Some Heller kits are a source of joy, as their molds are very good and compare more than favorable with some current “short run” offers and are most of the time better than their Airfix cousins. While old Airfix kits convey a feeling of chunkiness, old Heller kits feel more subtle and refined.
The subject this time is the famous Caudron Simoun (if you
happen to be unfamiliar with the type look it up on the Net).
I got this kit from fellow modeler Diego Fernetti, for which
my deep thanks go to him. It is a welcome break from the scratch enterprises.
The Heller kit has been reviewed already a few times, so I
won’t repeat here what you can read somewhere else. No flash whatsoever was
present in my kit and the parts were fine and crisp, even the transparencies.
The specific plane represented here (F-ANRU) participated in
the 1937 edition of the Oasis Circuit race, a remarkable endeavor that started
and ended at Cairo visiting a number of other cities in Egypt. Simouns F-ANXJ
and F-ANXB did also participate in that race.
As said the kit parts are good, but care is needed in order
not to obliterate the fine raised detail. You may protect said detail while
gluing, puttying and sanding by using masking tape on the concerned areas. I
don’t know who made the masters for this kit, but the parts are very clean. For
example the prop assembly, which is usually a group of chunky parts in certain
kits, is a fine, to-scale-thickness part. The building started by scoring the
flaps and lowering them before joining the wing upper and lower halves; the
same went for the elevators, all this easy because of Heller’s neat engraving. The
interior followed –this area is reasonably detailed, with a good instrument panel
too-. By the way, all Simoun interiors are stated as red by the sources. Wheel
pants’ halves were glued removing the pins that hold the wheels, since I wanted
to add them later to avoid messy masking or touch-ups. Besides, I don’t like
rolling wheels since a couple of times my models rolled off the building board
and had a not very successful flight that ended abruptly on the floor.
The only challenging part of the build might be the
windshield, provided as transparent left and right halves that represent also a
section of the fuselage. The clear areas would have to be masked and the seam
neatly glued, then the whole added to the fuselage trying to obtain a clean
transition. Some modelers just superglue those parts and then restore clarity
by sanding and polishing. I glued them carefully with the usual styrene cement
and bathed them in Future. Beware that the instrument panel is glued to the
base of the “windshield” –there are guides on the parts- and not in the
foremost position shown on the plans. Side windows are actually left and
right-handed; one clear strip has the “sliding” pane marked; that goes on the
pilot’s position.
I removed the molded-in Pitot tube from the wing to
facilitate handling of the model and later on added one made of wire. Heller’s
kit has a small cut-out where the stab tongue is inserted in the fuselage and a
stub small piece of the stab molded with the fuselage; the real plane had those
too because the stabilizer could be adjusted, so you may choose not to putty
that area. All the built models I have seen on the Net puttied that area, which
doesn’t speak well of modelers checking references (some times I don’t either,
or do and then mercifully forget). I noticed similar small details on other
Heller kits that sometimes people think are flaws (comes to mind a tiny notch
in the PZL P.24 cowl that is meant to be there).
In order to provide a bit of detail I hollowed the nose part from
inside and glued there a spare engine cylinder. Beware of the tail
wheel/fairing. It is a very tiny part and mine twanged into the great beyond
being recovered be a miracle. Glue it at the very last, and mind that it has a
fragile attachment. I inserted a wire where the locating pin was.
The decals in my kit were a bit fuzzy, but nevertheless I
managed to use some for the necessary bits for this version, printing the
remaining ones particular to this model at home.
Oh, the Heller Nostalgia!
So dear reader, if you are rich and famous, why don’t you
buy Heller’s assets and issue a good Couzinet Arc-en-ciel?
Looking forward to hear from you!
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