SMER 1/72 Amiot 143

[yak face]

Heres a little something for all you lovers of the weird and oddball stuff. The SMER re-issue of the Heller Amiot 143 1930's french bomber.I decided to do this as a quickie in old school style , ie. not much messing and brush painted.I originally wanted to do it OOB. but being typical 1970's heller (lovely surface detailing, great subject choice but NO interior whatsoever !!) i had to scratch a basic cockpit floor and seat and some rudimentary exhausts ,just to get it to a very basic standard.I painted it with games workshop acrylics, mixed to match french chocolate brown, and thinned with water and brushed on.Its not exactly what you would call pretty,in fact it looks like the unholy union of an AW whitley and a blackpool tram!! Anyway here are the pics- Viewers of a squeamish disposition look away now!

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[Guest]

Nice one Tony. I love the diversity of subjects you bring to the forum and this is diverse even for you lol. Super build and a great paint job to, love the glazing.

[spanner570]

You were quite right Tony, it is one weird bird, but what a cracking job you have done.

A welcome convert to the brush hand brigade, well nearly...........That makes two of us! lol

Isn't it easier, more relaxing, more flowing to brush paint? (Pun, sorry)

And free hand canopy frame painting to boot, not a bit of masking tape to be seen, great stuff mate.

If proof were needed that brush painting is as good as anything produced from A/B's then this model is it, well done.

Ron

[Guest]

Tony ,very nice AND different thanks for sharing . I like the off the beaten path stuff!

[Gern]

That's very nicely done!

One question though Tony. Are you sure the manufacturer put the right sprues in the box? Surely no real aeroplane looked like that! That fuselage looks more like a boom from a twin boom job, the gondola from an airship and those engine cowlings from a much bigger 'plane! :lol

Gern

[yak face]

thanks guys, hope it hasnt mentally scarred you!! The one thing thats more amazing than the looks,is the puny, (for its size),bomb load . This thing was quite large, with a 80ft span and wings so big , the engineers could walk through a tunnel and service the engines in flight! so the fact it could only carry 3600lb of bombs is surprising,although if they had made the internal bomb bay a bit bigger they wouldnt have had so many windows to look out of!! Its a bit of a polar opposite to the last one too- from one of the most beautiful aircraft (dh 88 comet) to this plug ugly beastie !!!! cheers tony

[Dave W]

Nice job Tony.Do SMER do anymore of the old Heller kits?.The Bloch and Potez bombers come to mind.And also The 'Loire et Oliver' parasol monoplane pre WW2 thing i made in my teens.

[yak face]

Thanks dave, yes SMER do a load of old Heller stuff , the potez 540 ,LeO 45, Bloch 200 , breguet 693 to name just a few. Ive done the Breguet 693 ,(its in my gallery) and it was the same as the amiot, no interior at all! They are imported by pocketbond ltd so if you can get one of their catalogues or try this link to their website,its all in czech though but the pictures and titles speak for themselves Smr - Modely - Letadla cheers tony

[Dave W]

I decided a few years ago only to build 1/48.But i keep seeing stuff on this forum that i fancy having a go at like your Amiot!

[Guest]

Hey whats this Tony a 1/72, is your eyesight failing you, thought you were a 1/144 man, must seem like a Jumbo Jet to you. Seriously though lovely neat job especially the hand painting, wish I could do that. Keep them coming. Cheers derek

[yak face]

Thanks derek, heres another pic taken today with a bit of sun (remember that!?) cheers tony

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