Junkman

So it was actually available?

Announced five years ago, still not available.

The 1/24 kits hit the shelves in Europe now.

It could be worse. In true Heller tradition, the body could be two halves, split down the middle. Too bad the hatch isn't a separate piece, though.

www.heller.fr

Heller states the tooling is from 1973.

Why so serious?

I hope not.

The tooling somehow ended up in France in the 80s, and they were issued under the Heller and Airfix banners. Now these are coming back.

Not sure why they do it, since there are so many diecasts out there meanwhile. With the right decals, you could build Henri Toivonen's last ride, if you like the macabre.

One we didn't see for quite some time is this newly announced reissue. It should hit the shelves around Christmas shopping time, which'll make the gifts for others slightly smaller this year.

Heller is following up their competition roadster kit of a couple of years ago with a reissue of the road version. It's announced for "Q4", whatever that means in France.

As of yet I'm undecided whether I find the grille over-dimensioned. But I find the total lack of chrome decidedly meh, that much I know. Or do they do this to push sales of their overpriced chrome spray? If yes, I admire such shrewd business acumen.

Heller is also expanding their 2CV portfolio with a Fourgonnette version. This is announced for "Q4", whenever that is.

I've already pre-ordered three. One will be the box art van, one like the ones my mother used for her business, and one like the one I had when I was a young lad. Thing is, though, with the Ebbro model already existing, they missed the chance to make an F6.

Chassis sez suddenly it's 1960. Part #10 is a Chevy bow tie, so here is your hint they're going further with this kit.

I think this one got a bit trampled courtesy of the Peugeot 205 hype. Heller is finally following up the R4 with the Fourgonnette version. Edit: Why did they opt for an Austrian numberplate for their box art?

Mine actually had an aftermarket sunroof, so no problem there. It didn't have a trace of rust anywhere. Don't ask, I don't know either.

Well, I'll have to live with that brush guard, I guess, although my real car didn't have it. If you want to stance it with daft wheels, this kit should not give you any trouble. Decals vs moulded side trim will forever be a source for discussions. Be it as it may, the general shape of the real thing was quite formidably captured by the mould makers half a century ago. Sadly, I don't even look like Steve Guthmiller or Juha Airio.

There are but five Galaxie reissues missing. 1958, 1959, 1962, 1967, and 1968. I do wonder what the bloody holdup is.

It is with a heavy heart that I had to learn about his death. Mr Lombardi, born in 1942 in Alessandria, Italy, was an automotive engineer. He graduated from the University of Bologna with a degree in automotive engineering and was subsequently recruited by the Fiat research centre. He soon transferred to Lancia, where he designed engines, that enabled them to win the World Rally Championship ten times, a record that stands unbroken to this day. In 1989, he followed Cesare Fiorio to Ferrari, where he was team manager until Jean Todt's arrival in 1993. He then designed the Ferrari 12 cylinder engine, which would score the two final victories for an engine with such a configuration at the 1994 German Grand Prix with Gerhard Berger and at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix with Jean Alesi. In 1994, Mr Lombardi was moved to the Ferrari GT programme. From 2000 to 2010 he acted as technical consultant for Aprilia, designing the Aprilia RSV4 engine that would give Max Biaggi the Superbike World title in 2010. Mr. Lombardi died in his hometown Alessandria on 2 October 2025, at the age of 83.

Depending on one's viewpoint, that could be good news. I consider it actually a quite decent kit, if you just want to model a square Blazer and don't care too much about what's underneath bonnets and floorboards, like I do, me being a shapes and colours man, I. I have the Rescue issue of quite recent and wonder how involved it would be to convert it to depict the '78 K5 Cheyenne I once owned. I'd have to create the always ill fitting side trim and scribe a fuel filler door. But apart from that?

Is the Blazer a reissue of the MPC Rescue Blazer?

Of course they would be. Or have you ever seen two 1/25 models being the same scale?

One of the two out of ten(!) Comets Stroppe prepared for the '64 Safari, the #80 car, was driven by none other than 'The Flying Sikh' Joginder Singh. His younger brother Jaswant (left) was the co driver. They placed a disappointing 21st out of 21 that actually finished the rally. Yes, 73 of the 94 entries didn't make it, which only shows how tough that Rally was. Only nine out of the ten Stroppe Comets were entered in the event: #73 Ray Brock - Norman Greatorex - Retired #74 Ernest Morris Temple-Boreham - Rob Collinge - Retired #75 Jack Conely - Peter Proctor - Retired #76 Leroy Neumayer - Don Bailey - Retired #77 Louis Unser - Ian L. Grant - Retired #78 Francisco Diaz - Fran Hernandez - Retired #79 William Coleridge - Colin Patrick McNaughton - Retired #80 Joginder Singh - Jaswant Singh - 21st #81 'Kim' Viscount Mandeville - Peter J. Walker - 18th Fran Hernandez, the director of Lincoln-Mercury's racing activities back then, had brought two cars prior to the event, which were initially numbered '0' and '00'. They were used as practice and scout cars, and one of them, I don't know which, didn't even make it to the starting line. I only hope Fred Cady will be making a decal sheet, because I really, really want to build the car of my hero Joginder.