Heller 2018

[Junkman]

2 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Thanks to Michael in South Carolina, and always good to hear from someone who knows their subject. I also like the Citroen C4 Fourgonette delivery van and so far I haven't built one because it wouldn't have been a vehicle that you would expect to see on London streets in 1958. There are lots of model cars that I would very much like to build, but they have no place in my period diorama, such as the 1950's American cars, which really appeal to me. The purpose of the diorama is to display the models, rather than put them on a shelf or in display cases. Heller do seem to provide us with a choice of cars that seem to have been largely ignored by other kit manufacturers.

David

A 1950s yank tank would be right at home in a 1958 London street. Give it an embassy reg of an exotic colony.

 

2 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

And I guess I'll have to buy this:

 

Never thought I'd see a model with my name on it...

 

LOL, true.

You are really 'lucky' if you are into heavy haulage, since that's Brame's real speciality.

 

Edited January 26, 2018 by Junkman

[Luc Janssens]

Looks like Q4 is still open to 4 items, maybe they will be revealed at the Nürnberg toy fair next week.

[Anglia105E]

Right Christian, must get a Sherman tank on the streets! Embassy reg of course. Oh I see now.... you don't mean a TANK.... you mean a large car.

David

[bbowser]

Great to see Heller is still a viable concern and re-issuing a lot of the classics along with a couple of new tools that interest us gearheads.  I have to assume that there are new tools as well for the 1/35 military and the aircraft folks as well.  This seems to bode well for the hobby as a whole.  I will need to get that Massey Ferguson, and maybe a Renault or two!  I already have several of the classics in the pile.

[Snake45]

4 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

You are probably right Snake.... by restricting myself to 1950's, London, Rolls-Royce and Bentley, this immediately rules out a lot of cars that I cannot have in the scene. Is that what you mean? One day I need to build a second diorama that would not be so restrictive.

David

Yes, pretty much. If you want to build something, build it! Don't box yourself in with self-imposed rules. For example, in airplanes, I mainly build 1/48 scale, but I'm not above building in another scale--even some random or oddball scale--if that's the only way to get a model of an airplane I want. Build what you want to build! 

(Of course I guess this attitude is why my other hobby nickname is "Modelslut." )

Edited January 26, 2018 by Snake45

[Richard Bartrop]

7 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Wise words indeed Richard Bartrop...... and it's funny that you should mention a Canadian diorama, because I have an idea lurking at the back of my mind that would involve Victoria, British Columbia and the old Rolls-Royce dealership that was there. Plimley Motors Limited I believe ( also in Vancouver ). Now that would be an interesting diorama for sure.....

David

I remember Plimley Motors.  They were actually a pretty big deal in the Lower Mainland (Vancouver and the surrounding area)  They sold Chryslers, and several British makes, including Jaguar and MG.

Victoria loves to play up its imperial roots, and when I still lived in BC the downtown area did its best to promote itself as an authentic bit of "Olde Englande".

[Anglia105E]

Interesting to hear that you remember Plimley Motors Richard, and I did a great deal of research into the whole area and history of Victoria BC because I was building a 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud that belonged to a lady called Margaret L Sayward-Wilson, who you may know was the daughter of Joseph Sayward one of the founders of the Royal Colwood Golf Club. During my research I traced the detailed history of the original car that was delivered to Canada in 1958 and the lady ordered the car from England to be painted in Velvet Green, which appears to be black at first sight but reveals dark green in bright sunlight. I received copies of letters sent from Rolls-Royce dealers in Vancouver and Montreal to Mrs Sayward-Wilson regarding the maintenance of the car. It was all very useful information, although I never did locate a photograph of the car, or indeed determine the registration number while the car was in BC.

Here is a photo of my completed build.

