Popular Post woody37 Posted September 27, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted September 27, 2022 A record finish I think, less than 2 weeks to turn this round! It's the SMER kit that I believe was first released by Heller back in 1967! Despite its age, it's not a bad little kit, the only issue I had was a short shot front turret. Fitting the wings and getting the struts aligned was best described as a pig! I may replace the gun barrels for something more to scale, but I wanted to do this as a mojo restorer and as the start of a collection of mid war unusual yet strangely attractive French aircraft. It was primed in MRP green and painted in what I believe to be French Khaki of which I mixed Tamiya XF49 Khaki with XF5 green in a 2:1 ratio. I also experimented with the Uschi Trinity Splatter weathering templates that @Fuad used on a recent build that I forgot I had in the drawer! I've kept it subtle but added some mud splashing underneath as I suspect the mudguards didn't fully protect it. Thanks for looking Neil 75 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Better than mine! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Slowbuild Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 That really doesn’t look like a kit from 1967! Fantastic build Neil. The khaki finish is outstanding- could have been a bit boring but is actually really alive. Lovely. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenoz Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Splendid result. Love the metallic finish of the nacelles... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Fabulous model. An inspiring build Neil, just goes to show what can be done with the older moulds when in the hands of an experienced and skilled modeller. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maginot Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Très bien. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Schilhart Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 An incredibly ugly aircraft, but an excellent model! The only area where the kit shows it's age is the clear parts (especially the nose turret). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 (edited) Excellent result! Congrats J-W Edited September 27, 2022 by JWM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 That was definitely a borderline fugly aircraft, but you've brought it to life. Well done! Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Suberb build of this interesting aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fin Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 What a beautiful model! Thanks for posting it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestFan Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Love it, wonderfully executed, well done sir! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomcat101 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Not the prettiest aircraft ever but a superbly built one. Well done. I especially like the detail and weathering on the engines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tentacles Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Very nice - I really like the simple base also. I keep thinking about buying one of these, but struts are so bad for my blood pressure... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted September 28, 2022 Author Share Posted September 28, 2022 21 hours ago, Dave Slowbuild said: That really doesn’t look like a kit from 1967! Fantastic build Neil. The khaki finish is outstanding- could have been a bit boring but is actually really alive. Lovely. Dave Thanks Dave, I find single colour aircraft challenging to make look interesting, so try to break it up with the weathering and tonal variations 20 hours ago, Pete in a shed said: Fabulous model. An inspiring build Neil, just goes to show what can be done with the older moulds when in the hands of an experienced and skilled modeller. Pete Thanks Pete. If you'd of seen me trying to fit those wings, 'skilled modeller' certainly didn't fit the description, fumbling baboon was more the reality 🤣 19 hours ago, Roman Schilhart said: An incredibly ugly aircraft, but an excellent model! The only area where the kit shows it's age is the clear parts (especially the nose turret). I agree, it's ugliness is what makes it appealing! Didn't you do a camouflaged transport version? A lovely build and the scheme really made it special. 8 hours ago, Tentacles said: Very nice - I really like the simple base also. I keep thinking about buying one of these, but struts are so bad for my blood pressure... Ha ha, me too. What made fitting these hard was the fact that the wing wouldn't support itself until at least one was in place but there are no location pins. In hindsight, drilling and fitting some brass rod pins on the wing end of the struts would of helped and any fettling could have been done at the other end of the strut where there is an indentation in the nacelle to stop it slipping. Thanks for the kind comments, it's not the most elegant aircraft in my collection 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuraiwarrior Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 It may not be an elegant aircraft, but it is a beautiful build. The paint work is very nice. Thanks for sharing. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Lovely build of a delightfully ugly aircraft. Those engine nacelles look great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 A most excellent build, with a very convincing finish! Kind regards, Joachim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Excellent as usual Mate. 👍 Did you run out of dark earth then. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev67 Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 Another excellent build Neil, it certainly would not win any beauty pageant for aircraft though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 Congratulations Neil, great to see this kit being so well finished. Hopefully you will encourage lots of us to now build ours although I doubt mine will ever reach this standard. Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epeeman Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 Lovely model and great finish Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACALAIN Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 On 27/09/2022 at 14:18, woody37 said: A record finish I think, less than 2 weeks to turn this round! It's the SMER kit that I believe was first released by Heller back in 1967! Despite its age, it's not a bad little kit, the only issue I had was a short shot front turret. Fitting the wings and getting the struts aligned was best described as a pig! I may replace the gun barrels for something more to scale, but I wanted to do this as a mojo restorer and as the start of a collection of mid war unusual yet strangely attractive French aircraft. It was primed in MRP green and painted in what I believe to be French Khaki of which I mixed Tamiya XF49 Khaki with XF5 green in a 2:1 ratio. I also experimented with the Uschi Trinity Splatter weathering templates that @Fuad used on a recent build that I forgot I had in the drawer! I've kept it subtle but added some mud splashing underneath as I suspect the mudguards didn't fully protect it. Thanks for looking Neil Well done. Alain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Koktavý Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 It is hard to believe, this is an old kit. Phantastic result there 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 Always glad to see one of these Heller gems built, and even more so when built and finished as superbly as this. Nice work indeed! Despite their age, these old Heller French bomber types are still very nice kits. This Potez and the Bloch 210 are particularly good kits for their age. While it may not be the prettiest aircraft out there, it is interesting to look at and something different from what we normally see, and that certainly appeals to me. Hence the reason I have a stash full of ugly French inter war designs! @JOCKNEY This thread has encourage me to pull the couple of Potez 540s out of my stash. I reckon we should both give them a go. Have to agree with you though. Mine won't come out anywhere as nice as Neil's build either! Steve 2 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