Couzinet Arc-en-Ciel, Modified Heller vintage 1/75th kit

 

And after long labor here finally is the Couzinet "Arc-en-Ciel" (Rainbow), a very beautiful, original and stylized design of the 30’s. 

The model represents the plane in one of it's many guises (the Couzinet 71 No 01 ARC 5 iteration) as it flew to Buenos Aires (and other destinations in South America) in its several Atlantic crossings. The plane would appear through time in various other configurations (even as Couzinet 71 and not anymore 70) with changes mainly in the engine nacelles and decoration. 

The very old, clunky and notoriously inaccurate Heller kit of old has been reworked to a –hopefully- better standard. The process involved gathering reference materials, sorting out the many versions (the plane was constantly modified), making note of the details to be changed on the model, and finally implement those changes to a degree that seemed feasible, practical and reasonable for my level of skill and available time on earth. Here and there compromises were made that I believe do not detract too badly from the whole.   

The step-by-step building article con be consulted here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/06/couzinet-arc-en-ciel-converting-hellers.html 

Many alterations took place, among them

- Reshaping the spine of the aft fuselage

- Redoing the windows which had a different shape

- Thinning trailing edges

- Adding missing features to the wings and tail

- Engraving missing hinge lines

- Fabricating a succinct cockpit and cabin interior (toilet included of course) to resemble the original since not much can be seen as usual trough the transparencies -the kit offers just an empty void, not even a miserable pilot seat on a stick, nada, zip-

- Refurbishing the props to a two-blade configuration

- Re-doing the radiators by necessity as the nacelle lips were too tick and irregular and had to be thinned

- Opening the cabin door

- Working on the engine nacelles for a bit more of accuracy and realism

- Opening spaces for transparencies on the fuselage top (missing in the kit)

- Replacing the kit’s Pitot with a home-made item

- Replacing the vastly inaccurate and insufficient decals (this time with rather humble and simple home-made, non-professional items)

plus other minor changes.

It’s not easy work, and choices have to be made as it’s not sound to spend a lifetime introducing all the necessary changes and details, which would amount to basically a scratch. But the goal was to obtain a more accurate model, dealing with the most glaring mistakes of the manufacturer, which I would like to think was achieved, again, to a reasonable degree. This is a kit that is doomed from the start if you build it as it is, as it mixes details of at least two versions of the Arc en Ciel. It’s inexplicable, really, how Heller managed to make a real mess of it being itself a French outfit. As mentioned in the building article, there are two other (resin) kits of this plane out there, more accurate no doubt, but I am yet to see a kit of the Arc-en-Ciel in 1/72nd that I would like to build. Kit manufacturers, the ball is in your court. Same goes for previous Couzinet types (10, 30, 31, 40, Biarritz, 100, 101) all beautiful trimotor machines surely deserving attention from the industry.

My thanks go to Diego Fernetti, friend and fellow modeler, who long ago donated this Heller kit that remained dormant for many years in the garage, until now. Dieguito, I hope I have honored your generous gift.

My gratitude also goes to Alain Bourret who made long ago an exhaustive review of the kit’s hits and misses. His research facilitated the task ahead.

P. Gourgues published an article featuring his accurate model on Maquettes Modèles Actualités of May and June 1997.

No less supportive have been the Ornithopters at large, an international underground modeling organization I belong to, with branches in Volkania -Marzipanland-, Greece, Argentina, Canada, French Polynesia, the Arctic Circle, the Shire, Lothlorien and Rivendale.

We don't need "intelligent" appliances, what we need is INTELLIGENT PEOPLE.

We don't need artificial "artificial" intelligence, we need REAL INTELLIGENCE.

Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer "Twin Pion Air" airlines - Valom 1/72nd

 

 

 

This well proportioned STOL plane has flown with many owners in diverse countries, wearing a plethora of colorful liveries and schemes. Its general lines and function are somewhat similar to other STOL planes, like the Short Skyvan:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2017/07/airfix-shorts-skyvan.html

and the Miles Aerovan:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2017/11/miles-aerovan-completed-mikro-mir-172nd.html

The Twin Pioneer has been released before as a kit by other manufacturers some time ago, in the form of vac and resin kits, but this new Valom endeavor is by far the best of them all.

