Heller Classic GB Chat

[TonyOD]

27 minutes ago, fightersweep said:

So I was just being naughty again and trawling eBay for some more Heller goodies when I stumbled across this:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heller-96201-2021-Calendar/233796748821?hash=item366f5f4615:g:vWYAAOSwCStfvqjZ

 

Well! What do we have here? A 2021 Heller calendar. Even though I'm not usually the calendar buying type, I decided it would be rude not to buy one. Strangely enough, the vendor is on my old home turf too, so that sealed the deal. Got me thinking though (dangerous), has Heller ever done a calendar before?

 

Steve

#shutupandtakemymoney 

[rob Lyttle]

It looks like nobody is going to take on the challenge of the Delage D8SS car in 1.24 scale...... none forthcoming so far anyway. 

I built an example last year and I thought some may enjoy a couple of pictures. I got it out yesterday after reading a couple of builds on the Heller Forever forum, and spotting a couple of kit refinements that I can include. 

I still need to finish the wheels installation and the rest of the hubcaps. 

 

 

 

 

Can't really put her in the group gallery but I thought it might whet someone's appetite 😇😏

There's still time....... ⌚

[JOCKNEY]

Reminds me of a Derby Bentley.

 

Delighted this GB is bucking the trend and seeing lots more vehicles being built.

 

Cheers Pat 

[PeterB]

Hi,

 

One for the mods @Wez - may have been answered already but is my Airfix re-boxing of the 1984 Heller Super Etendard eligible? I think it just sneaks in and will supplement Jean's original Etendard.

 

Pete

Edited December 3, 2020 by PeterB

[Wez]

2 hours ago, PeterB said:

Hi,

 

One for the mods @Wez - may have been answered already but is my Airfix re-boxing of the 1984 Heller Super Etendard eligible? I think it just sneaks in and will supplement Jean's original Etendard.

 

Pete

Yes, you can, any boxing by any manufacturer as long as its a  original Heller mould prior to 1st of Jan 1986.

 

So your Étendard was originally released by Heller in 1984 is good to go!

[cherry268]

18 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

It looks like nobody is going to take on the challenge of the Delage D8SS car in 1.24 scale...... none forthcoming so far anyway. 

I have one but decided to do the Citroen instead.

Can't see me achieving a third model even if I manage the second

I have the Hispano Suiza on the go which I tried to finish before the start but didn't manage it

[rob Lyttle]

Both great examples of motoring style from that era. And good looking models 

The only thing that bothers me is the Upper Class Downton Abbey ethos, definitely no Riff Raff driving around in these!! 😅😇

[Toryu]

@JeroenS

 

Toryu said:

It looks great. Very neat work! I wonder if we should present a summary in RFI of all the 109s from this group build?

 

JeroenS said:

That's not a bad idea, you could make a nice photo collage in the last week of the GB and post it in the gallery. You know, one picture containing one photo from each build. 

 

Toryu responds:

That's about the idea. I wanted to collect one picture of every Me 109 if the participants agree, with credentials. But I thought about publishing it in the RFI section to make these nice models known to a wider public, instead of the gallery which would be a bit redundant.

Cheers, Michael

[JeroenS]

@Toryu Aaah ok, I see 👍

[TonyOD]

So I put a friendly post on the Heller Forever Facebook page in my best French saying that us “rosbifs” on Britmodeller are doing a Heller Classic GB, and here’s a link if any of our French friends would like to have a look at our efforts. 
 

But they deleted it.

 

 I found this a bit odd. 😢

[Heather Kay]

1 minute ago, TonyOD said:

 I found this a bit odd. 😢

Their Facebook page, their rules I guess.

 

I'm pleased to say I killed my facerag account two years ago now. 

[TonyOD]

Just now, Heather Kay said:

Their Facebook page, their rules I guess.

 

Indeed. I didn't see anything objectionable in the post is all. Brothers and sisters in modelling and all that.

[rob Lyttle]

Yea, I put something on weeks ago, mentioned it in passing. Not a link - dunno how to do it - just saying what we were up to. 

I've no idea if it's still there...... 

 

Have you been on the forum itself? 

And figured out how to paste pictures, from "servimg"?? 

I've managed to do it a few times but I'm still not sure what it is I'm doing!! 

[TonyOD]

52 minutes ago, rob Lyttle said:

Have you been on the forum itself? 

I registered but otherwise haven’t been on. I’ve barely the time to keep up with BM to be honest, let alone get involved with another forum.

 

it’s a funny looking thing, like a lot of French websites it appears to have been designed in  1996 and not changed since.

[rob Lyttle]

I have an enquiry for @Wezand anyone else who has "the Book".

This old Caravelle 1.100 kit gives the product no. as RL318. 

Judging by the instructions, state of the decals and style of box I'd say it's very early... Possibly 50s.

Scalemates is a bit confused on it, and shows RL318 with a big yellow flash on the top right corner. 

Also gives a different product no. for the original new tool. 

Any information on RL318 in the reference book?? 

 

The instructions are in the style of a Williams kit, but in French..... 

 

Any insights gratefully received 🤔

[rob Lyttle]

3 hours ago, TonyOD said:

I’ve barely the time to keep up with BM to be honest, let alone get involved with another forum.

Oh I know what you mean, Tony. You can spend an evening messing around on them.... When you could have been building! 

@Heather Kay 's idea sounds like a good plan....

