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Heller 1/50 Falcon 20, A man, A plan, A jet model, A kit


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I've been trying for years to get my hands on this kit.  Sometimes the eBay auctions go to silly numbers and as rare as this kit is, it's not worth $150 to me.  But that was just one auction.  I managed to score one this past weekend and the USPS was quick to deliver and I was quick to fondle plastic, as it were. 

 

With the access door on the wrong side, and the raised rivet detail, may have contributed to the kit's demise in the 60's.  It is possible that it's the first 1/48-ish scale business jet to be kitted, aside from MPC's 1/48 Learjet 23, a decent kit in its own right.  But business jet kits in that scale still, to this day, are not all that popular even though the varying designs have increased and there are more of them than ever.  Perhaps it might be due to the relatively "elite" crust of people who own or use them.  For me, my father was a corporate pilot and I was always fascinated by these little "sky yachts" that went where the scheduled airlines didn't go (per se) and on their own schedule.  But the Hasegawa efforts on the Cessna Citation, Lear 35 and Falcon 10 were met with lukewarm success.  I have flown on each of them and they are respectable aircraft in their own right but the "heavy hauler, bigshots" of the day were the Jetstar, the Gulfstream II, the Sabre 75 and the Falcon 20.  To a lesser extent, the DeHavilland 125 (later the Hawker or Bae) was used as medium-range and evolved to the Hawker 800, a real beauty.  But the business jet market for plastic models had little appeal.  I was kind of surprised that no one kitted a Jetstar when the movie Goldfinger came out.  Maybe it was bounced around at some kitmakers but still, the big sellers were P-51's, F-104's, Battleships and some airliners.  Bizjets were not to be considered "mainstream".  For a plastic model company, the cost of tooling and engineering would be a negative return, most likely so it's understandable.

 

I knew the door was on the wrong side from photos but it looks especially odd in-person with the parts in my hand. If I were to build the kit, thus destroying its collectible value, I would fill in the wrong side and maybe, depending on my desires, leave the left side alone and scribe a line for the door or cut the door out completely, using the kit part as-is for display.  

 

The model is covered with raised rivet detail which, again, were I to build it, would be sanded clean.  But more on that later.

 

There are no wing fences, as the Falcon 20 came to have and the nose gear door looks like an afterthought;  Easily fixed with studying photos and recreating it properly.  But that doesn't solve the complete lack of wheel-well detail...or complete lack of wheel wells for that matter.  They just aren't there.  But that's possibly because this model was intended to have the wheels "retractable" as was the experimentation phase in the 60's with some kits.  Also interestingly, the tires are molded separately from the rims and are still soft and pliable vinyl. 

 

The cockpit is rudimentary at best and could benefit from a complete re-do.  The yokes are close-to-accurate but the seats are like poor B-17 seats and the instrument panel has an odd faceted bit to it, kind of like a dashboard of a Citroen.   But I digress.  A scratchbuilt cockpit is in order.  Since the '20 has had many upgrades and changes over the years, it is possible to do a great many things with it, given the photo-etch available and some decals and some other clever niceties.  I've been known to buy an entire kit for just the cockpit seats.  However, barring that, it may be time to carve new ones.  

 

The clear parts are very nice.  The cockpit glass is actually faceted with flat plates as per the real machine.  However, they kind have have "sagging" at the bottom of them.  In any case, I won't be using the clear parts on the re-do.

 

So the plan is this:  Re-mold the kit, using existing parts, in resin.  Sand the rivet detail off (on the new castings), move the door, add wheel-wells and detail, examine photos of the real machine, or the real machine in-person, if possible, and try to make this kit into something more usable.    I wish to preserve the kit's collectible value while having something to build that makes sense.  The engines are easy enough; The kit was designed with the prototype units that had an oddly-shaped cowling.  Making proper replacements from epoxy putty or bondo can yield both the 1960's turbojets as well as the high bypass fans of the 70's.  In any case, a lot of work but the good part is that the model is the right shape and size.  A good starting point.  So the end result should be that the existing 1960's kit is left intact with the new resin parts ready to be assembled. 

Falcon 20 in 150 02a.jpg

Edited by VADM Fangschleister
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I have never seen this kit in the flesh, it definitely needs the rivets removed (having worked on these in a previous life).

 

With Amodel issuing new Falcon kits in 1/72 maybe we will see a new 20 in that scale (not that it helps you with your 1/48 collection)

 

Thanks for the review!

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I can wait to see you turn "that" kit into a very nice model!

