viper494 Posted June 16, 2007 Author Share Posted June 16, 2007 Hi all Just a small update,due to things going wrong i now have the replacement decals for this model.Im not very well at the mo so as soon as im fit again then i will get back into it sorry for the lengthy pause. Cheers Clive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Kahuna Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Never mind Clive. Still looks good. Keep going. Makes you appreciate Revell though! :D Nenad Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eastsidehighrise Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 in all seriousness, yes, this kit doesnt fill me with the same sense of confidence that revell's a380 does when you first open the kit. an australian hobby store was kind enough to order in one of these heller kits, so its still nice to have gotten my hands on one in the first place. however, yes the huge wings do seem to be warped senseless. i will have to see how i go with them later down the track. Also that troublesome non-blue door is still there, so ive yet to decide how to handle that. the cockpit frames are also broken in my kit worst of all, my kit only came with 1 and a half of the main six-wheel landing gear struts! it looks like a part of one of the struts has snapped off, leaving only the top half. since the plastic it came in was sealed, and there was no loose parts in the opened plastic, one can only assume the problem occured when the kit was still with heller... ive sent an email about it, but god knows how long, if at all, heller will be kind enough to reply. So in the meantime, ive tried to convince myself to build it in an 'in-flight' config, and using the supplied display stand to display it. Ive had a look at a couple of 'inflight, gears retracted' shots of the a380 on airliners.net in a bid to convince me it doesnt look that bad, and, in way, it doesn't look so cumbersome without the wheels down. however im a bit disappointed not to be able to use the rubber tyres heller has provided, which is a bit of a novelty i suppose. and then you really have to wonder if heller's display stand can be trusted to hold up this massive kit... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 Here's a built-up Heller kit from Telford last November. It was mighty impressive (even if the airplane looks like a bloated, dead, beached whale). J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vc-10 Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Here's a built-up Heller kit from Telford last November. It was mighty impressive (even if the airplane looks like a bloated, dead, beached whale).J Actually, that's quite an elegant way round the non-blue door problem. The more I see the A380 the cooler it seems. Ugly, but very cool. Saw the Singapore one climbing through the cloud out of Heathrow the other day. Quieter than BA's 767s! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eastsidehighrise Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 re the non-blue blue door in the tail section... closer inspection of the instruction sheets reveals that these doors have to be painted blue... the paint instructions say they need to be painted M6 - which is the code for gloss dark blue. that, and anyone have any advice on how to paint the fuselage with the cockpit windshield already installed? because of the window frames, it needs to be put in before closing the fuselage. thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I'm always interested in seeing an A380 build. Hope you're still working on yours Viper 494. I just plain like the look of the A380 and am awed at it's size. I bet you could actually fit a person in there! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psycho Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Hi all, very interesting thread so far. I hope the build continues soon. :D I own the Lufthansa version of the kit and I am getting pretty good ideas here on what to watch out for, thanks Clive! I did not have a damaged cockpit section in my kit but I have the same issue with the main wings. They are totally out of shape. How did you get them straightened out Clive? Did you soak them in hotter water or did you just heat them up a bit and formed them into shape? Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
reddo Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hi everyone, I am newbie here and this is my very first post as have just built this kit for my nephew. I havent built an airliner since my teens in the 70's so wasnt expecting too much from Heller (have built many Tamiya F1 in the past) but all in all for me was OK - the finished product was better than my expectations during the build. I didnt notice too much warping on the wings/tailplanes so maybe Heller has made improvements since the release in 2006/7. I found the decals also pretty good but quite fragile (2 of the window surrounds flipped on me), but the engine detailing seems to be better than the Revell model. So I had to give this model away but it has got under my skin (I live near Toulouse where it is built and have been to the factory) so I am thinking of buying another one. Can anyone provide comments if they think the Revell is better, but for me the size of the Heller, and the detailing is slightly better. I was looking at the Revell cutaway version but read that all the seats are fixed and have to be painted in situ... Here is the link to my build - I was under pressure to build in 1 week, and would consider taking more time on the next one - what do you guys use to fill the joins in the fuselage? some type of plastic modelling putty? The password is quattro if it asks for one http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa279/p...0A380%20Heller/ All feedback appreciated - and what is the best online store - for shipping in the UK Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viper494 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 Hi reddo i still have my A380 but its nowhere near finished,i work with the real thing so im looking to finish her when i move to my new house in May of this year.Yours looks cool they're big arn't they ,if you want a retailler in the uk then Hannants is about your best bet as they have loads of airliner models. All the best Clive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unitedpilot Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 I realise this reply is now somewhat dated..But yes I couldnt agree with you all more..This model is of extreem poor quality..In short its pants...Ive been modeling for 30 plus years...and yupp this one is the worst yet...End of... