Heller 1/72 Super Etendard

HELLER 1:72 SUPER ETENDARD

Reviewer: Ray Bull (raybull@hotmail.com)
Kit Review submitted: January 2000

Aircraft:
A jet powered naval strike aircraft, the Super Etendard was developed as a replacement in the 1970's for the French Navy's old Etendards, and after reviewing various types, such as the Vought A-7 Corsair, McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and the Sepecat Jaguar M, the Super Etendard was accepted. Super Etendards saw action in the Falklands with Argentina and in the Iran-Iraq war, acquitting themselves well in both conflicts.

The Kit:
1/72 Heller Super Etendard, Kit #80360 - Coming on just three sprues (two blue-grey, one clear), there are 43 pieces and they are moulded with excellent raised detail and looks like it shall build into a nice kit. The canopy is a bit thick, and the cockpit has almost no detail. There is no pilot figure.

Instructions:
The instructions are easy to follow, with Humbrol/Heller paint called for, on a double A4 sized sheet.

Construction:
Construction, almost always begins with the cockpit, and this is no exception. The cockpit is painted black There is a joystick and instrumental panel, this being supplied as a decal. A simple ejection seat rounds out this bare cockpit.

The exhaust fits ok, but there is a small gap around edges of the exhaust and the fuselage- I don't know if it is supposed to be there or not. But on the good side, the turbofan/jet blades are shown inside. The simple intakes are also fitted in this step, and they go together well. Then the top and bottom fuselage halves come together excellently. The fit is barely noticeable. A little filler is needed where the wing joins the fuselage, but just a little. Ballast is needed and indicated (though not showing how much) by the instructions.

The vertical and horizontal tailplanes are next, and aside from a few sink-marks which mar the surface, they fit well. This is really turning into a quick build! The canopy is fitted, but there is a large gap at the back edge of the canopy, and is noticeable if you look at it carefully, but from the front, you cannot tell.

I then decided to paint the craft naval blue, since all major fuselage attachments had been made.

The undersides were painted white, and the Exocet and drop tank were fitted no problems. The Exocet is a rather crude replica, but it will do.

The wing landing gear needs care to fit well, as the landing gear doors do not really have anywhere to go, except on the surface of the wing and the struts are rather shaky in their holes. The missile and drop tank placement make this a cramped job. The front landing gear also has a flaw. The secondary strut is too short, and needs a little extra length (about 3mm: 1/9 inch), so I cut it off, and added a length of old 1/72 pitot tube I had in my spares box. Maybe a little ingenuity needed here.

Pitot tubes and the like need care to fit in their holes, as the tabs on the parts are not noticeable enough to gain a hold in the hole. Maybe butt joining the small parts is easier, but I persisted with the holes.

Options:
The instructions do not allow for any options. Landing gear down is a must, if one doesn't want to do some surgery.

Versions:
Only one version can be made from this kit, a French Navy aircraft from the first unit to use the Super Etendard , the 11F Flotilla, number 52, according to the instructions. There are no options in terms of weapon fitting, with just an Exocet?? and a drop tank provided.

Decals:
Obviously only one set of decals is provided, and they are quite detailed for a kit of this age and standard. The sheet is small, but they fitted many markings onto it. They are thin and prone to folding over, which I found out, when attaching a stencil on the wing. The stencil flipped over on itself, due to my not paying attention/complacency with decaling, and the damn thing was ruined, and was impossible to correct. I just threw that decal away, and masked away my own stencil. It happened three other times. They are also very reluctant to move once placed on the model. So beware.

Accuracy:
It looks good, standing up well. The Exocet is not accurate, being a crude example. The aircraft is only 0.14 scale metres oversized on wingspan, so that is negligible to the eye, and just about spot on for length.

Overall:
A very quick build, a nice change from single engined WW2 fighters for me. The only letdown with this kit was the decals and the landing gear which both proved troublesome. Also a minor letdown was the absence of any options, and multiple versions, but all I wanted was a Super Etendard, so this did not matter to me. Assembly was mostly a breeze, and so was the painting. Recommended if you like the subject.

Related Reviews:-

Academy 1/72 Super Etendard

web hosting • domain names • video sharing
free online games • photo sharing
free blog • short URLs