Heller was founded in Paris in 1957 by Léo Jahiel, born in Lyon. He had previously worked at SOMAP, a plastics company, and set up company headquarters on Rue de Paradis in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, with a production facility in Trun, Orne. The first Heller's model kit was a 1/100 scale Sud Aviation Caravelle, produced the following year.[5] In 1963, a production facility was established in Trun.
In 1972, Heller joined with Solido (a die cast toy car maker), Jouef (an HO scale train maker) and Delacoste (maker of balloons and toys) to form "Le Jouet Français."[6] In 1980 the company went into liquidation and was in Court directed administration in May 1981. The company was broken up: Majorette bought Solido, Vullierme bought Delacoste, and Jouef was bought back by a subsidiary company of the "CEJI" group (Compagnie Générale du Jouet).[7]
Heller was acquired in 1981 by the Hobby Products Group of Borden, Inc., owners of British model company Humbrol. In 1986 Airfix also joined the group. Production of Airfix kits, already in Calais, would subsequently move to the Heller factory in Trun. Heller, with the rest of the Group was acquired by an Irish investment company, Allen, McGuire & Partners, in 1994, and received 31 million francs of investment.[9]
In 1999 Heller re-branded as Heller SA and acquired, together with the Thirion group, French toy manufacturer Joustra. In 2005, Heller SA was acquired by French buyers but in 2006 once again the company went into administration.[10]
In July 2006 the company was put into receivership and in November Hornby PLC bought sister brands Airfix and Humbrol but not Heller or its factory. By January 2007 Heller SA was transferred to "la société MANOP" (Manufacture d'Objet Précieux) under the direction Benjamin Leneman and over the next 7 years slowly returned to profitability selling model kits.[11]
Heller SA yet again found itself in trouble in 2016. It was "in a situation of non-financial return due to cash flow problems and a decline consumption related to the November attacks."[12] The Commercial Court of Argentan, on 11 March, approved the acquisition of Heller-Joustra (Heller SA) by Maped, following six weeks of administration. Maped, in partnership with entrepreneur Alain Bernard of the New York Finance Innovation (of Paris, France) had invested 3.5 million euros in Heller-Joustra.[13][14]
On March 18, 2019, Antoine Lacroix, Directeur General of Groupe Maped announced that Heller was acquired by the company Glow2B of Germany,[1] which had been the distributor of Joustra and Heller products in that country. They announced that production would continue in both France and Germany.[15]
Ownership History
Period
Owner
Comments
1957-1972
Leo Heller Jahiel via Heller SA, France
First kit made in 1958
1972-1981
Merges with Jouef, Solido and Delacoste to form The French Toys Group
The French Toys Group falls into administration in 1981. Borden Inc acquires Heller.
1981-1994
Borden Inc, USA via Humbrol Ltd, UK
Humbrol had manufactured paints for Heller since 1977. Heller also moulded Airfix kits for Humbrol from 1986 to 2006.
1994-2005
Allen & Maguire, Ireland via Humbrol Ltd, UK
Allen & Maguire were venture capitalists. The purchase of Humbrol included a lot of debt and Allen & Maguire lost control to the Bank of Scotland in 2003.
Management buy-out of Heller SA from Humbrol Ltd. Ex-Humbrol MD Steve Lord headed the company. Company fell into administration in July 2006 and Hornby plc acquires Airfix and Humbrol.
2007-2015
MANOP, a French jewellery manufacturer buys the business for €200k. Now trades as Manop Heller Joustra SA.
Heller Joustra SA falls into administration in 2015.
2016-2019
Maped SA, an international French stationery and craft company buys Heller Joustra for €1.5m.
Maped is well known in the UK for its Helix mathematical instruments brand.
2019
Glow2B of Germany acquires Heller.
Glow2B was the distributor for Heller and Joustra in Germany, and plans to continue in both France and Germany. The Heller factory was acquired by plastic moulding company Viplast who will continue to mould Heller kits for Glow2B.[1]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2014)
Aircraft
A 1/72 scale model of a Dewoitine D.510 from Heller
The early Heller aircraft line — in a mix of scales 1/100, 1/72, 1/50 and 1/40 — were rather crude with large rivets, thick canopies, and low level of detailing. During the 1970s they concentrated on 1/72 and 1/50 and the quality improved rapidly, kits from the end of that decade were often very well detailed and sophisticated. The Heller line included many types of aircraft that couldn't be found elsewhere, like the Bloch MB.150 and Potez 63, Dassault Ouragan and Dassault Mystère, Saab Tunnan, J21 and Safir, and the big French transports, the Noratlas and the Transall C-160. Later kits were the PZL.23 Karaś, the Morane-Saulnier MS.230, and the Curtiss SBC Helldiver biplane.
Still later, Heller's Constellations, DC-4s[citation needed] and DC-6s were additions to the 1/72 multi-engine aircraft line, along with the s Canadair CL-215, a purpose-built fire bomber.
Heller made a set Apollo kits which included the Command/Service Module and the Lunar Module. It was well-detailed for its time, however, the kit represented the Block I configuration of the Apollo hardware, which was not flown during the crewed missions and was only used for early low Earth orbit test flights.
Heller also made a kit of the Ariane V in 1/125 scale. The International Space Station was also made in the same scale as the Ariane V. They also made an Ariane IV in 1/125 and 1/288 scale.
Heller made kits of the Citroën 11CV, the WWII-era front wheel drive sedan, in 1/43, 1/24 and 1/8 scales. There was a series of 1/24 old cars and small trucks including golden age European types—Delahaye, Delage, certain Bugattis, the 4.5-liter "Blower" Bentley, and others that were not, and have not yet been, kitted by other manufacturers in that scale.[citation needed] These were sophisticated kits for their time.[citation needed]
Heller contributed to the vast universe of 1/35 armor: lend-lease jeeps and deuce-and-a-halves, a Panhard armored car, and a squad of Chasseurs Alpins. Heller also produced a grand 1/35 Super Frelon, one of the first aircraft kits scaled to support the armor culture.
