{"product_id":"heller-80208-caudron-c-635-simoun-1-72-scale-plastic-model-kit","title":"Heller 80208 Caudron C.635 Simoun — 1\/72 Scale Plastic model kit","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer: Heller, France\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKit number: 80208\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEAN: 3279510802085\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAircraft: Caudron C.635 Simoun\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eScale: 1\/72\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKit type: Injection-moulded plastic\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eParts: 34\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eModel length: 127 mm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWingspan: 144 mm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDecal\/marking options: 3\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCurrent status: Out of production (OOP) at several retailers\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKnown reissue: 2011 reissue used captured French aircraft for training, communications and utility duties.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal tooling\/kit history: generally dated to 1978, with the 80208 boxing being a later reissue.\n\u003cbr\u003eHeller and the kit's history\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHeller is one of France's historic plastic-model manufacturers and has a particularly strong catalogue of French aviation subjects. The company's willingness to produce less-common French aircraft is one reason its older 1\/72 catalogue remains interesting to collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Caudron C.635 Simoun is a particularly appropriate Heller subject because it represents an important part of French civil aviation history rather than a conventional wartime fighter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original Heller Simoun tooling is associated with 1978, while the 80208 boxing was reissued in 2011. A contemporary kit review explicitly identifies 80208 as the 2011 reissue, priced at $15 at the time and supplied with three decal options.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit remains notable among Heller collectors because it is one of the company's relatively small number of French inter-war civil aircraft. Heller-ForEver records several different 80208 boxings and decal treatments, including later versions with revised decal sheets.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit contents\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 80208 contains 34 plastic parts. The finished model is approximately 127 mm long with a 144 mm wingspan, making it a compact but distinctive 1\/72 aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe documented marking options are:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Caudron C.635M, French Air Force, aircraft No. 7400, \"43\", 1938.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Caudron C.635, Paris–Tokyo raid, 1937, aircraft No. 7090.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Caudron C.635, Air Bleu, aircraft No. 7017\/F-ANRO, 1 April 1936.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit is a relatively simple vintage design with a surprisingly attractive subject. A modeller's report describes it as an enjoyable build with a well-detailed interior, although much of that interior becomes difficult to see after the fuselage is closed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit's tooling dates from the era when Heller commonly used raised surface detail, rather than the recessed panel lines found on many modern kits. This is appropriate to the age of the tooling and is part of its vintage character.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe real aircraft — Caudron C.635 Simoun\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Caudron C.635 Simoun was a French four-seat touring, liaison and long-distance aircraft of the 1930s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Simoun family was designed by the celebrated French aircraft designer Marcel Riffard, who was also responsible for Caudron's highly successful racing aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe design evolved from the racing aircraft developed for the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe. The basic formula was a relatively small, extremely clean and aerodynamically efficient low-wing monoplane constructed predominantly from wood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe early C.500\/C.520\/C.620 prototypes evolved into the C.630 and ultimately the C.635, which became the principal production development.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe C.635 used a Renault Bengali six-cylinder engine producing approximately 220 hp. The aircraft had:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Crew: normally 1–2\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Passengers: up to 4, depending on configuration\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Length: approximately 9.1–9.15 m\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wingspan: 10.40 m\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Cruising speed: approximately 280 km\/h\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maximum speed: around 300–310 km\/h\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fixed, streamlined landing gear\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wooden construction\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Foundation gives a C.635 specification of a 220 hp Renault 6 Q01, 10.40 m wingspan, 9.15 m length and 280 km\/h cruising speed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Simoun was remarkable for its period because it combined a relatively small engine with very clean aerodynamics. Contemporary accounts place the aircraft among the early touring machines capable of approaching or exceeding 300 km\/h.\n\u003cbr\u003eCaudron and Renault\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft's history is also tied to Renault.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRenault acquired Caudron in 1933, and the company subsequently became known as Caudron-Renault. The Simoun therefore combined Caudron's aircraft-design expertise with Renault's engines and industrial resources.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis was a productive combination. The Simoun was light, fast and relatively economical, making it attractive to both private owners and commercial operators.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was expensive for an individual pilot, however. Historical sources give contemporary prices in the region of 128,000–157,000 French francs, meaning ownership was largely restricted to affluent private aviators and professional record-setting pilots.\n\u003cbr\u003eRecord flights and famous pilots\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Simoun's greatest fame came from long-distance flying.