TonyW Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Another Mvsee series plane from me. This time it's the twin engined Potez 631. Each time I hit a wall on my other builds I seem to dig out another kit. I see that as a positive at the moment. Three days from the end of the group build that may turn around and bite me though. Never mind, onward and upward! Bought at the Peterborough Show when it was last held, along with a few other Heller gems. It's part started, but within the rules. The last owner thoughtfully added colour callouts to the instruction sheet that will come in handy. Less handy is a missing undercarriage leg and wheel. I'll have to make one. Ho Hum. There's a Falcon canopy set on its way here so the cockpit will need a bit of work. I've broken down the assembled bits to make a start. Colours and contents of the cockpit are complete unknowns to me so there's a bit of research in my future. The first box, shown above, is the weakest artwork in the early Mvsee series in my opinion. The second try, in the black box series did the model justice though. It's a stunner! Talking of boxes, check out the size difference between the Heller Potez and the slightly bigger Airfix Anson... I guess they needed to add something to justify the high prices charged in the UK. It would be interesting to see how Heller were priced against Airfix in France at the time. More as it happens... Tony. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 That's a very sleek looking aircraft, I like it. I know little about aircraft apart from that they (should) fly so I'll be watching this one. Welcome with build nr 5 (I can see what you're doing, you want to make the top of the list don't you 😉) and have fun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 1 hour ago, JeroenS said: That's a very sleek looking aircraft, I like it. I know little about aircraft apart from that they (should) fly so I'll be watching this one. Welcome with build nr 5 (I can see what you're doing, you want to make the top of the list don't you 😉) and have fun. There's a part of me that would like to build all the Museum Series aircraft. There's another part that's trying to hold that one back! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Great choice Tony I believe these aircraft had lots of problem from our own AA fire as people mistook them for a Messerschmitt 110 ! I treated myself to some aftermarket decals recently and this aircraft is included, interestingly they show it having a yellow painted nose as well but without stripes. I appreciate you are a bit away from that stage but, thought it best to let you know. Best of luck. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dean Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 So you have to paint those red & yellow stripes? Yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 A bit of forward progress on the Potez today. Not much, but it's a step in the right direction. A Falcon canopy has been trimmed and trial fitted. It looks very nice. It also shines a great big spotlight on the interior. That will need something more than the kit supplied pieces to fill it up! Checking out an early Profile on the Potez 63, I see that I can do the centerfold plane by swapping around a couple of the fin serial numbers on the old Heller sheet. If I go that route I won't have to mask and paint the red and yellow Vichy stripes. That idea does appeal somewhat. Tony. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 On 10/4/2020 at 3:08 PM, JOCKNEY said: Great choice Tony I believe these aircraft had lots of problem from our own AA fire as people mistook them for a Messerschmitt 110 ! Cheers Pat Hi Pat, According to book I have somewhere, that was why the white stripe was painted down the side of the fuselage several months before the armistice - I always thought that it was something to dp with Vichy markings, but apparently not!. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Great choice Tony, it's easy to see why it got confused for a Bf-110. Are these of any use to you? 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 Any use! They are out of this world. Thank you so much for adding them here. The soundtrack on the first will be on a constant loop here while I build the plane. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Hi Tony Incidentally I have read that the unit with the Bat insignia (ECN 1/13) became an improvised night fighter unit during the early part of the war so perhaps another similarity to the 110! Without any radar either in the air or on the ground it did not I think have much success. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 After a few weeks neglect, this one's back on the bench. A bit of basic and invented interior detailing got added today, to go some way to filling the cockpit area. There's more going in there once it's all dried properly. A quick look with the Falcon canopy in place see's things looking suitably busy inside. I'm going for the airframe shown in the early Profile and the transfers are all sorted. The grey spray primer I've used is a close enough match for the Profile illustrations for me to use it as the grey part of the scheme. Humbrol authentics provided the green and brown and they also match pretty well. As usual, the transfers went on as soon as the paint was dry enough. Transfers bring a model to life for me and I like to get some on early in a build to get a feel for how things are shaping up. The tiny outer roundels came from a Hobyboss sheet. The are slightly big but the only other small ones I have here are from the Heller provided sheet and they are too small as well as out of register. The big roundels came from a FROG Maryland sheet. Fuselage markings will be decided on once the plane is in one bit. There's a couple of choices so one or the other should work. Fin flashes are original Heller and the two I've done so far went on perfectly. A coat of acrylic satin varnish sealed up todays progress and I should have more to report tomorrow. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 That's a nice vibrant green. A colour completely missing from my selection of paints, as I found out in this GB! The interior looks fab too. Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Looking very good indeed - I can't help seeing these builds of French airframes and looking on auction sites for my own examples - a most satisfying experience! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Hi Tony, Interestingly, your Humbrol Authentic "Vert" is much better than the one I bought not long after it came out - which is almost "grass green". I still have the tin and some of the kits I used it on and it is far too bright/yellow in colour so I can only assume they changed their minds and darkened it or else I got one from a bad batch - whatever, yours looks a lot better. See what I meant? It is in the bin now as it has gone solid. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 In the last picture above, the tail surfaces have straight green on them. The wings have a clear coat over them that darkens the finish slightly. I'll add the tin number tomorrow. It's one of the Authentics range that I had loose in my paint draw. I don't think it came from the French set although perhaps it should have done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 (edited) Hi Tony, That could explain it - mine was HF 2, and as far as I am concerned, whatever green you used is a much closer match to the real thing AFAIK! As I said elsewhere the original Colourcoats range from White Ensign had 3 "Verts" ranging from dark to light but none were as yellow as my Humbrol version - Jamie now only stocks one I believe. I Think the darkest one from White Ensign wss for pre-war aircraft, such as the Potez 540, and used as an alternative to "Chocolat" as on my Amiot.. Pete Edited November 2, 2020 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 3, 2020 Author Share Posted November 3, 2020 A little more progress. Cowls fitted along with the exhausts. Props are push fit and only there for the photo. A bit of exhaust stain added and the tail parts have been glued together, after the second pair of fin flashes were added. There's a bit more to be done on the engines, but that's for later. The green I've used is Humbrol Authentics HM 13 which is apparently from the ceremonial uniforms set! Robs Authentics listing provided the info... https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/authentics.htm As that colour probably isn't going to be too easy to find, I had a go at re-creating something close. Humbrol Green No.2 with a dash of dark blue gets close. A touch of black gets it closer again. The HM13 is on the left of the lid. On the right is straight Green H2 with blue added to the centre and black added lower centre. That's a rough and ready mix going on there, but a bit of fine tuning would get you a good copy of HM13 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 Nice work so far and I especially like the extra bit of work in the cockpit. Makes all the difference. This is another of those nostalgic Heller kits for me. Bought one when I was 12 or 13. I think it was the same boxing as this one, except that I do remember the plastic being chocolate brown. I've just picked a couple up, one in the box style here, and another in the late 80s style Mvsee box. I now have the itch to build one of them. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 Those wrongly sized outer wing roundels were bugging me a bit so I painted them over and started again. Nothing French amongst my transfer stocks fitted the bill. All too big. Rescue came in the form of a bit of make and mend. A couple of small red discs from an ancient Blik/ Letraset rub down US Stars and Bars set got me the red outer. Careful cutting away of the outer ring on some tiny Greek roundels provided the white middle and blue center. I'm a lot happier with things now. A bit more got done inside the cockpit as well, although I suspect I'll be re-doing it as I'm not too happy with the look. I'm trying hard to keep the build simple but silly stuff keeps cropping up. The pilot seat and the one behind him are far too low down. I'll be raising them up some. I fitted some Tamiya tape seatbelts to add a bit of interest in there but they look too thick to me. I'll detail paint them tomorrow and make my mind up about them then. Tony. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Looks great Tony, the open plan cockpit is very inspiring. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 23 hours ago, TonyW said: I'm trying hard to keep the build simple but silly stuff keeps cropping up. Ah yes, I know this problem - the more you detail it up the more you'll find to improve further... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Another very streamlined aircraft from the French, some similarities with my Bloch 174. I'm still trying to work out what the correct matches are for the green & brown. Very gallic colour tones I think. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 5, 2020 Author Share Posted November 5, 2020 8 minutes ago, Lightningboy2000 said: Another very streamlined aircraft from the French, some similarities with my Bloch 174. I'm still trying to work out what the correct matches are for the green & brown. Very gallic colour tones I think. Martin Ah, correct colours... A minefield if ever there was one. I'm pretty happy with the colours I'm using on this one, with the green possibly being a bit dark. Go with what looks right to you and you can't go wrong! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 1 minute ago, TonyW said: Ah, correct colours... A minefield if ever there was one. I'm pretty happy with the colours I'm using on this one, with the green possibly being a bit dark. Go with what looks right to you and you can't go wrong! I've got some FS matches in the instructions that came with the decals for my Bloch 174 & my acrylic equivalents still don't look right. The brown is similar but too dark. 🤣 Yes, you get all these instructions but at the end of the day it all boils down to what looks right to the eye! 👍 Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 5, 2020 Author Share Posted November 5, 2020 It's an aircraft now! Wings and tail fitted, fuselage closed up, waiting on the glue to set before more action. Everything fitted well but the wings needed tugging up a tad, hence the rubber band. More tomorrow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now