{"product_id":"heller-l545-bloch-mb-210-french-medium-bomber-1-72-scale-vintage-plastic-kit","title":"Heller L545 Bloch MB.210 French Medium Bomber — 1\/72 Scale Vintage plastic kit","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer: Heller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKit number: L545\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSubject: Bloch MB.210\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eScale: 1\/72\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eType: Static injection-moulded plastic aircraft kit\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCountry of origin: France\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal issue: 1967\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSeries: Heller Musée\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBox art: Paul Lengellé\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStatus: Vintage\/discontinued tooling\/reissues\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSkill level: Approximately intermediate\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKnown later reference: Heller 545\n\u003cbr\u003eThe manufacturer — Heller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHeller is one of France's historic plastic-model manufacturers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe company developed an extensive range of French aircraft during the 1960s and 1970s, covering subjects that were often ignored by the large American and Japanese manufacturers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis included aircraft from:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Bloch;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Potez;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Amiot;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Morane-Saulnier;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Dewoitine;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Breguet;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Loire;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Caudron;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Farman;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Dassault;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Sud Aviation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe L545 Bloch 210 belongs to this particularly interesting period of Heller production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe company's Musée range was notable for concentrating on historically important French aircraft and other subjects, and the Bloch 210 is one of the more unusual aircraft in that collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original kit is documented as appearing in 1967.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe kit\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe L545 represents the Bloch MB.210, a large twin-engine French bomber of the 1930s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a 1\/72 kit of its age, it is a substantial model.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original kit was moulded in the characteristic Heller plastic of the period. Surviving examples are encountered in different colours depending upon production run and reissue; an early example is documented with an unusual greenish plastic, while a later L545 box was moulded in more conventional grey Heller plastic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit provides the major components necessary to build the aircraft, including:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    fuselage;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    wings;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    twin engine nacelles;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    propellers;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    tail assembly;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    landing gear;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    cockpit and crew-area components;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    defensive gun positions;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    clear parts;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    decals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBecause this is a vintage tooling, the engineering is much simpler than modern Heller or contemporary Japanese kits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere is consequently considerably less internal detail than would be expected from a modern 1\/72 bomber.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat is normal for a 1967 kit and is part of its historical character.\n\u003cbr\u003eScale\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe scale is 1\/72.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe real Bloch 210 had a wingspan of roughly 22.8 metres, which would give a finished model wingspan of approximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e316 mm \/ 12.4 inches\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat makes it a reasonably substantial twin-engine aircraft while remaining compatible with the standard 1\/72 aircraft collection.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe real aircraft — Bloch MB.210\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Bloch MB.210 was a French twin-engine bomber developed during the 1930s by Société des Avions Marcel Bloch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMarcel Bloch was an important figure in French aviation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis company would eventually become Dassault Aviation, making the Bloch 210 part of the long historical lineage leading from inter-war French aircraft to modern Dassault combat aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe MB.210 was developed as a successor to the earlier Bloch MB.200.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe two aircraft looked substantially different.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe MB.200 was a high-wing aircraft with fixed landing gear, whereas the MB.210 was a low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis represented a significant step forward in French bomber design.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Heller","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57512972190076,"sku":"Heller-L545","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0432\/8584\/0033\/files\/9DB6E823-423D-4FAF-B97F-3FC2BD25A102.jpg?v=1790663598","url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/heller-l545-bloch-mb-210-french-medium-bomber-1-72-scale-vintage-plastic-kit","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}