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1/72 Revell Concorde


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Hello mates,

This monster of a kit was at the LMS in Lismore NSW for $129.99 not a bargain.  I could have got for $105.50 from the LMS in Melbourne, never mind.

It has been sitting on a chair looking at me looking at it.  Time to build, as if I need another project.

I have read that it is not a very good kit, time will tell.

 

Box art.

 

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Bits and pieces.

 

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Decals.

 

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Huge stand that I will not be using as I am getting a display case made.

 

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There is also a Brengun PE set at Hannants I should get

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/BRL72144

and some masks I don't know much about.

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/NWAM016

Any advice/help on this model will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks for stopping by and having a look.

 

Stephen

 

 

Edited by StephenCJ
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Hi Stephen. Great timing as I've been debating with myself about whether or not to buy this kit (and the Airfix and Heller releases of it too).

Concorde is a particular favourite of mine and I'm currently going through a Concorde phase at the moment. However, there are just so many shape and fit issues with this kit that I still haven't convinced myself to buy it. 

Anyway, I'll follow along with you especially if you use the Brengun eyched detail set.

 

Jeff

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Stephen you are a brave man...

She's an iconic aircraft and worth having in the collection, but the kit is horrid. If you have the odd hour or two, have a look at my effort here; there's a link to the WiP that will show some of the problems I had.

 

Good luck (and buy some more filler) :) 

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3 hours ago, StephenCJ said:

Hello mates,

This monster of a kit was at the LMS in Lismore NSW for $129.99 not a bargain.

Huge stand that I will not be using as I am getting a display case made.

 

DSC4292-1.jpg

 

 

INdeed - I got mine for 15 € on clearance...

I never had a look into a box or review, somehow in some aspects it looks like a giant Bobkit/-cat... Also interesting to see that Heller reused their classic stand design from the 60s, at least for the base.

Good luck !

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And then I read CedB linked "ready for inspection" buikd and I remind myself to never buy one...

Airfix (British) and Heller (French) should really be ashamed of the monstrosity they produced. The whole kit just smacks of lack of clear leadership, agreed standards for fit and finish and some of the shapes moulded really question whether or not anyone actually bothered to look at a real aircraft. When the first test models were produced from the mould, did anyone not bother to assemble the parts together? So again lacking quality control. Absolute disgrace.

Now if only there was an example of cross channel cooperation where Airfix (in Britain, though probably more likely India) and Heller (in France) could have gone for some guidance.....didn't Britain and France produce a supersonic airliner in the 60s and 70s, what ever happened to that?

It's doubtful if any model company will mould a new 1/72 Concorde. It's just so frustrating that the only one we have is such an mess.

 

Jeff

 

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Oh, boy.... good luck.

 

No matter what you do, the nose mechanism will break. Whoever decided to mould significant parts of it on the clear sprues, which is always the most brittle type of polystyrene, was way off their game that day. and all the other days they worked on designing this kit!

 

The visor is the wrong size and shape, so for full Concorde beauty, you might as well decide to make it with the nose up, and get the visor right.

 

I built mine, contrary to the instructions, by assembling complete fuselages halves, and joining them more conventionally. That way you end up with some seam filling top and bottom, but not three tubes of different diameters to blend.

 

The front edge of the tail is the wrong shape, and needs re-profiling.

 

The nose wheel bay is in the wrong place, by some distance, and the U/C legs are wrong for an aircraft on the ground.

 

But the WORST bit is the fit of the engine nacelles to the wing. It's obvious from pictures where the jet nozzles are supposed to sit relative to the wing, and you'll need heroic amounts of sanding of the nacelles and thinning of the wing to get them up high enough.

 

So all in all, it's probably the worst kit I've ever built, and the biggest missed opportunity (by the widest margin) in kit design history! But it'll certainly take enough time to make what you paid for it feel like value per hour expended...

 

best,

M.

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^ plus also the cabin windows are too big, the whole under fuselage piece is a disaster of shapes where the fuselage fairs into the flat bottom - the fuselage should taper neatly to a point just in front of the main wheel wells and start again just after it to the tail. This kit has the fuselage coming to an abrupt stop way in front of the u/c bay. Isn't the flat belly too wide also? Aren't the main undercarriage bay shapes wrong?

The ADF antenna fairing on the upper fuselage is too thick and chunky, but that can be rectified by some sanding. I think the elevon mechanism covers are too blocky but sand them down too.

The nacelles auxiliary doors just back from the main intakes should be blow-in type and not front hinged, downward opening flaps as these idiots have moulded them. The were a feature of the prototype aircraft, not the production ones (even then the prototype had scoop type doors - downward opening, rear hinged doors).

