John Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 I think the first Heller kit I ever built was the Cadet Fouga Magister. It was in a bag and it came from the newsagents at the end of our street. Of course, I was very familiar with the Magister because the baddies in The Aeronauts seemed to have a plentiful supply, given the numbers they lost... Skip forward a few years to the early 1980s and I was working in Stirling within walking distance of The Model Engineer, a real classic model shop. Ken the owner liked Heller kits and kept a good stock, many of which I bought. Heller kits in those days were the state of the art. One of their kits from this era that I never built was the T-33. In fact, I don't think I've ever built a T-33. Airfix and Monogram F-80s, but not the 2-seater. I remember seeing Ormond Haydon-Baillie's "Black Knight" at Old Warden in the 1970s and T-33s were regular visitors to the Leuchars air shows but for some reason I never bought a kit. Time to right a historic wrong. I've acquired a kit and a decal sheet with, of all things, a Burmese option. Who could resist? Photos to follow shortly. Actually, now I think about it, I might have a Magister in the stash as well 🙂 John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 John, welcome to the GB and good luck with your build. I'd personally like to see some photo's because I don't have a clue what a T-33 is 🙂 I took the liberty of removing your first post, it appears you posted the build twice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted November 6, 2020 Author Share Posted November 6, 2020 58 minutes ago, JeroenS said: John, welcome to the GB and good luck with your build. I'd personally like to see some photo's because I don't have a clue what a T-33 is 🙂 I took the liberty of removing your first post, it appears you posted the build twice. Thanks. No idea how that happened, probably something to do with being a bit careless posting from my phone. Back to the PC from now on 🙂 John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 A superb choice, John @John. Those who know me will know my liking for these types of subject Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Hi John @John, any photos of your intended scheme? I guess you have the Hi Decal set? Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 Here we have a 1990s boxing of Heller's excellent 1980 T-33 Shooting Star: The parts are moulded in silver with fine raised detail: Also typically Heller, the decals are out of register 🙄 No matter in this case since, as RidgeRunner correctly surmises, I have a Hi-Decal sheet: Looks like a fun build. John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 Finally, a bit of time to do some work on this kit. First thing to note is that some of the sprue attachments can be described as "substantial": Fortunately the connecting plastic is quite thin, but it's still a bit awkward. First point of construction is attaching the nose. The kit has alternative parts for the RT-33 but in this case we need the plain, unadorned, version: More shortly. John 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Oooh this looks interesting. haven't seen that one before. Which of those Hi-Decal schemes are you going with? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 A great looking plane, good luck with this build. I've got a real liking for the T33 since I did it in 1.48. I have a bunch of photos of the example that used to reside at Tangmere if you need a bit of reference material. I believe that airframe has gone to Lakenheath USAF side for a makeover. This is going to look great! 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Looks really smart John, best of luck. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted November 29, 2020 Author Share Posted November 29, 2020 One thing that dates this otherwise very nice kit is the echoing void inside the main wheel well. Inabootit with some Microstrip and Microrod - no pretensions to being completely accurate but it looks better: John 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Hi John I hope you are well. This GB only has a week to go and the Gallery will look unfinished if your T-33 / RT-33 isn't in it. Have you had a chance to make any more progress since we last heard from you ? Cheers Pat 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