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Heller 1/24 Citroën 2CV


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Hello. First post here for me, I'm usually skulking around the aircraft section.

And my first modelling post for a long while. (Aren't you lucky!) My workbench often gets neglected over the summer when the weather is more pleasant. A double hernia op two weeks ago gave me a good excuse to get some kit time in, while I was confined to barracks.

 

Well, it's been on the bench for months. Started straight off the back of the excellent Matchbox GB and I'm already trying to banish it from my memory, this kit really sucked all the joy out of modelling for me, right from the get go. Can't really put my finger on what exactly it was on this 30 year old kit that I found so uninspiring. I didn't like the fact the 2CV's best feature, the roll back roof, was molded closed. The only part of the kit that was animated was the bonnet, which just sits in place, it's not hinged, allowing you to lift it off and see the engine. And that doesn't even fit. I'm getting angry again just typing this out!

 

I'm the type of modeller who builds one kit at a time. I don't have a shelf of doom. I don't park a kit and start another. Once I start the kit gets done, regardless. Of course there are many flaws in this method! As I got near the end of the build and my already low enthusiasm waned, I made several schoolboy errors in the final push to get it over the line. Mistakes that would have broken my heart on other builds just got a lackadaisical shrug! Also I was having a major battle trying to airbrush on the orange paint. The thinned Tamiya acrylic needed so many coats I lost count, and still showed grey primer though it. Like I said, one of those builds plagued with mistakes!

 

Anyway, I didn't deem it worthy of setting up decent studio shots, you just get a few slapdash phone pics! I'm just putting this out there in the forlorn hope it may exorcise whatever modelling gremlins currently plague me 🙄

 

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Heller 1/24 Citroen 2CV by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Heller 1/24 Citroen 2CV by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Heller 1/24 Citroen 2CV by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Heller 1/24 Citroen 2CV by Mike, on Flickr

 

I have two other Heller Citroen in the stash, the Traction Avant, and the newish HY van. Two vehicles I love, but I may put a few aircraft through the workbench before tackling them!

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Like you, I build one at a time and don't like to leave a build unfinished so I can relate to your wanting to get it over and done with. Despite all the battles, it still looks good, and let's be honest when it comes to the bonnet the 2CV was never a car famous for its tight shutlines 😄 Given cars aren't your usual thing and that it's therefore out of your comfort zone I think you can be pleased with it.

 

I can relate to the issues with Tamiya Orange and coverage. A bit late for me to be telling you this, but white primer would definitely have been your friend here. I found a similar thing with their Orange rattlecan paint - fortunately I tested on white and grey primed spoons before moving onto the model.

 

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1 hour ago, Spiny said:

I can relate to the issues with Tamiya Orange and coverage. A bit late for me to be telling you this, but white primer would definitely have been your friend here. I found a similar thing with their Orange rattlecan paint - fortunately I tested on white and grey primed spoons before moving onto the model.

 

Cheers Spiny. In the back of my head I knew different primer colours have different results. I've used pink primer with yellow before. I should have paid a bit more attention on this one!

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That's a great looking model!  Surely being able to produce such a good result from a crap kit is much more of an achievement than one built from a top-notch manufacturer.

 

Of course, if you were after true realism you would have included rust bubbles around the windscreen, the door mirror would be just a stub, one door would be held on with baler twine or wire and there would be a bale of straw on the back seat.  Or a sheep...  :giggle:

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A fine build and an appropriate colour. Can anyone recommend a good 2 CV kit in 1/24 scale? The weak point of all the kits I know is the shape of the headlights, they always seem a bit different from real Citroën headlights.  The ones of the Heller HY kit also just don't seem to have the correct shape/profile.

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The lackadaisical shrug is common to Heller engineers but.... You've made a nice little model out of it I dare say. I like the colour, it fits the 2CV very well.

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On 7/13/2022 at 10:27 AM, Neddy said:

That's a great looking model!  Surely being able to produce such a good result from a crap kit is much more of an achievement than one built from a top-notch manufacturer.

 

Of course, if you were after true realism you would have included rust bubbles around the windscreen, the door mirror would be just a stub, one door would be held on with baler twine or wire and there would be a bale of straw on the back seat.  Or a sheep...  :giggle:

 

As an owner of a pretty beat up 63 year old original factory paint kombi, I really want to have a go at realistic weathering! The factory fresh look does little for me, but I just wanted to wrap this up and put it behind me! I've got big plans for the HY van though! Signwriting AND weather! Watch this space!