David

[samdiego]

I just received the Talbot Lagot Grand Prix car from 1939. $24 + $15 shipping from Germany. 1st impressions are good, pretty much flash free. It's going to have to be built like an airplane though.  The body halves trap the interior and engine/ front suspension units, so it will have to be put together then masked for body and paint

[Mike999]

I posted this in the other Heller thread but will repeat it here, for those who might not have seen that thread:

Looked thru the Heller catalog but didn't see this package in it. In one box (with carrying handle!) it has 2 tractor kits, the 1/24 Ferguson TS-20 & FF-30 Farm Tractors. Also a Ferguson history book plus paint and glue.

I don't know the difference between a Ferguson TS-20 and an FF-30.  They look alike to me, except for the paint. But we probably have some tractor experts in here who can tell us.

In the U.S., most vendors don't seem to have this package in stock yet.  One did, and are selling it for $59.95 (they say the regular retail price is $74.95). The kit number is 52323.

 

[The Creative Explorer]

4 hours ago, Mike999 said:

I posted this in the other Heller thread but will repeat it here, for those who might not have seen that thread:

Looked thru the Heller catalog but didn't see this package in it. In one box (with carrying handle!) it has 2 tractor kits, the 1/24 Ferguson TS-20 & FF-30 Farm Tractors. Also a Ferguson history book plus paint and glue.

I don't know the difference between a Ferguson TS-20 and an FF-30.  They look alike to me, except for the paint. But we probably have some tractor experts in here who can tell us.

In the U.S., most vendors don't seem to have this package in stock yet.  One did, and are selling it for $59.95 (they say the regular retail price is $74.95). The kit number is 52323.

 

 

Can I advice you a trip to Walgreens? They probably have some reading glasses for a good price...... hahaha.

Check page 48 in the catalogue,...

 

The differences between the TE and FF are minimal, TE is completely gray, FF is partly red and has different steeringwheel, seat and a bit stronger engine.

[Mike999]

2 hours ago, The Creative Explorer said:

Can I advice you a trip to Walgreens? They probably have some reading glasses for a good price...... hahaha.

Check page 48 in the catalogue,...

Thanks, but the problem wasn't eyesight, just impatience.  Appreciate the info on the tractors. 

[landman]

13 hours ago, samdiego said:

I just received the Talbot Lagot Grand Prix car from 1939. $24 + $15 shipping from Germany. 1st impressions are good, pretty much flash free. It's going to have to be built like an airplane though.  The body halves trap the interior and engine/ front suspension units, so it will have to be put together then masked for body and paint

They are a neat little race car.

[Junkman]

7 hours ago, The Creative Explorer said:

The differences between the TE and FF are minimal, TE is completely gray, FF is partly red and has different steeringwheel, seat and a bit stronger engine.

The main difference is that the TE was built in England and the FF in France, using a few locally sourced components.
The 'regular' kit contains the parts to build both versions.

The "coffret" apparently contains two of the kits, which could also yield the possibility to build this contraption, a TED40:

 

 

[Snake45]

3 hours ago, landman said:

They are a neat little race car.

What's the car in primer in the background? 

[landman]

14 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

What's the car in primer in the background? 

It is supposed to be a replica of my '34 Chevy.

[samdiego]

8 hours ago, The Creative Explorer said:

 

 

The differences between the TE and FF are minimal, TE is completely gray, FF is partly red and has different steeringwheel, seat and a bit stronger engine.

I thought the FF was the race version from Farm and Furious 17

 

[Luc Janssens]

50 minutes ago, samdiego said:

I thought the FF was the race version from Farm and Furious 17

 

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, landman said:

It is supposed to be a replica of my '34 Chevy.

Oh yeah, now I remember. That was a longterm scratchbuilt project, wasn't it? I was hoping it was some sort of kit or diecast I'd overlooked. It's beautiful, BTW. 

[Mike999]

18 hours ago, samdiego said:

I thought the FF was the race version from Farm and Furious 17

  Good one!  You also said: "The body halves trap the interior and engine/ front suspension units, so it will have to be put together then masked for body and paint."  

