The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

This one was in my recent job lot purchase. It had no decals so I needed to work out what to do with it. I decided on a colourful BUIA Heron. A problem was that the Airfix kit is for an aircraft with retractable undercarriage. The BUIA aircraft was an earlier type with fixed undercarriage. Making the conversion involved covering over the wheel wells and making new nose and main undercarriage legs. The 'thing' on top of the canopy is also scratch built. I am aware of some inaccuracies in the kit but I did not try to address them. I also don't know if other alterations should have been made to make the earlier version. I can live with it as it is.

The cheat lines were hand painted. The lettering was made on my inkjet printer. I am aware that a decal sheet with these markings can be bought and I have no doubt that this sheet would have given a better result. I just wanted to do it myself.

The build and painting are remarkable enough, but I love the unhurried Golden Age atmosphere that the photo with the figures evokes.

Another fascinating build and rescue!

Love it! I've always thought it an elegant little aircraft and you've captured that perfectly

Beautiful. Another type I have worked on 1/1 scale. You have done a superb job of it.

All the best.

Greg

Great work as always, Vacant. The folks waiting patiently to board the aircraft definitely brings the scene to life. Don't really know much about the Heron (I myself begged off of purchasing an unbuilt second hand kit some time ago) and even less about a fixed undercarriage variant.

I once flew in a Heron on a flight from Portsmouth airport (yes, it used to have one), to Jersey for a holiday. That would have been in 1973. I can date that exactly because the airport was closed a few months later after a series of accidents when some aircraft failed to stop on the waterlogged grass runway.

vacant wrote:I once flew in a Heron on a flight from Portsmouth airport (yes, it used to have one), to Jersey for a holiday. That would have been in 1973. I can date that exactly because the airport was closed a few months later after a series of accidents when some aircraft failed to stop on the waterlogged grass runway.

Yes, failing to stop on landing is generally not good (or preferable)!! Smashing build by the way.

The actual incidents took place in 1967 when within the space of two hours, two HS 748 aircraft skidded off the end of the runway. It took a few more years before the safety message sunk in and the airport was closed!

Was that JFK Airlines?

I always liked the Heron - it had a distinctive "throb" to its engine note. I also remember the BUA/BUIA scheme shown on the model - although chiefly on their Heralds. BUIA eventually became BIA when British United merged with Caldedonian to become British Caledonian.

Great build too.

Nice job on the model

Another very old kit (from the early 1960's?) that you have turned into a little gem. The cheat lines are very well done and difficult to see that they are hand painted.

Nice one!
Please do share some more of the "inaccuracies" so that those of us with this, will know what to look our for.
Shamed to admit mine still forms part of the loft insulation.

There are comments about it on the Brittmodeller.com site. The fuselage cross section is said to be inaccurate. The flight deck canopy is too humped. The window frames are the wrong shape at the front and there seem to be some issues with the windows. You also have to be careful as to which Mk. you are building. The Airfix kit is for one with retractable u/c. Many of the Herons were earlier versions with fixed u/c involving a lot of rebuilding. To me, it looked sufficiently like a Heron to leave it as it is (apart from adapting the u/c and adding that odd thing on top pf the canopy).

vacant wrote:There are comments about it on the Brittmodeller.com site. The fuselage cross section is said to be inaccurate. The flight deck canopy is too humped. The window frames are the wrong shape at the front and there seem to be some issues with the windows. You also have to be careful as to which Mk. you are building. The Airfix kit is for one with retractable u/c. Many of the Herons were earlier versions with fixed u/c involving a lot of rebuilding. To me, it looked sufficiently like a Heron to leave it as it is (apart from adapting the u/c and adding that odd thing on top pf the canopy).

'Nuff said for me.....