 

On 7/13/2022 at 11:06 AM, Bengalensis said:

Looking into the box of the Heller 2CV kit it isn't the best of the available 1/24 2CV's, but you have certainly made a very good looking model from it! And a lovely colour choice on top of that. Very nice!

 

It took a while to choose the orange, but pinterest was my friend here. The kit was a present from work colleagues for my birthday last year. I think if I was looking for a 2cv kit, I'd like an early ribbed bonnet example. Colour choices are much more limited the further back you go though, I think up to 1958 it was either grey, or grey! It's not until 1960 you get a massive choice of 4 colours!
https://www.paintcolourchart.com/cars/010/2cv/1960.html

 

21 hours ago, JohnE said:

A fine build and an appropriate colour. Can anyone recommend a good 2 CV kit in 1/24 scale? The weak point of all the kits I know is the shape of the headlights, they always seem a bit different from real Citroën headlights.  The ones of the Heller HY kit also just don't seem to have the correct shape/profile.

 

I'd be interested in a better kit too. Tamiya looked good? Any others? I notice there is a Fourgonette van out there as well, but quite pricey.

 

13 hours ago, JeroenS said:

The lackadaisical shrug is common to Heller engineers but.... You've made a nice little model out of it I dare say. I like the colour, it fits the 2CV very well.

Thanks @JeroenS  Yes, the kit was disappointing as soon as I opened the box! I'm much more impressed with the more recent HY van though. I know people have issues with the clear parts for the doors, but this kit does inspire me much more. 

 

 

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For me the Revell 2cv is a quite good kit.

The front  lights look better than the ones from the Tamiya kit. You can choose an open or closed top. If you get a Charlston version you will get chromed parts.  The "Sause Ente" don't offer chromed parts but a real nice decalsheet 

Marco F 

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3 hours ago, Marco F. said:

For me the Revell 2cv is a quite good kit.

The front  lights look better than the ones from the Tamiya kit. You can choose an open or closed top. If you get a Charlston version you will get chromed parts.  The "Sause Ente" don't offer chromed parts but a real nice decalsheet 

Marco F 

Good call @Marco F.

 

https://www.super-hobby.com/products/Citroen-2CV-1228014.html#gallery_start

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Nice work @Quiet Mike.

 

I'm the same as you, there's no shelf of doom here, everything presses on regardless. I like the 2CV and I wouldn't worry about the primer/paint question, it just looks suitably used. Slightly shonky cars are far more interesting than showroom fresh. 

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1 hour ago, Anteater said:

Nice work @Quiet Mike.

 

I'm the same as you, there's no shelf of doom here, everything presses on regardless. I like the 2CV and I wouldn't worry about the primer/paint question, it just looks suitably used. Slightly shonky cars are far more interesting than showroom fresh. 

 

Cheers Ant. Just dug this out, our shonky Kombi, next to a suitably shonky 2cv!

 

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Vintage Nostalgia Festival 2021 by Mike, on Flickr

 

And if ever I make a model of it, I'd love to replicate the weathering on the roof!

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Kombi 2022 by Mike, on Flickr

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Nice work on the Deux Cheveux Mike.   

Re the bus. The newer Revell kits look great, I am going to do a tin top using the Westy SO42 Turret top and using the van roof from the Jagermeister van kit, they look good kits and you should be able to model yours that way too although you'd be left with a turret topped van or just fill the turret top hole I suppose.

Chris

 

 

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6 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Nice work on the Deux Cheveux Mike.   

Re the bus. The newer Revell kits look great, I am going to do a tin top using the Westy SO42 Turret top and using the van roof from the Jagermeister van kit, they look good kits and you should be able to model yours that way too although you'd be left with a turret topped van or just fill the turret top hole I suppose.

Chris

 

 

 

I know being a fellow vintage vw nerd Chris, you'll appreciate my dilemma that no one produces an early pre-60 small back window bus 🙄

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48 minutes ago, Quiet Mike said:

 

I know being a fellow vintage vw nerd Chris, you'll appreciate my dilemma that no one produces an early pre-60 small back window bus 🙄

Yes that is an issue, the bus I am doing is a 57, sun bus and so going to have to scratch a lot, the rear window, side windows as different and open at hhe bottom🙄 still that's modelling .  Luckily the interior is the same as a Westy so that saves a lot of work. 

Chris

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