Heller 1/24 Citroen 15 CV (80763) (Ex-763) + + Finished + +

[davecov]

This build is the 2016 re-boxing of the Heller 1/24 Citroen 15 CV which was first released in 1978 (#763).

 

I will post some pictures of the box contents shortly but won't start assembly until later on in the month.

 

Dave

 

[JeroenS]

Great! That's a true classic. Welcome with build nr two and good luck!

[davecov]

Thank you Jeroen.

 

As promised, here are the box contents now. Parts are made from black plastic with additional sprues for clear, "chrome" and rubber parts.

 

The body shell:

 

Sprue 1 - Floor and mudguards:

 

Sprue 2 - Doors, panels and seats:

 

Sprue 3 - Suspension and wheels:

 

Sprue  4 - Engine:

 

Sprue 5 - Chrome parts. The "chrome" is a bit over the top and will be removed and resprayed with Alclad 2 Chrome:

 

Sprue 6 - Transparencies. Also shown are rubber tyres and decals:

 

Instructions Pages 12-1:

 

Instructions Pages 2-3:

 

Instructions Pages 4-5:

 

Instructions Pages 6-7:

 

Instructions Pages 8-9:

 

Instructions Pages 10-11:

 

That's all for now.

 

Dave

[JOCKNEY]

Well, it's difficult to think of anything more French than this ( Let's gloss over that some were made in Britain !)

 

The kit looks beautifully detailed with even the door handles moulded to the inside of the door panels !

 

Absolutely delighted to see this one being built, best of luck.

 

Cheers Pat

[davecov]

Thanks Pat.

 

I will be building another French classic later this month when an Airfix Cars GB starts on the ATF. It is what I call a "build and weep" kit:

 

Fifty-nine years old and never opened. It will make the collectors bawl their eyes out!

 

Dave

[Pete in Lincs]

I've seen Dauphine crash tests on line. Oh dear. I don't know what speed they were doing, but, if you were in the back wrapped in foam, you might just survive.

They were, like most cars of the period, dreadful for rust. The last time I saw a real one was over 25 years ago, in a front garden in Hampshire. It was rusty!

Having said all that, there is a picture somewhere on line of one with arches and huge wheels and it looks great!

Here's a nasty one

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcS-qL3cLVOkPpIMNfzqtpBArkd409E7qNBDcA&usqp=CAU

The front, showing the crumple zone

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcSV5AxBsuEkHji66NP1GFKRnW74Cb1QEidtNQ&usqp=CAU

This one has a Yamaha engine though...

https://speedhunters-wp-production.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/04230703/SH_IATS_RENAULT_DAUPHINE_F-GROUT-2-2-1200x800.jpg

[rob Lyttle]

Love it!! 

Collectors are a pain anyway, with the inflation prices and hoarding. 

Build it and enjoy the ride 😎‼️

Just so I don't miss out, what is the ATF?? 

 

 

It's OK I figured it out.... 🙂

Looking forward to the classic Citroën too. Box pictures look good and very typical Heller. 

Allez les voitures 🇫🇷

[Bengalensis]

Good that you found the Citroën kit! Will be nice to see it coming together.

The kit looks good, but I have never truly built it myself, only used it as a base for a radical conversion.

 

The Dauphine is also nice, I hope we will see more of it here on BM as well. I have some tucked away myself.

It's a lovely little car the Renault Dauphine, I have done full restorations to a few in 1/1 scale years ago, even a R1093.

[Pete in Lincs]

If anyone wants a bargain....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Airfix-Renault-Dauphine-in-1-32nd-scale/402460993892?hash=item5db48b6964:g:PUQAAOSw31pfcM6c

[davecov]

No takers for that item and no surprise with an opening bid of £75 and BIN of £110.

 

Dave

[wimbledon99]

Another build with 4 wheels - Lovely

[davecov]

This is just a little aside to this build. I have another one of these cars in my stash but in a later boxing. The box is a much flimsier affair:

 

Contents for the most part are unprotected. At least the older boxing had every sprue contained in a plastic bag. The instruction leaflet also has come colour which does help during construction so I may well use this version. One bonus was that there is a second sheet of decals included by mistake:

 

BTW, another difference is that the earlier boxing showed "158 pieces" on the box where this later one says "160 pieces". I have compared instruction leaflets and they are identical so one box is in error. Life is too short to sit down and count the pieces of both boxes to check....

