Heller
The French manufacturer Heller have been in existence almost as long as Airfix and Revell, and have an extensive range of kits covering virtually all subjects and scales.
They have produced a very large range of ship kits over the years, including sailing ships in various scales (mostly 1/150 and 1/200), civil ships and boats in 1/200, and warships (predominantly
WW2 British and German, and post-war French) in 1/400 scale.
Heller were probably the first manufacturer to produce warship kits in a largeish constant scale, but their choice of 1/400 has since been overshadowed in popularity by 1/350, introduced by Tamiya in the 1970s.
Their 1/400 scale kits are generally cleanly moulded and basically accurate (with some exceptions, such as HMS Hood but sparse in detail, with limited superstructure and deck detail and simplified fittings and armament.
They're excellent candidates for improvement with photo-etched brass details, and White Ensign Models produce detail sets for most of their WW2 ships. L'Arsenal in France also produce resin weapon and fittings upgrades including many for post-war French warships.
Heller's sailing ship kits are almost all excellent in detail and quality (some, notably HMS Victory, are among the best plastic sailing ship kits available) but some of them are very dubious in accurary. Heller had a bad habit in their earlier days of "recycling" the hull and basic parts of one kit to make a new, sometimes
completely fictitious, ship. Examples of this are Gladiateur, Conquistador, Phenix, Sirene and .
A number of Airfix kits have appeared as Heller reissues over the years (and vice versa). Additionally, during the 1960s Heller reissued a number of Pyro sailing ship kits with spurious French names!
Heller have had serious financial problems in the last few years, and their kits have been in production only intermittently. Many of their ship kits have not been produced for many years, though Airfix have recently reissued some of their 1/400 warships and the 1/100 HMS Victory. Zvezda have also
reissued a number of their sailing ship kits.
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1/50 Lifeboat Pierre Loti |
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1/100 Ship of the Line Soleil Royal |
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1/125 Tuna Fishing Boat "Thonier Armor" |
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1/150 Italian Sail Training Ship Amerigo Vespucci |
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1/400 Battlecruiser HMS Hood |
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1/400 Aircraft Carrier Arromanches/HMS Colossus |
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1/400 French Cruiser De Grasse |
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1/400 French Aircraft Carrier Clemenceau |