Johnson Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Looks great Martin, superb job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangseat Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Fabulous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michou Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 (edited) Martin, that is just one beautiful model of a very elegant aircraft! A little bit of background information concerning the kit. Philippe de Lespinay was a designer at Heller and was mostly responsible for their car kits, but he also designed the LeO 45 - his first aircraft kit! Scroll down to the bottom of the page to read about it. https://www.tsrfcars.com/toys-heller.htm I think that M de Lespinay would be very happy to learn that this 55 year old kit is still giving pleasure to modellers. Something I have noticed about the 1980 boxing of the model - it is labelled, incorrectly, Léo 451. The influence, subconsciously or otherwise, of the founder of Heller, Léo Jahiel? Mike Edited March 23, 2021 by Michou unecessary word removed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 48 minutes ago, Michou said: but he also designed the LeO 45 - his first aircraft kit! This perhaps explain the strange construction of wings - the classical way is to attach ailerons or flaps to upper part and here is reversed,,, Regards J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 looks fanstastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Wonderful skills. wonderful model. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Congratulations on a beautiful model well done 👏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 On 3/23/2021 at 10:23 AM, Roman Schilhart said: That's a great build. Very impressive result from such a dated kit. Thank you, Roman. Yes, she needed a fair bit of wrestling! 23 hours ago, Wez said: Martin, Cracking result and I'm glad to have helped you along in some small way to the end result. It really is an attractive aircraft, especially in that scheme, you've done it and the venerable old Heller kit proud there! Thanks a lot, Wez. Your encouragement has been invaluable. 23 hours ago, bryanm said: Beautiful model of a beautiful aeroplane. Many thanks Bryan. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Very nice indeed,..... like that a lot and I`ve learned something into the bargain,.... so win win! Lovely modelling.... well done. Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 just catching up ...... On 3/23/2021 at 2:58 PM, Johnson said: Looks great Martin, superb job! Thanks a lot, mate. Much appreciated On 3/23/2021 at 3:00 PM, Bangseat said: Fabulous! Many thanks On 3/23/2021 at 3:51 PM, Michou said: Martin, that is just one beautiful model of a very elegant aircraft! A little bit of background information concerning the kit. Philippe de Lespinay was a designer at Heller and was mostly responsible for their car kits, but he also designed the LeO 45 - his first aircraft kit! Scroll down to the bottom of the page to read about it. https://www.tsrfcars.com/toys-heller.htm I think that M de Lespinay would be very happy to learn that this 55 year old kit is still giving pleasure to modellers. Something I have noticed about the 1980 boxing of the model - it is labelled, incorrectly, Léo 451. The influence, subconsciously or otherwise, of the founder of Heller, Léo Jahiel? Mike Thanks Mike. Yes, I had this history of the Heller LeO From Mike @72modeler a while back. It is very interesting. As Jerzy @JWM said, maybe it explains the odd construction process for the wings and undercarriage. 21 hours ago, invidia said: looks fanstastic Many thanks 16 hours ago, Pete in a shed said: Wonderful skills. wonderful model. Pete much appreciated, Pete! 5 hours ago, Homer said: Congratulations on a beautiful model well done 👏 Many thanks, mate 👍 1 hour ago, tonyot said: Very nice indeed,..... like that a lot and I`ve learned something into the bargain,.... so win win! Lovely modelling.... well done. Cheers Tony Thanks a lot, Tony. With your experience of larger WW2 types your praise is very much welcomed :). I’m glad it was of interest to you. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Martin. How the heck did I miss this RFI? I had forgotten all about sending the history- glad I could help in a small way to an outstanding build! She looks so pretty in the silver finish, too. Your usual magic worked on an old classic. Way to go! (Wonder what their kits would look like if Heller were a contemporary kit maker?) They sure were prolific back in the day and released kits that have not been produced by any of the modern kit makers, for the most part. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 By the way, I ran her past Claudio (@Moa) too - at his request - as it is an un-armed machine and got her past security Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomkil Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Yes, superb. I have to get me one of these French jobs! And why did Airfix never have a go at one of these back on the day? It was as if the French aircraft industry never made anything between the SPAD and the Mirage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 15 hours ago, 72modeler said: They sure were prolific back in the day and released kits that have not been produced by any of the modern kit makers, for the most part. I agree, Mike. For a diverse range of lesser known French types there was no other choice. None of their great products have ever been re-moulded, but certainly they deserve to be. Thanks for your comments, as always Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 12 hours ago, tomkil said: And why did Airfix never have a go at one of these back on the day? Because they were firmly focussed on the B and D-type roundel machines .... yawn ..... Each to their own, though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 22 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said: None of their great products have ever been re-moulded, Maybe not "ever" - some were re-tooled, like Potez 63 famili by Azur, or all classical Heller French fighters were re-moulded by mostly Czech companies as well. But certainly they deserve re-tooling... Regareds J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 True, Jerzy. Full re-design and moulding would be great for some of their kits. Even the modern types like the Alouette III Just imagine opening the box of a new mould LeO or an Amiot 143 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Martin, With your absence from posting something new, I figured you were applying your mad skills at another outstanding subject. Sure enough, I was not disappointed when I came across this one. Keep `em coming because it only gets better. Superb as usual!!!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds. Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Very smart and a rare bird in these parts. I never considered the French aircraft of the period elegant but this certainly is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Sky Keg said: Martin, With your absence from posting something new, I figured you were applying your mad skills at another outstanding subject. Sure enough, I was not disappointed when I came across this one. Keep `em coming because it only gets better. Superb as usual!!!! Mike Thanks Mike. It certainly was a mad experience but she came good in the end. When I started the build I didn’t appreciate how many changes were required. Cutting and filling the new windows was one things that regularly cane back to haunt me :(. I had a lot of help and encouragement, for which I am very grateful. 2 hours ago, Head in the clouds. said: Very smart and a rare bird in these parts. I never considered the French aircraft of the period elegant but this certainly is. Thanks mate. On the elegance chart she certainly flies around in the higher altitudes Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 Excellent job on such an unusual subject. Nice to see the recognition of your fellow Britmodellers who helped you out. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 28, 2021 Author Share Posted March 28, 2021 On 3/27/2021 at 12:29 AM, Navy Bird said: Excellent job on such an unusual subject. Nice to see the recognition of your fellow Britmodellers who helped you out. Cheers, Bill Thanks a lot, Bill :). Much appreciated! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 I’m late to the RFI but wow! Great subject, great er “interesting” kit, fabulous subject and a great result! Regards, Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Fantastic job on that Martin, really nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Splendide! This is superlative modeling! Impressive does not come anywhere near! Congrats!!! JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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