked up on my supply of appliance gloss white, so I can get back to the build!

 

 

[neilg]

I've finished painting and I've started decaling:

 

 

The decals that cover the rudder actuator fairing are a nightmare.

 

I'm not sure how to describe the decals... crispy??

 

The Revell decals are like film - very very thin, and they hug contours nicely.  

 

These Heller ones just don't go round curves at all.  At all!

 

The stripes for the tail decals come in different sections:

 

 

What I wanted to do was to apply the individual stripes on the actuator housings (approximating the final position), and then apply the upper and lower parts of the tail decals to hold down the stripes on the actuator housings.  

 

However, the individual stripes are pretty strong and keep straightening out.  They lifted up the upper and lower tail decals when they popped up straight again.

 

This was even after using softener, and pressing them around the curves.

 

After many tries, and seeing the stripes were getting more and more brittle, I removed them and resigned myself to hand-paint the actuator fairing stripes.

 

I put the stripes back on the wet backing paper while I decided what to do - I didn't really want to hand-paint stripes around a complex shape.  I was able to lift the decals back off the backing paper easily because it was still wet, and I left the decals to soak in softener for even longer, and I tried one more time.

 

And so far, they seem to be holding...

 

They're not sitting completely flat, but we'll see how it looks tomorrow.

 

I also managed to knock off one of the engines while I was showing it off to a friend the other day, so the clamps are holding it in position while it bonds again.

 

But, the nose and visor mechanism works on this one too!

 

It's a four-day weekend here in France, so I should be able to make some good progress.

 

 

[CedB]

Very nice Neil - good save on the decals.

[neilg]

17 hours ago, CedB said:

Very nice Neil - good save on the decals.

Thanks, I've been doing the underside decals today, but I haven't brought myself round to doing the stripes on the other side of the tail...

 

I'll have a go tomorrow!

[neilg]

And here we are finished:

 

 

More photos in the completed builds section.

[woody37]

Gorgeous Neil

[Graeme H]

Don't know how I missed this, but some beautiful work on a beautiful aircraft