mawz Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) This is the old Heller kit in 1/72. DSC00375 by mawz_models, on Flickr First order of business is to go over the instructions and translate all the Humbrol callouts into something intelligible. Edited August 25, 2011 by mawz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Mikester Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Cool, looks the French are getting some love in this GB! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VG 33 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Hi Very nice choice with this recce aircraft. This kit is one of the best of this Heller series. If you need some advice about colours do not hesitate. I'm looking forward. Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 (edited) Thanks, I did manage to track down all the Humbrol callouts and have them translated to Tamiya and Vallejo, my paints of choice. Looks like it'll be mostly Tamiya as I've got all but 2 of the required colours in Tamiya (one is Vallejo, the other I need to pick up from my local pusher) I've painted the interior and gear wells as per the Heller callouts and assembled the wings: Heller Bloch 174 A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Heller Bloch 174 A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Heller Bloch 174 A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Very basic interior, I wonder if anyone does an aftermarket interior as this kit really calls out for one (along with a vacform canopy), I'm going entirely OOB though. The wings need a bit of filler, one wingtip has a noticable gap and there's gaps at the nacelles as well. Quite good fit overall for this sort of kit though. If I ever build another one, new seats are going to be the minimum add. The kit seats are the one spot where the kit really falls down, they're just lumps. Edited August 26, 2011 by mawz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VG 33 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I'm Xtracolor addict but Tamiya is as good. Like on my Bréguet 693 I'm not sure about the "chamois" interior as many aircraft of the same time were dark blue grey. Actually chamois was the color inside the flaps. Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 I'm Xtracolor addict but Tamiya is as good. Like on my Bréguet 693 I'm not sure about the "chamois" interior as many aircraft of the same time were dark blue grey. Actually chamois was the color inside the flaps. Patrick I'm think the dark blue grey is actually correct for the Bloch 174 as well, or at least most builds I've found went with that. I decided to go with the kit callouts anyways for a strict OOB experience. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 The major structure is together, just need to fill at the wing roots: Heller Bloch 174 A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr And the engines are in their cowls. One of these went together beautifully but the other had one side of the cowl warped and will need some fettling once the cement is dry. Heller Bloch 174 A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Seems to be shaping up nicely, Sir. Looking forward to more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 The engines are mounted and almost all the gaps are filled: Heller Bloch 174 A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Next up is a little touch-up before I start painting the main scheme. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 Well, the seams are filled, the front nose mounted and masked and I'm starting to lay paint. With the nose mounted: Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr And painting: Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Good to see this coming together, Sir! This is quite a big bird, it seems. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deacon Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 You have the patience of a saint masking that glazing mate. Deacon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Deacon, One of the nice things about those old-fashioned thick transparencies is that they are a LOT easier to mask than otherwise nicer modern moldings. The thick framing let me mask the entire nose less than 10 minutes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Old Man: She's actually pretty small, a bit smaller than a Mosquito. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aaronw Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Last year I picked up a bunch of the Smer boxings of Heller kits. One thing that I find interesting with the pre-war French aircraft is how random they seem to be with some very advanced and attractive looking planes designed alongside some of the most unlikely aircraft ever built. One of the French bombers I picked up looks like a flying office building, and is easily one of the ugliest bombers ever made. The 174 is about as far on the other end as you can get and would do well in any "best looking twin engine of WW2" contest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 It is a pretty little thing, isn't it. Starting on the topside camo: Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr I think I might try freehanding for this one. Bit of a challenge but I could use one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 First pass of the camo is done, I will need to do a couple touch ups. I also clearly need more practice as well as an airbrush which can feed at lower pressures. Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 And of course I notice at this point that I'd swapped two paint callouts in my conversion table. So I mixed up a Blue-Grey and repainted all the Chamois sections of the camo with a more accurate colour Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Next up is some glosscote and then decals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted December 25, 2011 Author Share Posted December 25, 2011 And decals are on and I've got most of the fiddly bits hung too Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 (edited) And she's done. Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Heller Bloch 174A3 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr Edited December 26, 2011 by mawz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
El pibe vitina Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Nice work! Congratulations. Bye for now... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Nice work! Looking at the camo pattern, I wonder if there's more than just a passing similarity to the Polish Lublin camo pattern? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnsan Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Good looking model, Mawz. Are the decals from the kit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 Thanks folks, David: as the Poles did buy a fair bit of French hardware in the prewar era, it's likely that French Camo Patterns were an influence on them. johnsan: Yes, those are the kit decals. Heller's usual high quality but very basic decals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VG 33 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Very nice looking kit. Congratulations. Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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