Surcouf submarine Heller 1/400 - Military-Kits

Surcouf submarine Heller 1/400
The flashback for the box art ... a good idea but with a
very poor packaging .
Author :
Kittank
 Renewal ?
eller is proposing a new set
of models for skilled
and enthusiast modellers. The principle is to upgrade an
old kit with a set of
photo etched and
resin parts.
The
objectives are twofold: improving the
level of details and
H
The Heller model
#81014 “upgrade”
SURCOUF is a revival of an old Heller
mold. Heller has
added a new resin
part for the Kiosk as
well as a photo etched details set for
the guard rails and
the tween deck ladders. Let’s see what
Heller proposes.
proposing new versions of the original
kits.
The two pieces of the hull join perfectly!
Surcouf submarine Heller 1/400
 A flawed historical study :
In theory, you should
be able to build
the «1934-1936» or
the
«1937-1942»
versions as written
on the instruction
sheet.
However, I don’t
think that Heller has
carried out a good
historical study before developing this
upgraded version.
The original kit de-
picted the initial version of the Surcouf
with a low profiled
kiosk, some removable Radio masts, a
seaplane and its handling crane. The submarine was upgraded
in 1937 when she was
equipped with a tall
kiosk and had the sea
plane and the radio
masts removed. The
SURCOUF was like
that up to 1941 (and
not 1942 as wrongly
stated in the instruc-
This model is composed with very few pieces.
tion sheet). In 1941,
the SURCOUF is hit
by a German air attack in the harbor of
Devonport. The damaged ship sails to
Portsmouth (United
States Naval Shipyard). She arrives
the 28th of July 1941
and will stay there
during 3 months.
It exits a picture of
the Surcouf side by
side with the HMS
Aurora. The superior
deck will be modified and she will receive additional horizontal and vertical
rudders. From 1941
up to 1942, the SURCOUF will retain this
shape that, to my
best knowledge, is
not reproduced by
any model brand.
The Heller kit is fine
to reproduce the
Surcouf as it was
between 1934 and
Surcouf submarine Heller 1/400
1936 with the old
parts present in the
first version of the
KIT.
As an addition to
this “styrene only”
version (you do not
require the new resin and pe parts),
you can also reproduce the “1937-28th
of July 1941” version
that is improperly
named “1937-1942”
by Heller. You’ll find
in the box the tall
kiosk in resin and the
PE parts for the guard
rails and the tween
deck ladders. However, there is no part to
model the “October
1941- 19th of February 1942” version
In the heart of this
historical jumble, it
should be noted that
the instruction sheet
adds extra confusion
between the “19341936” and “1937-1941”
versions. The page 11
“1937-1942” drawing
is flawed because it
The styrene pieces for the seaplane.
shows the sea plane
and removable radio masts that were
no more present.
 Présentation :
The old Heller logo
and the old box art are
back. I must confess
that I’m quite pleased
by this, but it is only a
cosmetic effect.
Some
disappointments arise after the
box has been opened.
Once again, Heller
didn’t pack its sprues
in separate bags to
avoid scratches. The
resin part is wrapped in a simple bag
that doesn’t protect it
properly. As a consequence, the two lateral masts were broken.
Even worse, the PE set
is not reinforced by a
rigid cardboard and it
was twisted. And last
but not least, the decals sheet is not wrapped and can move
Surcouf submarine Heller 1/400
freely in the box at the
risk of scratches.
That lack of care is not
acceptable when the
target of this upgraded kit is the experienced modellers. I can
only advice Heller to
improve its packaging
to respect the outstanding resin work carried
out by l’Arsenal.
 The plastic
sprues :
The parts are molded in dark green
plastic that is not
so nice. As usual for
Heller, the styrene
has a tedious flexibility. The sanding generates some small
lints that can only be
removed by using
low grit sandpaper.
I don’t understand
why Heller still uses
this toys grade plastic that is, to my own
opinion, below stan-
dard. A more robust
styrene would be welcomed even if more
breakable.
The quality of the molding is better than it
used to be. It is really cleaner and finer:
none of the sprues are
twisted. At a least a
positive point, even if
the molding is outdated compared to the
actual standards.
 The « upgrade »
parts :
We already discussed
the poor packaging
and its impact (twisted PE and broken
resin masts), but we
are clearly in a different world. The resin
parts made by “L’Arsenal” craftsmen are
outstanding. The grey
resin part is perfect
without bubbles or
flashes. Congratula-
tion! The molding is
very coarse and the
details are well reproduced. Only on
small issue. I would
have preferred two
separate parts for
the kiosk and the
telemeter. The telemeter is reproduced
on “diving position”.
It’s a pity because it
won’t be possible to
model the Surcouf
with a turned turret.
The PE parts are very
accurate and coarse.
The different parts
are very well conceived. Of course, they
require skills and patience, but they are
really perfect.
 The instruction sheet :
Heller provides an
A5 format booklet,
B&W photocopier
Surcouf submarine Heller 1/400
Surcouf submarine Heller 1/400
The resin parts are very fine but the mast were
broken in my box!
Heller used to provide badly printed decals. It’s not true anymore. A strong effort
has been done to fix
that issue. The finesses are excellent and
the decals are very
accurate. The seaplane roundels are
really perfect and
it wasn’t obvious at
this scale. Heller has
made a huge improvement in this domain and it has to be
pointed out.
quality. The instructions are clear enou-  The decal sheet :
gh. However the differences between
The decal sheet is very accurate and the seaplane
the two possible
roundels are perfect.
versions are quite
fuzzy. Moreover, Heller represents the
seaplane, the crane
and the radio masts
that are not present
on the “1937-1941”
version.
Once again, the quality is below the actual standards.
Surcouf submarine Heller 1/400