In Box Review of Heller 1/35th Scale
Groupe Mitrailleuse Hotchkiss
French Hotchkiss Machine Gun Crew
Kit no. 143
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 1977
Out of production
I paid $3.50 for my kit back in the 70’s at a local hobby shop that went out of business.
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 1977
Out of production
I paid $3.50 for my kit back in the 70’s at a local hobby shop that went out of business.
HISTORY:
The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun chambered for the 8mm Lebel cartridge became the standard machine gun of the French Army during the latter half of World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss.
The gas-actuated Hotchkiss system was first formulated in 1893 by Odkolek von Ujezda and improved into its final form by Hotchkiss armament engineers, American Laurence Benét and his French assistant Henri Mercié.
The Mle 1914 was the last version of a series of nearly identical Hotchkiss designs : the Mle 1897, Mle 1900 and the Mle 1909. The Hotchkiss Mle 1914 became the French infantry standard in late 1917, replacing the unreliable St. Étienne Mle 1907. The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France also purchased 7,000 Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine guns in 8mm Lebel, and used them extensively at the front in 1917 and 1918.
Hotchkiss heavy machine guns, some being of earlier types, were also used in combat by Japan, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, and Poland.
The Hotchkiss machine gun, a sturdy and reliable weapon, remained in active service with the French army until the early 1940s. By the end of 1918, 47,000 Hotchkiss machine guns had already been delivered to the French army alone.
Including all international sales, the grand total of all Hotchkiss machine guns sold by the manufacturer in various calibers was well in excess of 100,000 units.
The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun chambered for the 8mm Lebel cartridge became the standard machine gun of the French Army during the latter half of World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss.
The gas-actuated Hotchkiss system was first formulated in 1893 by Odkolek von Ujezda and improved into its final form by Hotchkiss armament engineers, American Laurence Benét and his French assistant Henri Mercié.
The Mle 1914 was the last version of a series of nearly identical Hotchkiss designs : the Mle 1897, Mle 1900 and the Mle 1909. The Hotchkiss Mle 1914 became the French infantry standard in late 1917, replacing the unreliable St. Étienne Mle 1907. The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France also purchased 7,000 Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine guns in 8mm Lebel, and used them extensively at the front in 1917 and 1918.
Hotchkiss heavy machine guns, some being of earlier types, were also used in combat by Japan, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, and Poland.
The Hotchkiss machine gun, a sturdy and reliable weapon, remained in active service with the French army until the early 1940s. By the end of 1918, 47,000 Hotchkiss machine guns had already been delivered to the French army alone.
Including all international sales, the grand total of all Hotchkiss machine guns sold by the manufacturer in various calibers was well in excess of 100,000 units.
THE KIT:
Heller is an old prolific model company based in Paris , France. They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped end-opening type box.
I am no fan of this type of box, because invariably parts or the decal sheet will find their way past one of the end flaps to become lost forever. Give me a tray and lid type box any day of the week.
The cover art shows a three-man team manning a Hotchkiss machine gun on at tripod.
The men all wear khaki uniforms, with their trousers bloused into putties over low shoes. All wear steel helmets.
The man on the left is kneeling on both knees. He wears a white wooly vest. His shoulder strap holds a flashlight. He has a pistol holster on his belt.
The two other men are manning the machine gun and both kneeling on one knee. Both have rifles slung on their backs.
All have field gear on their belts.
One corner of the box art says the kit holds 3 figures, a number of accessories and there are 50 parts in the kit, in French.
One side-panel of the box says MADE IN FRANCE, followed by three color box arts of other figure kits that Heller manufactures: a kit of 3 French infantrymen, a kit of 2 French infantrymen with a donkey loaded with equipment and a kit of 3 French infantrymen with a bazooka. No kit numbers are provided for these and their titles are in French.
Heller is an old prolific model company based in Paris , France. They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped end-opening type box.
I am no fan of this type of box, because invariably parts or the decal sheet will find their way past one of the end flaps to become lost forever. Give me a tray and lid type box any day of the week.
The cover art shows a three-man team manning a Hotchkiss machine gun on at tripod.
The men all wear khaki uniforms, with their trousers bloused into putties over low shoes. All wear steel helmets.
The man on the left is kneeling on both knees. He wears a white wooly vest. His shoulder strap holds a flashlight. He has a pistol holster on his belt.
The two other men are manning the machine gun and both kneeling on one knee. Both have rifles slung on their backs.
All have field gear on their belts.
One corner of the box art says the kit holds 3 figures, a number of accessories and there are 50 parts in the kit, in French.
One side-panel of the box says MADE IN FRANCE, followed by three color box arts of other figure kits that Heller manufactures: a kit of 3 French infantrymen, a kit of 2 French infantrymen with a donkey loaded with equipment and a kit of 3 French infantrymen with a bazooka. No kit numbers are provided for these and their titles are in French.
The other side panel again shows three more color box arts of figure kits that Heller makes: They are all of 3 men infantry. One team is manning a machine gun, a second team is manning a mortar and the third team is advancing with all the men armed with machine guns. Again, no kit numbers and titles in French.
The bottom of the box says: French fire unit battle group 1939-1945. This box contains about 40 parts to assemble, 3 figures with many accessories: arms, helmets, packs. In French, English and German.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
The kit holds 3 chalk-white plastic trees, the instructions and a sheet of instructions for using the glue capsule in the kit.
The instructions consist of a single-sheet that is printed on both sides, in 8 ¼” x 12” format, folded twice to fit the box.
The face side gives a grand total of 5 assembly steps, a one paragraph history, suggested color list, IMPORTANT information and a customer assistance coupon, all in French.
The reverse side repeats all this again in English and German.
Threes are not alphabetized.Instead they are number 1,2 and 3.
Chalk-white trees number 1 & 2 are joined.
Tree 1 holds one figure of the man kneeling on both knees and wearing the wool vest. He is divided into separate legs, torso halves and arms. Tree also includes a pistol holster, flash light, steel helmet, pouch, ammo belt and one leg of the Hotchkiss’s tripod (14 parts)
The kit holds 3 chalk-white plastic trees, the instructions and a sheet of instructions for using the glue capsule in the kit.
The instructions consist of a single-sheet that is printed on both sides, in 8 ¼” x 12” format, folded twice to fit the box.
The face side gives a grand total of 5 assembly steps, a one paragraph history, suggested color list, IMPORTANT information and a customer assistance coupon, all in French.
The reverse side repeats all this again in English and German.
Threes are not alphabetized.Instead they are number 1,2 and 3.
Chalk-white trees number 1 & 2 are joined.
Tree 1 holds one figure of the man kneeling on both knees and wearing the wool vest. He is divided into separate legs, torso halves and arms. Tree also includes a pistol holster, flash light, steel helmet, pouch, ammo belt and one leg of the Hotchkiss’s tripod (14 parts)
Tree 2 holds one of the men manning the Hotchkiss. Divided into separate legs, torso halves, head and arms. Tree also includes a rifle, canvas sack, the Hotchkiss machine gun and 2 of its tripod legs, a rifle and equipment pouches ( 15 parts)
Tree 3 holds the other man that is manning the Hotchkiss. Divided the same as the other 2 men. Tree also includes a rifle, ammo belt, 2 grenades, Steel helmet, ammo can, canvas sack and equipment pouches (18 parts)
The glue ampule completes the kit's contents.
There are no decals.
Figures are very detailed.
There are no decals.
Figures are very detailed.
Highly recommended.