1:72 Lioré & Olivier LeO 451

[CATCH 22]

Manufacturer- SMER ex. Heller
Scale - 1/72
Extras - scratch build parts

Hi everybody!
I'm not much of a model builder and prefer the pure historical research. From time to time I try to build a model or two only to proof or see how some of the details, described in the many (or not so many) sources look like in 3D (I mean real 3D, not CGI).
I have in my stash too many models in 1:72 which I was buying in the late 90s early 2000s with the idea to build them one after another. This didn't happen and I'm absolutely sure I will never build the smaller ones (e.g. fighters). There are some bigger models, mostly bombers or heavy fighters with sizes similar to fighters in 1:48 or even 1:32 or even bigger.
Today I decided to start with a French Beauty: Liore et Olivier Leo 451.
After seeing a photo of this avion at the 16-th Paris Air Show in 1938 I fell in love for ever.

C'est magnifique!

 

[Wurger]

 

[CATCH 22]

Here's the kit:

And in attachment I'll put the instructions for this particular kit, because there are some other versions as well.
Cheers!

 

[Wurger]

 

[vikingBerserker]

Awesome and cool choice!

 

[Capt. Vick]

Excellent!

 

[Wurger]

This may came in handy ...

Liore et Olivier Léo 451 1/72 Heller

Bonjour, je m'attaque aujourdhui à une maquette danthologie : Le Léo 451 de chez Heller. La maquette date de 1967, mais pour l'époque les formes et les dimens

fighters.forumactif.com

 

[CATCH 22]

This may came in handy ...

Liore et Olivier Léo 451 1/72 Heller

Bonjour, je m'attaque aujourdhui à une maquette danthologie : Le Léo 451 de chez Heller. La maquette date de 1967, mais pour l'époque les formes et les dimens

fighters.forumactif.com

Yep, thanks Wojtek!
I have collected some amazing French builds of LeO 45 through the years (the one you show above is among them), there are some great ideas on Britmodeller as well, on Dutch, Russian sites etc. Many of those builds are unfinished but still show great detail and higher modeling skills.
I have the movie as well and there are very nice shots of the undercarriage, nose etc. - details I'll be discussing later.
Thank you for the suggestions!
Cheers!
P.S. For those who are interested in old prints I'm attaching the oldest source I've collected (from 1938) - a French illustrated magazine/catalog with details about the 16-th Air Salon in Paris. I'm attaching the part about LeO 45 only.

 

[Wurger]

My pleasure.
You have have to have a great selection of references for the bomber then. Looking forward to your work on the model.

 

[CATCH 22]

You have to have a great selection of references for the bomber then. Looking forward to your work on the model.

I did collect some good sources through the years, but honestly it's still Terra Incognita for me when speaking of WW II French Bombers. Nevertheless I like them.
And to show another of the older "sources" I have, but with a warning for everybody: Not to be used as a camouflage reference!
A page from a book with Tintin:

Cheers!

 

[rochie]

fantastic subject

 

[Wurger]

I did collect some good sources through the years, but honestly it's still Terra Incognita for me when speaking of WW II French Bombers. Nevertheless I like them.
And to show another of the older "sources" I have, but with a warning for everybody: Not to be used as a camouflage reference!
A page from a Tintin book about WWII aviation:
View attachment 649981
Cheers!

 

[Airframes]

Great choice, and a French aircraft (of the period) that's actually attractive !!

 

[CATCH 22]

Great choice, and a French aircraft (of the period) that's actually attractive !!

I truly believe this is The Best of the bombers designed and built in France in the late 30s. This being sad I must add "the best looking" probably. One of the older articles in aviation magazines (Air International 1985) called it:

Cheers!

 

[Crimea_River]

Terry said what I was thinking. Great choice Yves.

 

[nuuumannn]

A page from a Tintin book about WWII aviation:

I used to love reading Tintin adventures to see what aeroplanes would be featured, there were Bf 109s (of an undetermined mark) in one adventure and an Ar 196 too, and a de Havilland Mosquito. All sorts of oddities make an appearance.

 

[fubar57]

Beauty. PM sent Yves

 

[CATCH 22]

Beauty. PM sent Yves

Thanks Geo!
Just wanted to show you before any work is done and the proof for the "pedigree" of this model disappears.
No matter what's ON the box

IN the box you'll find the same name:

Cheers!

 

[GrauGeist]

I'm loving this build, the LeO451 is one of my all-time favorite twin engined bomber from WWII.

 

[GrauGeist]

I used to love reading Tintin adventures to see what aeroplanes would be featured, there were Bf 109s (of an undetermined mark) in one adventure and an Ar 196 too, and a de Havilland Mosquito. All sorts of oddities make an appearance.

The Bordurian Air Force was using early variants of the Bf109, most often the "Emil".