Shouldn't think I'll be spending ages on there but it's a novel challenge. 

And I just seen a first post from a German guy who has completed the E-type Jag Racer same time as me, and the Bentley 

[Wez]

1 hour ago, rob Lyttle said:

Any information on RL318 in the reference book?? 

 

No Rob, not RL318, in fact it gives no product number for it, but Caravelle "Proto F-BBHRA Le premier modèle Heller en décembre 1957" gets a mention as 1^re maquette Heller, or their first kit in other words, it should contain 59 parts.

 

What's more the boxtop you show is exactly the same one in the book for their first kit!

 

Nice find, are you going to make it?

[TonyOD]

The very first Heller kit! What a find! Build it, build it!

 

(Et une gamme sensationelle à paraître - and a sensational range to come. Well they got that right!)

[rob Lyttle]

43 minutes ago, Wez said:

Nice find, are you going to make it?

 

32 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

The very first Heller kit! What a find! Build it, build it!

Well, I want to see how halcyonjet gets on with the Mercure airliner which has some of the "characteristics" of this one. 

The Decal sheet looks a bit compromised. 

Bottom right corner is where I tested it using the unusually large Heller logo on my lamp base.... 

It worked but was fragile! 

Fuselage stripes def look dodgy. 

I can't find aftermarket sheets that are "in stock" in this unusual scale. 

So I'm a bit snookered for the moment. 

I must say, for this kind of age and date of tooling, the raised details are very finely done, but they have also marked the decor on the fuselage and fin with raised lines. 

Also, should I be waiting for the Collectors to turn up and start a bidding war....!? 😜👆

[rob Lyttle]

Ah, wait a minute..... 

For the first time I read the back of the box. That's a bit of a Heller trait, isn't it?? 

I have an "Exact reproduction, in a numbered limited edition, of the first Heller box produced in 1957" 

Text boxes include Poland, Japan and Russia! 

And Airbus, A380, Concorde, Beluga etc are all listed as trademarks. And there is a gurt big barcode ‼️

 

Still haven't found a date, but it ain't 1957 😕

All the rest is a good facsimile of the original, including the instructions and the plastic. 

Edited December 8, 2020 by rob Lyttle
Pic

[TonyW]

You nearly gave me heart failure Rob.

My take on old kits is that the owner can do what he or she likes with them, build, collect, whatever. They own it, it's theirs.

Seeing what I thought was an original, first issue, first ever Heller kit about to be built did make my ticker jump a bit though! The relief when I saw your reveal of a more current kit was huge. Mind you, now I want to see the thing built and in a perfect world, displayed alongside a real mint original.

 

Panic over, ignore me, collectors are weird.

 

 

Tony.

[Johnson]

19 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

Well, I want to see how halcyonjet gets on with the Mercure airliner which has some of the "characteristics" of this one.

Would be nice to see a Caravelle built Rob. Lovely airliner, I had a crush on the plane at Primary School  and got in trouble for spending too long on a project on it!

 

Cheers,

[TonyOD]

On 12/2/2020 at 5:01 PM, fightersweep said:

Well! What do we have here? A 2021 Heller calendar.

 

I ordered the calendar after seeing your post, it arrived the other day. Really interesting range of subjects from tractors to vintage taxis to sailing ships to submarines to (of course) aeroplanes. I'm hard pressed to pick a favourite, but being a mountain freak I'm leaning towards Miss December, the red Alouette III in mountain rescue service. Many will be familiar with the pic as box art but stripped of all the logos, text etc. and printed at that size on quality paper it's just stunning. Like @fightersweep I'm not one for calendar buying (the last ones I remember having are the official Live Aid and Queen ones in 1986), but this will look fab on the wall of my modest little office at work next year. (My office buddy, a female maths teacher half my age, has always been bemused by my plastic plane habit but during lockdown we did some work with a very high-needs kid in our tutor group a couple of times a week. Once we let him have a go at building a model plane and she had great time building a little Airfix Martlet out of my stash. Guess what she's getting for Christmas...)

 

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by TonyOD

[fightersweep]

@TonyOD

 

Glad you bagged yourself a calendar. It's very nicely done with a very varied choice of subjects. I was actually surprised to see only two aviation included. I wonder if Heller have done a calendar before, although I don't recall seeing one. I haven't bought a calendar for years with two exceptions, one being a lovely vintage 1975 Airfix calendar still in it's original carton, and the other was a 2019 calendar of images of the Thames sea forts. A lovely photographer called Flo, who is obsessed with the sea forts, released a calendar of her work last year and I was lucky enough to win a bonus of a chunk of actual sea fort with the calendar. Makes an unusual paper weight!

 

Great to hear you are bringing converts into the hobby. Nice work sir!

 

Steve

[TonyOD]

7 hours ago, fightersweep said:

a 2019 calendar of images of the Thames sea forts.

 

That sounds interesting. There are a couple at the mouth of the Humber, when we take the dogs to Cleethorpes for a run around the beach they look tantalisingly close. One day I might take my little kayak up and paddle out to them for a look. Watch out for me on the news when I get swept out into the North Sea by the tides. (Do I remember one of these things declaring itself an independent country once?)

 

7 hours ago, fightersweep said:

Great to hear you are bringing converts into the hobby. Nice work sir!

 

She has a bit of previous... she's into Dungeons and Dragons and used to paint those little figures. And she calls me a geek. This is her Martlet which I didn't think was a bad first effort.