JohnT Posted April 26, 2019 Share Posted April 26, 2019 I was perusing another modelling site - (is that a hanging offense? I can plead insanity and get off though) and read that "Glow2B Germany" who originated from “Heller Deutschland” will be forming a new Heller company. This appears to be their Press Release on the matter:- "To all those interested in the development of Heller and Glow2B Germany. For more than 60 years the construction kits of the Heller brand were developed and produced in Normandy, France by experienced staff. The Heller brand and its over 400 products were acquired by Glow2B Germany. Glow2B Germany originated from “Heller Deutschland”, the erstwhile German subsidiary. Today Glow2B Germany GmbH is one of the largest distributors of plastic models in Europe. Its strengths are a remarkably high availability of its over 24,000 active products, fast delivery, flexibility and the new Easy-to-buy-System which allows for easy ordering by traders, and delivers all requested information in a fast and reliable manner. Soon a new company Heller will come into being. It will be the owner of the brand Heller and the over 1,500 steel moulds for the production. This company will undertake all future investments in new products and marketing. One of the first investments will be for the long awaited model of the [Renault] ESTAFETTE. Other projects are already in the pipeline. The focus of future development will be on models with a link to the French market and French modelers. This means historic ships, airplanes and vehicles. Military vehicles in 1:35 or 1:72 were never a strong side of Heller and will not be so in the future either. A team of French and German modelers has been formed to work on future projects. Other nationalities however are also welcome. The team will meet in Normandy, France and in Germany. We are happy that Eric David will be the team leader. Eric has been working to revive the Heller brand for several years. With a renewed and strong focus on the Modeling Theme Eric will be responsible for the distribution and marketing of the Heller brand. At the same time he will help build the distribution in France of the other brands distributed by Glow2B Germany. We will be back with much additional and exiting information in the coming weeks." Tres Bien excellente nouvelle Bon chance mon amis John 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted April 26, 2019 Share Posted April 26, 2019 Well that sounds promising. Thanks for posting up the info. I have just as much fondness for Heller as I do Airfix, so it sounds as though we will continue to see the old kits we all know and love (in most cases) and some investment in new tooling too. I wish them all the success. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 I hope it goes well for them. Choosing to not really bother with 1/72 is a bit of a bummer for me personally, but I can understand if they want to aim at less saturated markets (though looking across the channel, well, British 1/72 armour ain't exactly saturated, hint hint... oh well). I'll just hope for some interesting ships in 1/700 instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 I love Heller kit's so it's good news indeed,it's a difficult one to call this as newer younger modeller's don't have the nostalgia for these kit's and it's going to be a long hard climb getting the company back to where say Airfix are from ten year's ago but better than vanishing from the market altogether. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhouse Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 That's great news. However,I was initially rather alarmed as I misread the thread title as "Hitler revived from the dead". 16 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radpoe Spitfire Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 8 hours ago, bhouse said: That's great news. However,I was initially rather alarmed as I misread the thread title as "Hitler revived from the dead". Good job I hadn't read this at 3 am on a night shift- I'd have come to the same conclusion 😂😂😂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 I thought Heller was still active. They have been re-releasing many of the older kits with a few new ones every so often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 This is good news, I wish all the luck to the new company ! Heller kits are still interesting for many subjects, but more importantly it will be good to see some new moulds from them. That an entity working in distribution is taking control may mean that they will work following clear directions in the market, something that can be very positive for the brand. Fingers crossed, looking forward to new Heller moulds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 It is good to see them back, the new decals are very good as well. The new boxings CL-215 & CL-415 are worth it for the decal sheets alone Julien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Waht markings do you get in the CL-215 and 415? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 CL-215 Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) UD.13-13 | September 1993 Polemikì Aeroporia (Hellenic Air Force) 1045 | November 2014 Province du Saskatchewan C-FAFO | 2010 Securité Civile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 It would appear many old moulds are not considered being more than scrap value, viz the acquisition of Revell US's toolbank by the Investors in Revell Bünde and their subsequent handing down to Atlantis, and I can hardly imagine Glow2B invested a fortune in Heller's Tools. I was somewhat surprised they Claim 72nd AFVs were no strong side of Heller - they had quite a selection in the 70s, though admittedly many were variants of Basic tooling (AMX 13 and 30). I also wish them very well, and would hope they go through their inventory with an open eye for stuff that will spin them Money from collectors (in a small enough Batch) like their Coléoptère. