Nostalgia, it's not what it used to be...

[Vince1159]

21 minutes ago, junglierating said:

Glad you said that ...ive been musing over a couple of different posters from them ...they combine postage too.So thanks for the review.

If you want to have a look at mine they're on my thread in the diecast section Aston Martin towards the bottom with the James Bond stuff,they look great when in a frame...

Edited August 2, 2020 by Vince1159

[TonyW]

With the Heller Group Build rapidly approaching it might be a good time to add the brand to the thread.

 

I'm only just getting to grips with Heller, I don't remember seeing the brand in any of the model shops I used over the years. That's a pity as the company have released some crackers and I'm sure I would have dived in had I been aware.

Importers like RiKo and BMW advertised the kits in the UK modelling press but the prices were on the high side compared to Airfix, Revell and FROG. 

 

Here's some of the early Museum (Mvsee) series kits. 

 

 

Beautiful artwork and certainly something different to the regular Spitfire/109/P51 fodder, although they covered them as well.

 

The range was very French overall but other countries got a look in now and then...

 

 

 

Building some of the big bombers, you wonder if you have just finished a plane or an AFV but that's part of the charm to me. Adverts in the French aviation press for stylists evidently went unanswered.

 

 

The Amiot 143 will never be confused with anything else...

 

 

 

The company also released the Arc En Ceil in the slightly odd scale of 1.75. It is a stunning looking plane though. I'll be building one in the Heller GB and can't wait to get started.

 

 

Heller also did the Cadet range of smaller scale models. mainly aircraft in 1.100, but a few ship kits appeared, similar to the small Airfix bagged ones. There were quite a few different models in the range and the artwork was every bit as good as the bigger boxes. Check out the box top for the big Mirage bomber...

 

 

 

Point of sale stuff was of a high standard, the display racks looked stunning. A paint and glue range was produced and the calalogues were beautiful...

 

 

 

 

Getting involved with the brand after all these years is quite exciting for me, just about everything is new and fresh to my eyes. The Builder and Collector in me will be having a blast once the Group Build gets under way.

 

Fancy joining in? there's plenty of time to dig through the stash or order up a contender...

 

 

Tony.

 

 

 

[TonyW]

The Heller slant to this thread continues. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

 

Meanwhile, back at the Heller ranch, builds are happening...

 

First past the post is this little Dewotine D250, from 1966, with later NOVO decals that even worked!

 

 

 

Then this Heller Hawk, also from '66, got finished...

 

 

And a twin motor Potez 63

 

 

Collector kits keep arriving as well, I'm in full on Heller mode at the moment, Viva la Difference!

 

 

The black box issues from the seventies have grown on me quite a bit. Cheap enough to buy as builders, I'm now collecting the things as well. The current Heller range has many of these classics re-released in very good looking retro boxes that I don't doubt will become collectable in their own right, given a bit of time. It makes things available to both camps, so I'm all for it.

 

 

Pride of place at the moment goes to this stunner of a box, the 1.400 scale HMS Hood. A very recent addition and one that makes me go a bit wobbly. Collectors are weird.

 

 

Tony.

 

 

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[Johnson]

14 minutes ago, TonyW said:

Pride of place at the moment goes to this stunner of a box, the 1.400 scale HMS Hood. A very recent addition and one that makes me go a bit wobbly. Collectors are weird.

 

As you say, really lovely box art.

[TonyW]

11 minutes ago, Johnson said:

 

As you say, really lovely box art.

 

...and a whole lot of bang for the buck Charlie. Check out the size of the thing against the first Airfix offering. Possible Heller one upmanship  here?

 

[Pete in Lincs]

39 minutes ago, TonyW said:

Possible Heller one upmanship  here?

Renoir did the boxtop.

[TonyW]

13 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Renoir did the boxtop.

The Potez 631 and Bloch 210 in a couple of the posts above have a bit of the Vincent Van Goughs about them. Not so much Bombers Moon, more a Starry starry night, so Renoir would possibly be in keeping with Hellers direction.

 

A very French company indeed.

[Homer]

I would like to thank you for this trip down memory lane. The sight of so many parts of my childhood, some long forgotten now brought back is great .Thankyou so much .👏

[tomkil]

One of best threads ever.  And you've got to love the French impressionist box-top art!

[Bear Paw]

ok so lurching back onto the Airfix track....... 
I have been digging through the instructions that I have saved over the years of making kits.  Unfortunately most of my very old ones got lost and thrown away but I do have a few of the Airfix bagged red stripe instructions left. 
I think I must have made most of this range from the late 60’s through to the mid 70’s.  

Below are some of the kits I made as a child  using my 2s 6d pocket money. 😏

 

[TonyW]

Looking at those headers is a bit of a trip back. About half bring back specific memories of first builds, places, times, TV programmes, Comics, that sort of thing. The Bond Bug and the Mini are the only two I've not built at some point or other.

 

Nice memories.

 

I'm guessing we are about the same age. Going by the Bird Dog and Lysander I probably have a couple of years on you, but it's going to be close!

 

 

 

Tony.

[Johnson]

I had a very similar collection of Airfix bagged red striped instructions, but like so many things, they all 'disappeared' when I flew the nest .

 

I must have made about 80% of the kits in @Bear Paw's collection, but the one that stands out for me (for some unfathomable reason!) is the little Westland Scout.

 

Ah well, that's what your excellent thread is about Tony, helping us remember! 

