Saturday 21 November 2020

Heller Bobkit Commando Set

A while back now I purchased on a local auction site  the Heller Bobkit Commando set. The Bobkit range has always interested me due to the quick assembly snap fit vehicles and the figures that only seem to have been released in these sets.

The packaging is very 1980s

The contents of this set did not disappoint, as it contained five individual figures, a McDonnell Douglas MD 500 Defender helicopter, a VAB APC, a Renault J series truck, and Hotchkiss M201 light utility vehicle.  The set also came an instruction sheet that I have reproduced below:


Side A: Advertisement for other Heller products
Side B: Easy to follow instructions

Everything was complete and undamaged - except for the helicopter rotors that required careful repair. I haven't assembled the helicopter yet as I want to paint it before assembly, but I very quickly build up the other three models.

VAB APC and French Commandos (Esci Warsaw Pact figure for scale comparison)

The figures are quite animated and will make a nice addition to the  French figures from the ESCI NATO set. Detail on the VAB is basic, but it assembled quickly and was fun to put together. I expect that once painted it will work nicely with my other VABs

 Renault J truck and Hotchkiss M201 light utility vehicle 

The reason why the Hotchkiss M201 light utility vehicle looks like a Jeep, is because it is a Jeep! The French built them under license after WW2. Further details can be found here.

Overall, the set is a very nice collection of quick build models that are useful additions to a 1980s French force. I enjoyed building them, and hope to paint them and some other French vehicles over the upcoming Christmas break.

2 comments:

  1. Very interesting find. I think those are the same kits released under the Cliclac brand name. The figures were also used in the Heller UN Force Set (Superpuma, VAB, figures).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi EY,
      I hadn't heard of Cliclac kits before so I did a Google search and found some kits under that label. They appeared to be a range of snap-fit kits (that included the VAB and the Jeep) released by Heller aimed a children, but they would seem perfect for wargaming use.

      Delete