That's sort of a Heller hallmark too, IMO.  Their kits are designed to only go together one way, and resist any attempts to work around that assembly sequence.

Several 1/24 Heller kits would make good hot rods, like the Renault Vivastella and the Citroen B14 Torpedo de Luxe. (What a great name!)  It's not shown or mentioned on the box, but the Torpedo de Luxe has an optional cowl/windshield for the back seat, and optional up/down tops.  (Not my build, pic stolen from the internet):

 

[martinfan5]

I am happy that the Eurocopter AS 350 B3/ Ecureuil AS 350 B1 are getting reissued

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by martinfan5

[lordairgtar]

On 1/26/2018 at 10:04 AM, Junkman said:

And sure enough there was a ghost in form of a Matra 650:

 

 

 

 

And plans for a Matra MS80 F1:

 

Why those were never issued is unknown, in particular the MS80, which actually won the GP WC in 1969.

 

 

Note the draftsman's name at the right hand lower corner? Phillipe Delespinay drew much of the early Heller instruction sheets. I talked with him a lot on a slot car forum and were discussing Heller and AMT collaborations to market kits like the double kits of the Alpine and Gordini and several others. I sent him my AMT double kit of the Brabham/Matra kit so he could complete his collection. He lives in the US now involved with slot car stuff.

Edited February 1, 2018 by lordairgtar
corrected spelling

[Junkman]

Mr Delespinay did much more than that. He is one of the unsung pioneers, heroes and ambassadors of our hobby.

He started with Heller as a designer and project engineer, then left when he felt that his efforts at Heller were underappreciated.
Just ask him and he will tell you many a hilarious anecdote about what an operation it actually was.
He left for the USA on a one way ticket in 1970 and became a professional slot car racer. He also worked for Matchbox in Playa del Rey,
to come up with an HO slot car series to compete with Aurora and Tyco. He came up with the concept of using magnetised wheels
for improved traction. After Matchbox's demise, he unsuccessfully tried to market the concept to other companies until Auto World
took it on as an aftermarket add on. All the while he continued to be a professional slot car racer and designed a chassis for Parma.
In 1973 he landed a job at Cox to revive their Eldon slot car range and sure enough they became the first ones who mass produced
his idea of a slot car with a separate traction magnet.

Now he is a restorer, toy and real car collector. We both are on the hobbyDB advisory board, so I can draw on his wealth of knowledge.

There was another stillborn project while he was at Heller:

 

It's a 911R  and if Mr Delespinay's ideas would have made it, it'd be the only model kit in history
where the windscreen and backlight would have been held in place by rubber seals.

 

Here is a young Mr Delespinay with his Alpine while working for Heller in 1967:

 

Now, if you will please build one of his projects while he was at Heller, the Renault 8, in his honour.

Please note that Heller releases this kit with its original box art, without making a lot of fanfare about it (yes, this is possible).

Now, the old Heller box art was done by Paul Lengellé. Just google image him and you shall be rewarded.

Edited February 2, 2018 by Junkman

[Rob Hall]

The box art of the old Heller kits is fantastic...love their 917 box art.  Never had any of them, though have the Porsche/Ferrari AMT boxed set. 

[El Roberto]

Where did they come up with the weird scales.....1/43??

[Art Anderson]

3 hours ago, El Roberto said:

Where did they come up with the weird scales.....1/43??

1/43 may seem an odd scale to us here in the US, but in the UK, and Europe, that was the most popular scale for diecast toy cars from the likes of Corgi, Dinky, Solido etc. for several decades.  As a spinoff of that popular collecting scale, kits began to appear, in the late 1950's, of car subjects that had never been done as "toys", and to make them salable to adults then, who'd cut their car teeth on the diecasts I mentioned, those early manufacturers--mostly "cottage Industry" types, simply went with the flow of the times.

Art