[europapete]

TonyW, don't forget Hellers' masterpiece, the 1/100 scale HMS Victory

[TonyW]

10 minutes ago, europapete said:

TonyW, don't forget Hellers' masterpiece, the 1/100 scale HMS Victory

 

A beautiful kit.  I don't have one but there's a few stunning catalogue pictures from the time, including a centerspread that almost knocks you over! I'll add some pictures later. This end of the forum is supposed to be for aircraft, but this thread seems to get away with the odd exception. I won't push my luck too far though.

 

Tony.

[europapete]

I see about getting you a photo. Dan Fischer in Germany (Dafi) makes a REALLY NICE photo etch and resin set for the kit, and HiSModel.com markets a ton of other stuff for it. 

[TonyW]

Heller can have a revisit later, let's get back to Haldane Place for a while now.

 

Type Six boxes, with the oval logo were the last gasp of what many a collector feel is the original Airfix. The style started off in Garret Lane, Wandsworth and ended up in France.

Financial woes saw the company production leave England for France during this box style period and things were never quite the same again. 1980/81 was the period.

 

Box art got made safe for easily traumatised kiddies and sales dropped off a cliff. Isn't Marketing great? Apparently there was no direct requirement to remove violence from boxes but a whole load of companies did it anyway.

 

Whatever. It led to travesties like this lot though...

 

Here's what was thought to be a good update for the B17.

 

 

Remove half the artwork, loose the typeface and logo known to just about everyone, then put it in a bigger box and wait for a sales avalanche. And wait. And wait.

 

1981 saw a new Lancaster issued. The artwork left a bit to be desired although it did show the bomb bay and bombload the new kit sported. Less desirable was jacking the new kit from the Series 5 of the old G for George to Series 8!

 

 

Series 8 put the Lancaster above the Series 6 Stirling and Sunderland. Those two soldiered on, but had to suffer the indignities of 'new' artwork.

 

 

The Sunderland went from it's Type 5 artwork magnificence to a rather bland looking version instead. The kit was getting on a bit at the time and could use a bit of a leg up. T6 let it down.

 

 

 

The new look was everywhere in the range. The F14 and F15 copped it as well.

 

 

Lower series kits had their background artwork left in situ but the Mosquito had it's rocket firing modified and many a blazing gun barrel suddenly ran out of ammo. This could happen on brand new artwork which shows a bit of confusion going on at the time.

 

There wasn't the money available to do the whole range so things were a bit mixed up all round. The old and familiar identity was being thrown out and replaced with a less than well thought out substitute. Add to that some price gouging Series raising for many kits and the old fans started drifting away. Getting them back was going to take a bit of doing.

 

From a Collecting point of view it's a fascinating period. The new boxes look a bit pants on their own, but stack a load of them together and they are a riot of colour. Pastels would not have been my choice, but that's what was thought needed at the time.

Despite me giving the series a bit of a kicking here, I do like them, and have amassed quite a few. They, along with the even less loved Photoboxes, are quite a bit cheaper than T3 boxes for instance. Same kit inside as well.

They make a useful stop to my Airfix collection. Trying to collect the whole lot is just about impossible, the companies output over the years was just amazing.

 

 

 

Tony.

 

 

 

 

[Bear Paw]

8 hours ago, TonyW said:

Looking at those headers is a bit of a trip back. About half bring back specific memories of first builds, places, times, TV programmes, Comics, that sort of thing. The Bond Bug and the Mini are the only two I've not built at some point or other.

 

Nice memories.

 

I'm guessing we are about the same age. Going by the Bird Dog and Lysander I probably have a couple of years on you, but it's going to be close!

 

 

 

I was born in 1958 Tony and so by 1970 I was well into my to my stride with my modelling. I was working my way through the 1969/70 catalogue and remember ticking them off.  I really liked the dog fight doubles, two kits in one box, brilliant!  
The original boxed series with their brilliant art work sold the kit to me every time. 
Andrew.  

[TonyW]

1956 for me, so our early days modelling looks to have been very similar.

 

I started moving away from Airfix kits once I discovered Muscle Cars and Hot Rods., around the time the Airfix Blister Packs appeared.  These things won't let go of you though.

 

Tony.

[Johnson]

1955. So the early red stripe B-17 in action is my youth. I don't think I was particularly traumatised by the box art. Well, not by the guns blazing anyway...

[kapam]

9 hours ago, TonyW said:

Remove half the artwork, loose the typeface and logo known to just about everyone, then put it in a bigger box

Somewhat vandalising that brilliant Roy Cross artwork in my view, but I suppose they were trying to freshen things up for a new generation (?). 🤔

[Meatbox8]

8 hours ago, kapam said:

Somewhat vandalising that brilliant Roy Cross artwork in my view, but I suppose they were trying to freshen things up for a new generation (?). 🤔

I seem to remember that nearly all Airfix box art had any references to war painted out sometime in the 80s.  One I particularly remember was the Fw190A/F.  Originally it was dropping a bomb and a couple of Yaks were creeping up on it.  Later the skyscape/landscape remained but the aforementioned details were painted out.  Must have been the beginning of the 'political correctness gone mad' era.

[Meatbox8]

Forgot to mention that the swastika was removed from the fin as well.

[Scooby]

Awesome thread, took a while to read through all 16 pages, brought back memories.

[TonyW]

It's been a funny old year, one way or another but we are still here, plugging away at the plastic.  Long may it continue.

 

Have a Happy Xmas and New Year everyone, and remember, as Yaz said... The Only Way is UP!

 

 

Tony.

 

 

 

 

 

.

[europapete]

Wow! look at that! I remember using those Airfix paints. Mum was really mad when I got spotches all over the dinner table. Regards, Pete in RI

Edited December 22, 2020 by europapete
auto word correct/ censor????