I have been watching the evil-bay bid fights on the Heller kit.

Some have sold as hi as $150 US,  WOW!!!!

It will probably be easier to carve a bass wood Falcon 20 for that price!

Too bad Minicraft did the 10 and not the 20.

 

Walter

 

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On 2/2/2017 at 8:31 AM, waltmert said:

I can wait to see you turn "that" kit into a very nice model!

I have been watching the evil-bay bid fights on the Heller kit.

Some have sold as hi as $150 US,  WOW!!!!

It will probably be easier to carve a bass wood Falcon 20 for that price!

Too bad Minicraft did the 10 and not the 20.

 

Walter

 

 

Like everything I do, there seems to be some "unique" angle to it that intrigues me. 

 

However, this doesn't mean that my enthusiasm comes equal to my ability to stick to it.  Like others, my enthusiasm wanes after I meet a particular challenge or if I reach a stumbling block that I can't overcome. 

 

I have the molding silicone and have ordered Lego bricks for making the pouring blocks.  I've copied parts before but really on-the-simple. This is far more involved and I have to figure out how to make this work. 

 

There are also other parts that just have to be made from scratch to include the new engine nacelles, landing gear along with wheels and tires, which may mean acrylic rod on the lathe as well as brass parts and soldering, then casting.  Over the years I've watched many a master modeler do things that amazed me and then I said, "I would love to try doing that" and now I may have the perfect justification for attempting it. 

 

The kit scales out to closer to 1/51 scale.  It is 13.25 inches long and dividing the full-scale length of 675 inches results in 50.9433. True 1/48 scale would yield a model of 14.0625".  So, it's basically 3/4 of an inch too short for true 1/48.  But....my other display models, all out of production units, are also close to 1/50 scale so...maybe a set of kits could happen if I can figure out and crack the code on mold-making and casting.  I have to try to honor the original manufacturers' artistic rights but some of the models require corrections in shape and addition of landing gear, interiors, etc.  So it may not be an issue to worry about as each model will only resemble the original item that I plan to copy. 

 

For the Falcon...the things that need to be corrected are the access door, the correct engine nacelles, addition of wing fences, removal of rivet detail, gear door correction, addition of wheel wells and correction/addition of proper landing gear.  Additionally, the model needs a proper cockpit, interior along with some other things that I haven't even figured out yet, I'm sure. 

 

The carving one out of basswood was actually a consideration.  In some cases, it would make it easier to cast a complete nose all the way back to the door.  However, that may happen yet.  We'll see.  It's a learning process (adventure) and it should be fun and relaxing...not a chore.  I may invest in a vacuform machine for cockpit windows but that remains to be seen as I prefer to do cockpit windows of this type a different way than what might seem easy. 

 

We shall see.  

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9 hours ago, VADM Fangschleister said:

Like others, my enthusiasm wanes after I meet a particular challenge or if I reach a stumbling block that I can't overcome. 

 

This is so me!   Your build will be a source of inspiration, though.   I'm very interested in how you carry out the corrections.  And i love watching lathework and mold-making.

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22 hours ago, Ben Brown said:

Thanks for posting this! I've been looking for one of these kits for years, but have never seen a photo of the actual kit parts. I look forward to seeing what you do with this kit.

 

Ben

T'is nay a problem m'lad.

 

I too was uber-curious about the contents of this kit.  I didn't know it existed until some years ago...

 

At this stage, I have been acquiring the needed stuff for attempting the first castings.  This consists of Lego blocks, modeling clay, mold release agent and mold silicone. 

 

I went online to see what Hobby Lobby offered in these materials and found a plethora of neat stuff.  Alas, my trip to the Rock Hill, SC store yielded not-so-much compared to what they had online.  But I got some casting silicone, some modeling clay and some release spray.  Had to order more Lego blocks to increase the depth of the pouring block and provide some flexibility. 

 

Trojan Thunder suggested I assuage my ignorance by perusing YouTube videos on how this is done.  That worked out to my benefit as I observed how other people made it look easy.  Taking a lesson from my own life's episodes, I decided to proceed slowly and make sure not to do anything that will damage the original model parts.  

 

Looking at the wings, I note the original models disappointing cutouts for the landing gear...which brings me to this.  My model will most likely be a casting of a (repaired/altered) casting.   I have to made molds of the original....fix the errors....then mold more pieces.  Seems a waste to do that as one set of molds will be used maybe just the one time. However, Many things change and many ideas happen so...we'll see what happens here. 

 

 

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