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturmovik Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 On 13/06/2019 at 15:46, tempestfan said: an open eye for stuff that will spin them Money from collectors Hoping then for a newly tooled A-4B/P and A-4C/Q in 48 then. I can dream can't I? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 On 13/06/2019 at 14:17, Paul J said: What markings do you get in the CL-215 and 415? For the 215 as above a massive sheet which fills the box, tho for the 415 only one option Securite Civil The decals are really nice looking though, glossy in register and well printed. Another nice kit I just picked up is the SAAB91 Safir. This come with decals for Sweden, Finland, Norway and Austria. Julien 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Julien said: Another nice kit I just picked up is the SAAB91 Safir. This come with decals for Sweden, Finland, Norway and Austria. Julien That Safir is a lovely little kit. The Caudron Simoun is similarly nice and something a bit different too. What impresses me with some of the older Heller kits is the finesse of some of the detail , and also things like the thinness of trailing edges, cockpit sides etc. They were pretty good for their day. Steve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 28 minutes ago, fightersweep said: The Caudron Simoun is similarly nice and something a bit different too. What impresses me with some of the older Heller kits is the finesse of some of the detail , and also things like the thinness of trailing edges, cockpit sides etc. They were pretty good for their day. Steve Yes that is a nice little kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Smith Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Interesting news....In my ignorance, I thought that they were still a part of a Humbrol / Airfix / Heller conglomerate. The new setup hopefully will bring out some totally new and unusual subject matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarz-Brot Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 To be honest, I don't expect anything new too soon, if ever. But let's hope I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 16 hours ago, Noel Smith said: Interesting news....In my ignorance, I thought that they were still a part of a Humbrol / Airfix / Heller conglomerate. The new setup hopefully will bring out some totally new and unusual subject matter. Their spin-off from the Humbrol/Heller/Airfix Group contributed quite heavily to Humbrol's Problems, way back when, as Heller moulded most (if not all) of Airfix's kits back then, and Heller's insolvency meant Humbrol couldn't get the mouldings, while the administrator sat on the moulds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 On 6/15/2019 at 9:38 PM, Sturmovik said: Hoping then for a newly tooled A-4B/P and A-4C/Q in 48 then. I can dream can't I? Hmmm, my Point was they should have a look which of the existing moulds may be used to generate instant income, possibly from collectors who would be willing to pay say 35 € for a Coléoptère reissue. An A-4 will likely be low down their list for new Tools, as they state they want to be gallocentric in the future again, and France never used the A-4. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 On 19/06/2019 at 08:40, tempestfan said: Their spin-off from the Humbrol/Heller/Airfix Group contributed quite heavily to Humbrol's Problems, way back when, as Heller moulded most (if not all) of Airfix's kits back then, and Heller's insolvency meant Humbrol couldn't get the mouldings, while the administrator sat on the moulds. Did you mean to say that HORNBY couldn't get the moulds? That's what I recall. There was also some confusion as to which moulds should go back to Heller and which should be made available to Hornby as part of their purchase of Airfix (although modellers of a certain age would probably have been able top put them right if they'd been bothered to ask). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 No, I meant that, as I recall it, Humbrol had their supply chain for kits interrupted when Heller went insolvent, and couldn’t have them moulded elsewhere as the administrator claimed Heller ownership. This situation drained Humbrol‘s liquidity beyond breaking point, IIRC. Hornby got all moulds in their buy as far as I am aware, safe for some that were „joint projects“ from the Humbrol era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Is there a way to identify these more recent reissues ? Did they change style of box ? Heller kits from a couple years ago had awful decals, if these newer ones have good decals would be good to get these and not the older Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Giorgio N said: Is there a way to identify these more recent reissues ? Did they change style of box ? Heller kits from a couple years ago had awful decals, if these newer ones have good decals would be good to get these and not the older All the new kits I have had are in the new floppy boxes which close at the front. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepureness Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 (edited) I just purchased the 1/72 Warning star for just £25 brand new, yes the kit is old but it comes with a whole new decal sheet produced by a 3rd party and the decals are stunning along with the stencil data. The 3rd party is called Plus model, so it now comes with the same decals which were in that huge expensive multimedia boxing of the kit by Plus Model Edited June 22, 2019 by thepureness 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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