Jump to content

Heller Saab J-21.


Recommended Posts

Hi Folk's,a little fun build of Heller's 70's era Saab J-21,I often grab a little cheapie when I order from King Kit usually what's on offer around a fiver or less

and to be honest most end up in the bin for one reason or another.This kit was a joy right till the decal's self destructed hence the bogus I.D. made from spare's

and then the awful canopy so don't look too close,thank's for looking in!

20190507_111807

 

20190507_111748

 

20190507_111741

 

20190507_111718

 

20190507_111649

 

20190507_111610

 

20190507_111435

 

20190507_111358

 

  • Like 35
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice job Sir! Looks fantastic and a kit we don't see built very often. I've got a couple of the "black box" renditions in the stash, and it's looks to be quite a nice kit for it's age, as a lot of those 70s Heller kits did. Think I picked mine up from Kingkit too come to think of it.

 

Steve

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, fightersweep said:

Nice job Sir! Looks fantastic and a kit we don't see built very often. I've got a couple of the "black box" renditions in the stash, and it's looks to be quite a nice kit for it's age, as a lot of those 70s Heller kits did. Think I picked mine up from Kingkit too come to think of it.

 

Steve

Thank's Steve,thinking about it I should point out the "awful" in respect of the canopy refers to my painting,yes it's a bit odd in construction but with

care look's very good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really neat rendition of this Heller classic!

 

The J 21A itself was not a great classic as a dogfighter, if truth be told. The rear-placed prop also meant that there was no airflow over the radiators in the leading edge of the wings. As a result, the coolant would start to boil during ground run-up and taxing. You would often see mechanics with portable, hand pumped fire extinguishers spraying water into the radiator openings.

 

On the other hand, the J 21 was one of the first series produced planes in the world equipped with an ejection seat (I think that the He 219 might have been the first). It's easy to understand why an ejection seat was a good idea, looking at the position of that massive VDM prop, driven by a DB 605…

 

Nice modelling, Steve!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Steve,

 

this kit looks great, ad you could have fooled me (correction: you did fool me!) with these bogus decals... What you don't know cannot hurt you...?

Anyway, another splendid rendition of a very special plane!

Congrats

 

JR

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice rendition of an interesting subject.

Proof that older kits can often make good replicas, in the hands of a skilled builder (such as yourself).

Well done.

:goodjob:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a Swede with an real life 1/1 SAAB 21 not far away I would say you ended up with an rather good looking J-21. Think this is the first time I see an "Yellow C"... :)

 

And the Heller J-21 is till an wery good kit. Often seen at IPMS Stockholm.

 

https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10658

 

Cheers / André

Edited by Andre B
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, stevej60 said:

decal's self destructed

Were this the Heller decals? If so, did they look completely flat, without the sheen of the protective varnish? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Classic Heller!

 

Classic Steve!

 

Well done, you've produced a beauty there! 

 

Hoping to see at least one of these in next year's Classic Heller GB...  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thank's for the comment's folk's and info on the real thing!

4 hours ago, Sturmovik said:

Were this the Heller decals? If so, did they look completely flat, without the sheen of the protective varnish? 

Hi Sturmovik all but the yellow C's are the original Heller decal's which were great only the tail ID letter's broke up for some reason.

 

3 hours ago, Wez said:

Hoping to see at least one of these in next year's Classic Heller GB...  

Well there's still plenty out there Wez I think even new boxing's before Heller's recent woes,should be a great GB next year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice build, and as the others have commented, not a kit seen built very often. I have both the prop and jet versions, and hope when the time comes, I can do as good a job as you have. Heller sure turned out some very nice kits back in the day, many of which have never been redone- with a little extra effort like you have put in, they can be made into  very nice models. Well done!

Mike

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice build of a less common subject. Built one in the Nurses Home at St James's in Leeds in the early eighties when I was a student nurse. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...