Sorry Stephen if all the comments from me and others is negative but this is a challenge of a kit to make let alone make accurately. It's at best a school boy sketch of a generic supersonic type airliner and not a true accurate model of Concorde. For that Airfix and Heller should be quite rightly ridiculed and ashamed for what they produced.

Edited by pinky coffeeboat
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This is the only kit that I was not able to complete. Everything is just plain wrong. 

The biggest problem is not the large, panoramic windows, not the visor that is 13 mm too long, not the nose wheel well that is positioned incorrectly, not the wrongly positioned wing fairings but the belly - 20 mm (!) too wide, 10 mm (!) too high. 

I haven't yet seen a model built from this kit that would remotely satisfy my requirements for accuracy. You would need major (I mean - MAJOR) plastic surgery to tackle inaccuracies or just relax and build it out of the box, for many the results will resemble The Concorde. 

I once had a pictures on this site with my attempts to tame the beast but they were eaten by the greed on Photobucket 

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I am afraid I can second everything above. The belly part problem which Alexey shows above was the last nail in the coffin two years ago. My attempt so far to make a correction for this has failed. Some day... (yes - I still want to finish this!)

You can basically decide to go straight from the box with a huge but toyish results (anybody else wondering why Airfix and Heller did not complete the picture with spring loaded missiles in the engine pods?) or start a 50% srcatchbuild.

Good Luck with this one - what ever you do: If nothing else it will improve your skills 🙂

René

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What's particularly odd is that Heller has a 1/125 Concorde which by most accounts is the best of all of them in terms of detail and accuracy. It's recently been re-issued, and thanks to this thread and a few online reviews, I'm now £24 lighter of wallet...

 

best,

M.

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7 minutes ago, cmatthewbacon said:

What's particularly odd is that Heller has a 1/125 Concorde which by most accounts is the best of all of them in terms of detail and accuracy. It's recently been re-issued, and thanks to this thread and a few online reviews, I'm now £24 lighter of wallet...

 

best,

M.

Yep, I've read and seen that elsewhere too. I don't have one (but that'll probably change very soon). It's an odd scale really though, but to have a set of largish Concorde models I'm willing to accept it.

 

Jeff 

 

 

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The designer of the decals posted in my WiP thread and suggested that, as his design was taken from a real Concorde, you should fill the kit panel lines / hatches and use the decal measurements.

 

You DO still get a great feeling when you get it finished and see it on display... like banging your head against a wall, it's nice when you stop :) 

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Thanks CedB.  I knew it was a challenge but I don't need all the negative tray bit from the other blokes.  I will have a look at your WIP in the morning, just got home from 'fools paradise' (work).

 

Stephen

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7 hours ago, StephenCJ said:

Thanks CedB.  I knew it was a challenge but I don't need all the negative tray bit from the other blokes.  I will have a look at your WIP in the morning, just got home from 'fools paradise' (work).

 

Stephen

Ok, carry on with your build. Good luck

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I have done a little on the concorde.  Had a dry fit and a fit on how much filler I will need, never mind.

 

Cockpit parts, just sitting in place.  I found a Revell paint conversion chart and sprayed the cockpit to match but my cockpit has turned out way darker than CedB's.

 

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If someone could shed some light on cockpit colours I would be very grateful as I don't think Revell have a clue.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Stephen

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Progress, well done Stephen :) 

Internal colours visible in these videos:

 

 

 

 

 

So sort of grey with grey and grey bits :D 

 

Some useful other views as well.

 

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I share your pain as I am currently trying to wrestle one into submission. It's Concorde shaped now & I'm using copious amounts of filler on the wings. Thanks for the warning about the engines, more to look forward to!

 

Following with interest & trepidation!

 

Pete

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On 7/10/2018 at 2:25 PM, StephenCJ said:

I have done a little on the concorde.  Had a dry fit and a fit on how much filler I will need, never mind.

 

Cockpit parts, just sitting in place.  I found a Revell paint conversion chart and sprayed the cockpit to match but my cockpit has turned out way darker than CedB's.

 

MG_3940-1.jpg

 

If someone could shed some light on cockpit colours I would be very grateful as I don't think Revell have a clue.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Stephen

Perhaps, try and find the Airfix or Heller instructions online for the colour callouts? I have the Airfix instructions, I assume Heller would have Humbrol colour suggestions as well.

 

Edit: Here is a link to the Airfix Instructions

 

 

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Thank you Ray for your help, I have gone with the colours I have already used for the flight deck.  Not much is visible when the fuselage is closed.

I have started the exciting task of filling some ejection pin marks.  There are on every part, one part has seven monster holes to fill, joy.

Bad fitting parts, ejector pin marks still enjoying the kit. 

 

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Thanks for stopping by for a look.

 

Stephen

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Nice Stephen, good job :) 

Pleased to see the gap at the back of the engineer's console - you'll need that when you try to fit the glazing.

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