 

That's all for now.

 

Dave

[TonyOD]

On 10/4/2020 at 3:36 PM, rob Lyttle said:

Collectors are a pain anyway, with the inflation prices and hoarding. 

😂

 

I feel there is a doctoral thesis entitled The Psychology of the Stash just waiting to be written...

[davecov]

I will be away from my modelling bench for a couple of weeks from today but I do have a little to report. Last night I spent a couple of hours removing parts from the sprue and cleaning them up. Some of the smaller parts (top right) have been left on the sprue until they will be needed during construction:

 

I am having a problem with the chrome parts. When I made a Heller Bugatti earlier this year, I soaked the chrome parts in Domestos and the chrome disappeared in less than three minutes. However, last night I soaked the chrome parts of this kit in a jar of Domestos and the chrome refused to budge. I left it overnight and it hasn't made any difference. I will be leaving it for the two weeks that I am away so hopefully it will have been removed by the time I return. If not, I will use another method.

 

That's all for now.

 

Dave

[davecov]

Back from my holibobs to the Kyle of Lochalsh and back to the modelling bench.

 

In my previous post, I had mentioned the chrome parts were not being stripped by the bleach as quickly as I had hoped:

 

However, on my return home, the chrome had been removed from the parts and here they are having been rinsed in water:

 

Last night I started to assemble the engine and filled the multitude of ejector pin marks:

 

The floor of the car had plenty too:

 

Looks like a lot of sanding ahead.

 

That's all for now.

 

Dave

[TimJ]

Your floor looks very similar to my Talbot's at the moment. 

[AdrianMF]

Looks like a super kit - once you’ve filled all the ejector pin marks! Looking forward to seeing you build it.
 

Is this an “any colour you like, as long as it’s black” car, or have you got a different colour in mind?

 

Regards,

Adrian

[davecov]

Hi Adrian, I did consider a two-tone Black/Cream finish but in the end I decided that this build would be an all-black affair. If and when I get round to building the other one in my stash, then that will get the Black/Cream finish.

 

Dave

[davecov]

Sanding all done.

 

The bulkheads were glued in place:

 

The rear wheel arches were glued to the body. The joins were not too good and needed a lot of filler:

 

The top of the engine compartment and battery were fitted:

 

Rear suspension almost completed and front suspension construction is underway:

 

The front sections of the bodywork were glued in place:

 

Front suspension now fully assembled:

 

I fitted the bumper mounts and horns to the rear of the bumpers:

 

I still have a bit more preparation to do but it shouldn't be long before I start painting.

 

That's all for now.

 

Dave

[Heather Kay]

The appearance of all these gorgeous 1/24th scale vehicles is causing a serious itch here at Kay Towers. I used to be into such things in my younger days, before I was bewitched by aircraft models and other pursuits. I find myself lingering over Heller car listings on various web sites. This won’t end well.

[davecov]

I know what you mean, Heather. I built the Heller Bugatti T.50 earlier this year and have definitely caught the Heller bug:

 

Dave

[davecov]

Painting time.

 

I gave the "chrome" parts a spraying of Alclad 2 Gloss Black Base:

 

Some of the non-"chrome" parts were also sprayed black:

 

The hub caps were also done after a lot of sanding to get their edges even (lower four hubs come from another kit):

 

Some more bits and bobs:

 

Even more...:

 

The engine block was also given a coat of black:

 

The engine block was brush-painted with a first coat of H3 Gloss Brunswick Green:

 

Alclad 2 Chrome (ALC-107) was applied to some of the parts:

 

More "chrome":

 

Hub caps weren't forgotten:

 

That's all for now.

 

Dave

[AdrianMF]

It’s all looking very nice. The Bugatti looks really smart too. I didn’t realise how much detail under the hood these cars have.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[davecov]

Thanks Adrian. 👍

 

A little more progress to report.

 

The black parts were given a coat of H21 Gloss Black. It went on particularly well so I sprayed the matt parts with the same black and will give them a coat of matt varnish later:

 

Another view of the bodyshell:

 

I will be leaving the black paint to cure for a couple of days before I continue with assembly. In the meantime I will finally decide what colour to do the interior.

 

That's all for now.

 

Dave

[JeroenS]

The black is looking very period correct Dave!