1/72 Heller Concorde 

by Terry Chan

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I visited Paris in 2008, and I fell in love - with the Concorde gate guard at Charles de Gaulle.  With apologies to the Britons out there, I think the Concorde looks best in Air France markings.  
 
This is the Heller 1/72 Concorde.  The kit was originally released by Airfix and shipped with BA markings.  Heller provided their version, using the same mold as Airfix's, but in Air France markings.  There was some flash on the plastic, and the sprue gates were quite thick, hence care must be taken to clean parts up before they're used.  Panel lines were recessed, but were disappointingly thick.  This is somewhat okay because I did not intend to highlight them on this otherwise clean white jet.
 
In case you don't know already, a jetliner in 1/72 is huge, and this one is no exception.  It measures 33 inches in length, so you should have ample of display space if you plan on building one.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

A lot of online reviews of this kit brought up the various shape and accuracy issues with this kit.  These problems don't bother me that much because when one builds a Concorde, he/she builds it for the elegant and graceful lines of this iconic aircraft.
 
The online reviews also mentioned the various fit problems with this kit.  Boy did this kit put up a fight.  I already knew what I was getting into, but it still didn't make things much easier.  The long fuselage was divided into 3 sections, and each section had a left and right halves.  Hence if not assembled carefully, a lot of diameter discrepancies will occur that need a lot of filling and sanding.  The dropable radome is designed to be movable, but you're better off just gluing it in either the up or down position.
 
The wing root area was also aggravating because the long seam is located right inside a recess, hence making filling and sanding extremely difficult.  For reasons unbeknownst to me, Heller/Airfix decide to not mold the leading tip on the underside of the wing root.  It's not a manufacturing defect or "short shot", it simply wasn't in the original mold.  This problem was rectified by rebuilding that area with plastic bits and copious amount of putty. 
 
The landing gears were nicely done.  They're easy to assembly and had metal inserts to provide added strength.  When installed, they're quite sturdy and I do not expect to see sagging gears years from now. 
 

 
Painting overall white on a large airframe such as this one is challenging.  I feared that I'd need to use bottles of hobby paint and the coverage still may not be ideal.  What I decided to do was use Krylon Fusion instead of hobby paints.  Krylon Fusion is a rattle can paint designed specifically for plastic outdoor furniture.  It is cheap, cures fast, and the gloss white version is whiter than any hobby paint in the market.  You can find it in hardware stores for just a few dollars a can.
 
A word of advice when using Krylon Fusion is: DO NOT use lacquer hobby clear coat over it.  Lacquer clear coat such as Gunze Mr. Clear Coat will eat into Krylon.  Don't ask me why I know this.
 
After spraying the Krylon, I applied the kit decals.  These decals really were the strongest point of the entire kit.  They were thin, adhered well and the colours were billiant.  A coat of Tamiya acrylics clear was sprayed over it to seal in the decals.
 
This kit wasn't a complex kit to build.  It look me a month to finish, and most of the time was spent on sanding and filling.  The end result was a stunning model.  With its sheer size, it's definitely an attention grabber when displayed.  I bet most people will admire its beautiful lines instead of complaining about its perceived inaccuracies.

Terry Chan

Photos and text © by Terry Chan