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1/72 Heller |
MD 450 Ouragan |
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Gallery Article by Rafael Colindres
on
Sept 15 2003
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El
Salvador Independence Day 2003
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THE KIT
The kit chosen for this project was the French made 1/72 Heller kit. It is molded in beige plastic with 35 pieces. This is the only one model in existence in this scale and is more than 25 years old, but still excellent in quality and detail.
COCKPIT
Nicely done, includes a very good detailed seat, which I improved by adding photo etched seat belts. The control stick is included, the interior was painted in black, the instrument panel was scratch made and the dials were covered with a drop of Kristal Clear to simulate glass. The one piece canopy was cut in three pieces and was fully operational to simulate an open or closed cockpit.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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LANDING GEAR
Very well detailed, easy to assembly and align. Weight was added to compensate for the motor weight. The brake lines were added to the main landing gear, and the tires were bulged to simulate the aircraft weight.
FUSELAGE
Piece of cake! Superb fitting along both, the wings and fuselage. Little filling and sanding was necessary. The airbrakes were cut to show them in the open position, all the control surfaces were cut to show them in operational poses. The tail was cut to put the motor inside (Extra Tech Rolls Royce Nene) and it was fixed with plastic rod to simulate the arness like the Mig 15. The tip tanks were cut off the wing to represent an interceptor version of the Ouragan, and Shafir missiles were added with it's pylons. The flaps were also cut from the wing and were improved with its interior detail.
PAINT
The out of the
box you have a choice of two versions, Israeli Air Force version of the 56' campaign
and French 1/12 Cambraisis of 1954. The paint scheme represents the Ouragan
in the Salvadoran Air Force service at the end of 70's. All the marks were
painted (only four decals were used the warning triangles and the rescue
letterings) including the shieldless flag in the tail, the paneling details
were enhanced with pastels and sealed with matte acrylic.