For the step-by-step posting please go here. It includes some references and mentions the other kits:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/07/scottish-aviation-twin-pioneer-valom.html

The improvement over time of Valom kits has to be recognized. This Twin Pioneer is a good example of a nice kit that with a little bit of work (and a brief plunge into some light research) can be built into a nice replica.

Valom also deserves praise for their commitment to offer civil kits for the starving modeling masses, tired of the repetitious military releases.

The kit has good detail, sharp molding, good parts’ count and excellent surface, with the bonus of a fantastic subject loved by many and for which plenty of references do exist.

It requires a modeler with a modicum of experience as a few things can be improved upon and there are some fit issues, plus you have to do a little of research on your own to correct some minor inaccuracies, as the same molds cover many subjects and some details naturally varied amongst them.

The subject of this boxing, a plane from “Twin Pion Air” (a play on words on the plane’s name, Pioneer) is a good choice as it’s really colorful. Valom fell short of providing decals or patterns for the colorful background decoration of the plane (a wavy and relatively complex pattern representing sand and sea), but provides in the decal sheet the tropical motifs and lettering that were painted over it.

I added a cabin interior with resin seats from another manufacturer, as the ones provided by Valom as an optional purchase are not the type used in this particular plane. I cut open the cabin door, added the pax seats, a restroom, a ceiling with lenses in guise of lights, and a few other details seen in photos (antennas, beacons, Pitots, lights, etc). No major trouble was encountered during the build, but again some skill is required. Valom offers this kit in other boxings with different attractive schemes.

What else would I love for this kit?

-Aftermarket decals to cater for other beautiful schemes worn by this plane for different carriers, countries and companies. There are so many of them and photos abound online. There are even museum and flying surviving examples of this plane.

-A resin set for the flaps and cabin door, and also for the plane adapted for geophysics research with two Dumbo ears on the wingtips.

-An aftermarket masks set that is in paper and not in vinyl

I think modelers with some experience will enjoy this kit as it’s well detailed but also leaves the door open for further improvement. 

President Stupid loves dictators!

Heston Phoenix - 1/72nd Arctic Decals /Dekno multimedia kit

 

The somewhat unusual yet beautiful lines of the Heston Phoenix make it a very desirable subject that has been absent from the hobby market until now, thanks to a joint venture between Arctic Decals and Dekno Models. This beautiful kit and its particulars have been described in the step-by-step building article that also contains some historical references:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/05/heston-phoenix-arctic-deccalsdekno.html

I have been anxiously waiting for this kit during its developing stage and have not been disappointed, the detail is gorgeous and the molded resin and 3D-printed parts are a joy to work with, plus the additional and very welcome bonus of great decals (of course), masks and even “metal” frames for the windows. Internal detail is beautiful and engineering-wise the kit is sound. The instructions are printed in a comfortable large size and very detailed, with photos of the type and sound advice for the modeler, all perfectly packed.  

As these are sort of artisanal kits I suggest you check the fit of the parts before committing to glue them or paint them. In my sample some of the parts required a little sanding, and some locating holes needed to be made slightly bigger for a comfortable fit. Especial care needs to be taken in dealing with the strut/wings/transparency assembly.

The boxing I got covers two registrations, one of them in two variants. I went for the "Standard Telephone and Cables Limited" variant because of the gorgeous interior and exterior detail provided for it. The manufacturers offer several boxings that cover the produced Phoenixes. For a civil and/or Golden Age modeler, these kits are a blessing, providing access to interesting and historically meaningful types neglected by the mainstream. The effective synergy of these combined manufacturers, Arctic Decals and Dekno Models, have recently released some really nice kits of attractive types, all featured in this blog. We civil modelers thank and applaud these types of releases, as they fill voids in our collections unlikely to be covered by other manufacturers, in the form of beautiful kits that, if not for beginners, present no problems for moderately experienced modelers that have dabbled in resin and or 3D-prited kits before.