Heller, Is it confusing or is it just me?

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Maurice C
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Heller, Is it confusing or is it just me?

#1

Post by Maurice C » 28 Dec 2002, 07:07

The last few kits that i've built have been made by Tamiya. I found them pretty easy to assemble and didnt make one mistake. Now i've been given a Heller model of a french troop carrier and its a little B*&%@x to work on. I'm just wondering of the rest of you agree that Heller leave a lot to me desired in the instruction manual?
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David C. Clarke
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#2

Post by David C. Clarke » 28 Dec 2002, 07:13

Heller armor kits aren't the worst kits in the world, but then too, they're not the best. The last Heller kit I built was the AMX30, which I thought was needlessly complicated and unimpressive. Some parts of it just looked out of scale. Best Regards, David
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Alex Vasilewsky
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#3

Post by Alex Vasilewsky » 28 Dec 2002, 16:02

True...
Heller is one of the worst brands (together width Monogram and some versions of Academy)
It's major problem is terrible final works - plastic "ears", bad plastics and the most annoying thing-white color. I can newer spot details cause it's too bright. It makes me crazy.
And their acril colors suck!

My oppinion is that Italeri-Dragon-Zvezda roole!
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Maurice C
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#4

Post by Maurice C » 29 Dec 2002, 06:52

Its actually an AMX 13 VCI troop carrier. I too find it needlessly complicated and the instructions unclear at points. I also have some academy figures, the fit is generally bad and their out of proportion with the rest of my 1/35 stuff as well. Tamiya gets this man' s vote. Maybe this is good fuel for a poll?
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David C. Clarke
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#5

Post by David C. Clarke » 29 Dec 2002, 07:31

Well Maurice, one thing to take into acount is that most Heller 1/35th Scale armor has been around a long time! I have a Heller catalog dating back to 1984 that contains the AMX-13 kit and it's troop carrier variants.
Same with AMX-30 and the WWII French kits. So, you can't really judge them compared to more modern kits. Tamiya kits from the same era weren't anywhere near as good as the newer stuff Tamiya puts out and Dragon I don't think came into existence until around 1990.
And, the sad fact is that you can't get most of the kits Heller made from any other company in plastic. If you want to do French armor, sooner or later you have to build a Heller kit! Best Regards, David
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Maurice C
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#6

Post by Maurice C » 30 Dec 2002, 08:00

Good point David, it might have been gathering dust there for a while as I got it as a gift. I'm only building it so i can have something for my king tiger to shoot at. I'm still brush finishing my models so theres a long way to go yet and lots to learn. Thankls Maurice.
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Galahad
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#7

Post by Galahad » 31 Dec 2002, 21:00

I don't have any experience with Heller aside from the company's ship kits.....but I've found those to be pretty accurate and easy to assemble, more so than a lot of companies. I like them very much.

Why do you think the AFV's are so troublesome when the ships aren't?
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David C. Clarke
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#8

Post by David C. Clarke » 01 Jan 2003, 01:05

That's a very good question Galahad, most of Heller's ships are still respected as very good models, despite their age. Looking through the old catalogs, it's clear to me that Heller's ship line was very extensive while their armor line was very small. I don't know how that translates into a difference in quality, except that sales generally determines a company's capital investments. Also, it's been said that the Heller "H.M.S. Victory" kit has long been one of the industry standards for plastic sailing ship models, just as Heller's "Bismarck" has been admired by WWII enthusiasts. To my knowledge, no one has ever said that any Heller AFV model was held in as high esteem by the modeling public. Cheers, David
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prejo
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Farewell Heller!

#9

Post by prejo » 07 Jan 2003, 12:18

I just finished a B-25 J from Heller. It was a horrible kit! Bad instructions, bad assembly, I had to cover gaps of 2-3 mm on small hatches, the plane is unbalanced (and can't find in manual which is the weight I have to add in the nose to balance it) and so on. It was my last Heller kit bought!

regards,
prejo
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Alex Vasilewsky
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#10

Post by Alex Vasilewsky » 09 Jan 2003, 20:17

I guess I was wrong about Heller :oops:

I bought a 1:35 Leclerc, and up to now I'm impressed by the quality. I got ewerything...even the metal parts, 3 members of tank crew, all kinds of insognia. Ad it costs only 20$!
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Maurice C
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#11

Post by Maurice C » 09 Jan 2003, 21:00

I never heard of LeClerc, are they a subsiduary of Heller? I want to try out some Warriors figure models next, they look pretty good. One of the biggest problems I have with figures is painting the eyes. I tried the bannerman method from the ML forum but after ruining one figure I'm looking for alternatives. Anybody got a lend of a really fine toothpick and a non-shaking hand?
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Marcus
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#12

Post by Marcus » 09 Jan 2003, 21:04

LeClerc:

Image
(from http://www.kithobbyist.com/AFVInteriors ... lerc1.html)

/Marcus
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Alex Vasilewsky
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#13

Post by Alex Vasilewsky » 10 Jan 2003, 13:51

Maurice C wrote:I never heard of LeClerc, are they a subsiduary of Heller? I want to try out some Warriors figure models next, they look pretty good. One of the biggest problems I have with figures is painting the eyes. I tried the bannerman method from the ML forum but after ruining one figure I'm looking for alternatives. Anybody got a lend of a really fine toothpick and a non-shaking hand?
When I started making figures, I had almost the same problems...
The best way to do the extra small details is a stiching neadle. Ofcourse, only oil and nytro based colors can support this sensitive technique. Not the aqrils. On the other hand you can leave out the eyes. Why paint something that can be seen only width microscope...
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