I picked this kit from the stash for a club contest next month thinking it would be a quick build. WRONG ! I always thought that Heller's car kits would be like their aircraft I'm used to. Fairly basic with low parts count. This car model is not like that. It has a high parts count & is well engineered but requires a lot of clean up. This is one that I am religiously following in the instructions & marking off the parts & steps as I go.

The chassis is a multi piece affair the required squaring during the assembly of the rails & cross members.

Steering is functional all the way back to the gear box (not inst. yet). Heller uses the term riveting to secure the moving parts but in reality that means melting the shafts to secure the attached part. Being the glutten for punishment that I am I made nuts to do the same thing. They are out of scale but I think they look better.

Just have the basic engine set in place. The only addition I'm making to this is adding spark plug wiring.

At least the primary body is one piece, but the fenders are multi-piece.

Actually it's an in-line six. Tw0- tone blue for the color. I'm going tobtry to lay out one of Delahaye's art deco schemes. It will be similar to the box art.

Looks great Al, but maybe not a "relaxing" build eh? Like Rob i'm not familiar with the vehicle but have to say it looks good.

Actually I have made quite a bit of progress. Will try to get some pictures up today or tomorrow.

Here is a current update:

Engine showing carbs & exhaust manifold

Scratch built plug wiring:

Loose wire is to coil on firewall

Interior panels (clear panels with paint) & firewall:

Frame assy. with wheels & engine sitting in place. Heller did an exceptional job on the wire wheels.:

Loose body pieces painted with Tamiya rattle cans:

A hint of the final product:

The fenders were multi-piece & needed to be built up. The built up rear fenders needed to be attached to the body. All great fun.

Sure looks pretty Al.
Nice paintwork.
Looking forward to seeing it in headlines.

Great work Al. How do you stop dust and grit settling on the freshly sprayed bodywork?

Gregor that was actually sprayed outside sitting on my front porch. I wipe it down with water or " plastic prep" to try to relieve the static. That seems to help more than anything. Tamiya spray dries fast enough that dust can become a non-issue. Didn't need to do it on this one but you can sand the surface between coats. This one has three fast coats & one wet coat over about 30 minutes. If you need to sand the time between coats needs to be extended.