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unitedpilot Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 Yeah...Dont bother..its the worst kit...Ever...beleive me...it sucks..BIG time..been around this game for some time...The fit is pants..the quality sucks..the instructions dont stack up..The decals are out of register...the Plastic is weak and far to soft..the profile and warping of all to most parts is nothing more than just Bad...To much filler..needed..just to even square things back to somewhere where things should..be....Oh sure..if you want a kit to lob together over a quick weekend..and thro paint over it...slap on the decals...It might just look sort of ok..But if you want to bo an half desent job...Forget it..Its just crap... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unitedpilot Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 Dont bother..Its crap..End off.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 However.... It *can* be built into a *stunning* model, witness this one I photographed at Telford in 2007. It was breathtaking.. J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PMG Offramp Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Yeah...Dont bother..its the worst kit...Ever...beleive me...it sucks..BIG time..been around this game for some time...The fit is pants..the quality sucks..the instructions dont stack up..The decals are out of register...the Plastic is weak and far to soft..the profile and warping of all to most parts is nothing more than just Bad...To much filler..needed..just to even square things back to somewhere where things should..be....Oh sure..if you want a kit to lob together over a quick weekend..and thro paint over it...slap on the decals...It might just look sort of ok..But if you want to bo an half desent job...Forget it..Its just crap... I'm currently working on one, I rather like it even though it's not as appealing as the Revell 1:144 kit at first sight. Of course, the Heller kit corrects some insignificant inaccuracies found in the Revell kit but on could say that the better accuracy is offset by the slightly coarse mouldings, lower details, ridiculous 11 pieces fuselage and terrible decal sheet. My kit displays very nice recessed details, minimum flashes, very good fit even on the multi-part fuselage assembly. I can't explain it, I just like that kit Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PMG Offramp Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 However.... It *can* be built into a *stunning* model, witness this one I photographed at Telford in 2007. It was breathtaking..J Extended flaps, slats, that's a rather brillant build, I've once seen one in Emirates livery, an equally superb build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 (edited) It's just too bad the airplane is *SOOOO* ugly! It looks like a dead, bloated, beached whale that's been sitting out in the sun for a couple of weeks Edited December 1, 2010 by Jennings Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skidbuggy Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 It's just too bad the airplane is *SOOOO* ugly! It looks like a dead, bloated, beached whale that's been sitting out in the sun for a couple of weeks :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psycho Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 It's just too bad the airplane is *SOOOO* ugly! It looks like a dead, bloated, beached whale that's been sitting out in the sun for a couple of weeks Can't really agree with your statement. I kinda like the look of this massive aircraft. Besides, nothing beats the ugliness of the Boeing Dreamlifter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Can't really agree with your statement. I kinda like the look of this massive aircraft. Besides, nothing beats the ugliness of the Boeing Dreamlifter. The Dreamlifter is purpose designed for a very specific application. It's not designed to be pretty. It's designed to be functional. The A380 is just ugly... :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PMG Offramp Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 The Dreamlifter is purpose designed for a very specific application. It's not designed to be pretty. It's designed to be functional. The A380 is just ugly... :) The very same could be said on the A380 : It's not designed to be pretty. It's designed to be functional. BTW, I'm a Boeing kind of guy but I find the A380 extremely attractive and I'm glad we now have 2 different large scale kits of that beast. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viper494 Posted December 20, 2020 Author Share Posted December 20, 2020 Hi all well it’s been nearly 22 years since I started this model and she’s been through two house moves, well I’ve nearly finished her just the wheels to do and I must say that she’s a very trying kit. So without further adding here she is in her near finished state.  Clive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 Clive, Way to resurrect this kit and thread! My hat is off to you for completing it, finally! Great work, it looks nice. Kind regards, Dutch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 Nice work Clive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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