Heller 1:72 Nieuport - Delange Ni-D 622

Heller models had a good reputation as Matchbox models, they tried very hard to survive but unfortunatly they went under. Fortunately they are back on the scene and Modelers everywhere are thrilled. Many are hopeful that they will soon re-release many of their fantastic ship models that have been breaking wallets on ebay.  They've also introduced a new line of acrylic paints, that as soon as I can will get and try. This particular kit I believe was released just before Heller shut down, but the original molds appear to be form the late 70's when the Heller "black boxes" were around.

The Nieuport never really made a big impact on the aviation world. It was a good aircraft introduced in the 20's, France continued to build them into the early 30's where they became outdated. The French Air Ministry decided to sell as many off as they could. A few countries bought the Nieuport, but the remaining aircraft were striped of their guns and used as trainers. During the outbreak of WWII the few that remained were quickly converted back into fighting aircraft, however it's not documented that any were ever used in combat. Germany captured a few, but in the end all Nieuports were destroyed. So there are none left in the world today. I did happen to find a unique picture of a Nieuport with German crosses on the side, so I hope that Heller will re-release this kit again and soon, as I'd like to build the kit again and this captured aircraft would make a great project.

Probably the hardest part on this build was trying to decipher the color of Green used. I didn't like the recommended Humbrol Colors, (Humbrol 80) As it appeared too light, the box art was no help either as the aircraft is shown in several shades of green and not one of them appears to be the dominant color. His wing man the aircraft bellow is an even brighter green than the suggested Humbrol color. So I took to the web, where I found a few French modeling forums. One modeler who seemed quite the expert on the Nieuport and French aviation, said that these planes were painted a variety of different shades of green, and that not really was color right or wrong. This eased my stress a bit, I searched around for color pictures of the plane but found none. Then I happened upon a gem, an actual picture of the model :) The picture was great it pointed out a few corrections form the model kit, and showed that the aircraft is a very dark green. I decided to use Tamiya acrylics J.A. Green XF-13, and I'm quite pleased with the choice I could have gone darker, but I think this is dark enough and doesn't blend in the model.

The decals were excellent, but the Rooster Roundels on the sides for whatever reason were the only two not to cooperate properly. Despite my best efforts for aid them down. The only problem with the molds were the Radiators on the landing skids. They had horrible pin marks and by putting the 2 halves together made them too big for the scale, so I only used 1 side and covered the pin marks with a bit of mesh. I think it looks Ok, or at least passable. But it's a fantastic kit and would make a great weekend build.