Heller Classic Sailing Ships Rare?

K

Kutuzov

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May 29, 2021
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Hello everybody. Does anyone know why so many shops and online suppliers are out of stock of most of the classic Heller sailing model kits ( even Heller does not have an available complete range )? In particular I am interested in Le Glorieux kit. One chap has this on ebay for over $300 and another seller at a more reasonable price but won’t ship internationally.

At my local model shop it would usually sell for about $70 AUSD but the staff have no idea when stock will arrive from Heller again. Is it just a supply chain issue or is Heller planning to stop producing classic ship kits?
 
I think Heller do a run of a kit and don't stockpile.I feel Le Glorieux will be available again after they do another production run.

Soleil Royal and Victory were unavailable for a while but are now back on the market, but for nearly twice the price!!!!

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
I have built most of the Heller kits & can tell you that here in the states, Heller & Revell kits, brand new, are almost impossible to get & have been for the past 4 years. I have purchased new Heller kits mainly from HobbyLinc, but now your best bet is finding them on Ebay. And yes, the price has skyrocketed in the past 3 years! However, good deals are out there, but it can take a lengthy search. I think the model companies have almost ceased to produce these kits because there aren't enough of us "ship builders" left to make their efforts profitable! Just my opinion! Rick1011
 
Kutuzov said:
Hello everybody. Does anyone know why so many shops and online suppliers are out of stock of most of the classic Heller sailing model kits ( even Heller does not have an available complete range )? In particular I am interested in Le Glorieux kit. One chap has this on ebay for over $300 and another seller at a more reasonable price but won’t ship internationally.

At my local model shop it would usually sell for about $70 AUSD but the staff have no idea when stock will arrive from Heller again. Is it just a supply chain issue or is Heller planning to stop producing classic ship kits?
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Hallo @Kutuzov
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
 
Kutuzov- Things have gotten worse since I posted my comments last July! Now, even Ebay has very few Heller kits available, & the prices are just plain ridiculous! Topped off with out-of-this-world shipping costs, to boot! My calls to both Heller & Revell asking why they aren't making these kits have fallen on deaf ears, apparently. Neither company even had the courtesy to call or email me back. But I still hold the idea that we ship builders just aren't profitable enough. The second ship I built when I took up building again, 5 years ago, was The Glorieux. I bought it from Hobbylinc, & paid $70. They haven't had one for 4 of those years that I know of. Even they can't tell me why the kit companies are not supplying any more of them. I wanted to build another one, but settled for The Superbe, almost identical, & bought it from Ebay, unopened, & it cost me $65! I can't even get a new USS Constitution from Hobbylinc in 1/96 scale, & if I did it would probably run about $150! Just guessing, though! I think we're doomed, because I know of lots of plastic kit builders who have sent letters, emails, etc. to both Heller & Revell, all to no avail, so far! I sure wish things would improve, but I won't hold my breath! Rick1011
 
Thanks for the information Rick. Your journey is identical to mine: Le Superbe was what I could find at a local shop and a Victory. I actually did get a response from Heller stating that the ships you and I are interested in will be produced again but that was about 2 years ago. Another resource I use is Old Model Kits in the USA. He acquires old kits from attics and flea markets etc, grades them and you can see the prices do vary quite a lot. All the best
 
I found Old Model Kits site years ago, & there were a few kits he had that I seriously considered buying, but then I would just pop over to Ebay & they would always have the same kit for much less. Sometimes, I would even punch in "advanced search", & Ebay would find it for me! I haven't been back to the Old Model Kits site in a couple of years, but he might be worth another look! There's another company in Missouri, whose name i can't recall now, where I bought a brand-new kit of The Amerigo Vespucci, & I felt kind of embarrassed, because it was like stealing! haha I paid$55 for it, & I think it's one of Heller's better kits, although the masts don't look tall enough! But it was a fun build, & a beautiful ship. Rick1011
 
rick robbins said:
Kutuzov- Things have gotten worse since I posted my comments last July! Now, even Ebay has very few Heller kits available, & the prices are just plain ridiculous! Topped off with out-of-this-world shipping costs, to boot! My calls to both Heller & Revell asking why they aren't making these kits have fallen on deaf ears, apparently. Neither company even had the courtesy to call or email me back. But I still hold the idea that we ship builders just aren't profitable enough. The second ship I built when I took up building again, 5 years ago, was The Glorieux. I bought it from Hobbylinc, & paid $70. They haven't had one for 4 of those years that I know of. Even they can't tell me why the kit companies are not supplying any more of them. I wanted to build another one, but settled for The Superbe, almost identical, & bought it from Ebay, unopened, & it cost me $65! I can't even get a new USS Constitution from Hobbylinc in 1/96 scale, & if I did it would probably run about $150! Just guessing, though! I think we're doomed, because I know of lots of plastic kit builders who have sent letters, emails, etc. to both Heller & Revell, all to no avail, so far! I sure wish things would improve, but I won't hold my breath! Rick1011
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I have engaged the Revell and Airfix groups at the Scale ModelWorld IPMS show (largest in the world I believe) in Telford, UK every year for the last 8 years minus covid pleading for a 1/100 or 1/96 74 gun SOL. As with your experience, with little response other than looks which seem to say to each other "is this guy crazy?". WHile I would like to do one in wood the skill sets are not there. To have a plastic kit of the most prolific line of battleship for a couple of centuries does not appear to be a bridge too far but clearly is.
 
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