Heller 60370/56370 Canadair CL-415 Firefighting Aircraft Starter Kit — 1/72 Scale Plastic model starter kit

Title

Heller 60370/56370 Canadair CL-415 Firefighting Aircraft Starter Kit — 1/72 Scale
Manufacturer and kit history

Heller is the long-established French plastic-model manufacturer, particularly well known for its extensive range of French and European aircraft subjects. The CL-415 is one of its more distinctive modern civil/emergency-service aircraft kits.

The standard aircraft tooling is Heller 80370, while the starter-set version has appeared under 56370 and the older 60370 designation. The current Heller website identifies the starter kit as 56370, while the standard kit is 80370.

The kit represents the Canadair CL-415, the famous amphibious aerial firefighting aircraft commonly known as the "Super Scooper."

The Heller tooling was originally issued around 1998, and the kit has subsequently appeared in other manufacturer's catalogues, including Revell, Italeri and Airfix-related distributions. The underlying Heller kit contains 108 parts.
Kit contents

The 1/72 starter kit contains:

Canadair CL-415 plastic model

108 plastic parts

Clear parts

Decals

Assembly instructions

Heller acrylic paints

Heller paintbrush

Heller polystyrene cement

The 2018 Heller catalogue gives the completed model dimensions as approximately:

Length: 27.6 cm

Wingspan: 39.7 cm

Parts: 108

Scale: 1/72

The starter set has the larger 37 × 25 × 7 cm packaging used for Heller's substantial starter kits.

The current Heller starter-set page confirms that the box includes the aircraft together with cement, brush and main paints.
The full-size aircraft

The Canadair CL-415 was developed as the successor to the earlier Canadair CL-215, an aircraft specifically designed for aerial firefighting.

The CL-215 first flew in 1967 and established the concept of a dedicated amphibious water bomber that could land on a suitable lake, scoop up water while skimming across the surface and immediately return to the fire.

The CL-415 took that concept considerably further.

Rather than the CL-215's piston engines, the CL-415 uses two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF turboprops, each producing approximately 2,380 shp.

The prototype CL-415 flew in 1993, with deliveries beginning in 1994. Approximately 95 aircraft were produced before production by Canadair/Bombardier ended.
What makes the CL-415 special

The aircraft's most important feature is its ability to scoop water without landing.

The pilot approaches a suitable body of water at low altitude and skims the hull across the surface. Special water probes scoop water into the aircraft's tanks while the aircraft continues flying.

Heller states that the aircraft can scoop water at approximately 110 km/h.

This gives the CL-415 an enormous operational advantage over conventional firefighting aircraft that have to return to an airport to land, refill and take off again.

A suitable lake or reservoir can effectively become a temporary airborne-firefighting refuelling station.
Water capacity

The CL-415 carries approximately 6,140 litres of water.

The aircraft can release that water rapidly over a fire, then return to a nearby lake for another scoop.

This allows repeated drops during a single sortie and is particularly valuable in areas where fires are close to suitable bodies of water.
Design changes from the CL-215

Although the CL-415 looks remarkably similar to the CL-215, it incorporates substantial changes.

The most obvious are:

Turboprop engines instead of piston engines

Revised engine nacelles

Improved aerodynamics

Revised wingtip fins

Additional tail fins

Strengthened structure

Improved avionics

Improved navigation equipment

Increased firefighting capability

Heller specifically notes the distinctive fins and the replacement of the CL-215's piston engines with the two turboprops.
Service history

The CL-415 became one of the world's most recognisable specialist firefighting aircraft.

It has operated with civil protection and firefighting organisations in numerous countries, particularly those exposed to severe seasonal wildfires.

Notable operators have included:

Canada

France

Italy

Greece

Croatia

Spain

United States

Turkey

other Mediterranean countries

France's Sécurité Civile became an especially important operator.

Heller specifically notes that the French service received its first CL-415 on 9 February 1995.

The French aircraft are particularly recognisable in their distinctive yellow and red Sécurité Civile markings, which are represented by the Heller kit.
Production and later ownership

The CL-415 was initially a Canadair product.

Canadair became part of Bombardier Aerospace, and production subsequently continued under Bombardier.

After production ended, the type certificate and associated rights passed to Viking Air in 2016.

The aircraft has consequently had a remarkably long operational life.

More recently, the design has been revived in the form of the DHC-515 Firefighter, developed by De Havilland Canada as a successor to the CL-415.
Full-size aircraft price

The CL-415 is unusual because there is no straightforward current "new aircraft price" for an original Canadair CL-415.

A historical estimate gives approximately C$37 million per aircraft in 2014 money.

That figure should not be treated as a current 2026 transaction price for a CL-415. The aircraft is out of original production, and individual used aircraft can vary enormously in value depending upon:

airframe hours;

engine hours;

maintenance status;

corrosion;

firefighting equipment;

remaining structural life;

avionics;

regulatory certification;

and operator history.

For your catalogue I would record:

Historical new-build price: approximately C$37 million (2014 estimate)
Current original CL-415 market: specialist used aircraft; no reliable standard current selling price.