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was used by a number of prominent French aviators, including:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Antoine de Saint-Exupéry\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Marcel Doret\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Michel Détroyat\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    André Japy\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maryse Bastié\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maryse Hilsz\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was particularly suited to record attempts because its clean aerodynamics provided good speed and range for its engine power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne important flight was the Paris–Tananarive (Antananarivo) record in December 1935. Gaston Génin and André Robert flew a specially prepared Simoun from Le Bourget to Madagascar, covering approximately 8,665 km in 57 hours and 6 minutes with intermediate stops.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Simoun was consequently much more than an ordinary touring aircraft: it became one of the representative French record machines of the mid-1930s.\n\u003cbr\u003eAir Bleu\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft also had an important commercial career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe French postal airline Air Bleu, established in 1935, used Simouns for domestic airmail operations. Sources differ on the precise number by variant, but the airline operated a small fleet of C.630 and C.635 aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis makes the Air Bleu marking supplied in the Heller kit particularly historically appropriate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft represented by the Air Bleu option was not merely a private touring aircraft—it represents the Simoun in one of its most important commercial roles.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe Paris–Tokyo connection\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe third marking option is especially interesting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Simoun was used in attempts to establish long-distance routes between France and Asia. André Japy, one of the era's outstanding French long-distance pilots, attempted a Paris–Tokyo flight in a specially prepared Simoun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe reached Hanoi in approximately 51 hours, but bad weather prevented him from completing the final portion of the journey as planned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Heller kit's Paris–Tokyo option therefore represents one of the aircraft's most famous record-flying episodes.\n\u003cbr\u003eSaint-Exupéry and the Simoun\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Simoun is also closely associated with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of Wind, Sand and Stars and The Little Prince.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1936, Saint-Exupéry acquired a C.635, registration F-ANXK. The aircraft was red and was used during filming connected with Courrier Sud.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn February 1938, Saint-Exupéry and his navigator André Prévot attempted a long-distance flight from New York toward South America in the Simoun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter travelling approximately 5,500 km, they crashed during an attempted departure from Guatemala City after the aircraft was overloaded with fuel. The accident left Saint-Exupéry seriously injured and unconscious for several days.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis episode is one of the best-known chapters in the Simoun's history and further connects the aircraft to the world of inter-war aviation adventure.\n\u003cbr\u003eMilitary service\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Simoun's performance also attracted the French military.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe C.635M was developed as a military liaison and training aircraft. The French Air Force ordered large numbers, while the French naval air arm also received aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSources give somewhat different totals because they classify C.635 conversions and military variants differently. A useful breakdown is approximately:\n\u003cbr\u003eAir Bleu\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    46 C.635 civilian aircraft built, with some earlier aircraft converted to the standard;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    around 489 C.635M military aircraft;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    additional aircraft supplied to the French Navy and other users.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnother historical source records 110 C.635s ordered by the French Air Force in 1935–36 and 32 received by the French naval air arm, while more than 500 Simouns of the various versions had been produced before May 1940.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe exact overall production figure is therefore best treated as approximately 500–680 aircraft for the wider Simoun family, rather than as one completely settled number. Sources commonly quote either around 570–590 or approximately 680, depending on how prototypes, conversions and military variants are counted.\n\u003cbr\u003eSecond World War\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe outbreak of the Second World War changed the aircraft's role.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMilitary Simouns served with the French armed forces as liaison and training aircraft. After the defeat of France, surviving aircraft continued to operate under various authorities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA number were subsequently operated by the Luftwaffe, which used captured French aircraft for training, communications and utility duties.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe type's relatively simple construction and useful performance allowed it to remain in service after newer aircraft had made it obsolete as a modern combat design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe last French military Simouns survived into the post-war period. Sources indicate that the French Air Force retired its remaining examples in Morocco in 1949, while the French naval air arm's last Simoun was withdrawn in February 1950.\n\u003cbr\u003eSurvivors\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Simoun is now extremely rare.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSources identify two surviving aircraft, including an example preserved at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget and another associated with efforts to return a preserved aircraft to flight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the historically significant airworthy examples, F-AZAM, was destroyed in a crash in September 2002, killing its owner Albert Prost.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat scarcity makes the Heller kit a particularly appealing representation of a historically important French aircraft for collectors of inter-war aviation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Heller","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57512972616060,"sku":"Heller-80208","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0432\/8584\/0033\/files\/E9FEDFEE-BFD0-4757-B1BE-F20880BB8E60.jpg?v=1790661271","url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/heller-80208-caudron-c-635-simoun-1-72-scale-plastic-model-kit","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}