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The SPAD XI was a 2-seat version of the SPAD VII, with the 220hp Hispano-suiza engine of the SPAD XIII. 1100 were built by Bernhardin Paris 1917-1918, and was in service with France, USA, Belgium and Russia. This model is one of 38 sent to the Imperial Russian Air Force , it retained the french markings on wings and tail. It was built in exactly the same way as my SPAD XVI from the same wooden mould, only 8 years earlier, in some ways its better, in some ways worse, thats life!
This is the Pegasus 1/72 Spad 12. Details of the build can be found on Internet Modeler.
Spad 13 of 17th Pursuit sqn. USAAF Selfridge field Michigan 1920. This is an old quickie. The Revell 1/69 scale Spad out of the box, I think I just lathed down the balloon tyres and replaced the prop. Decals are adapted from Microscale somehow.
The Spad XVI was an improved version of the SPAD XI with a 240hp Lorraine-Dietrich engine, larger fin and less wing-gap. It wasn't very successful either. What is interesting is why it's so completely unknown, there were over 1200 in service during 1918. Together with the SPAD XI 2500 were buiilt. Many french recconaissance escadrilles were equipped, amongst them SPA-Bi.21 which my model is from. The AEF had 6, one was used by Gen. Billy Mitchell and is preserved at the USAF Museum, Dayton. The model is completely scratch built and scratch painted except for wheels, Vickers mg.(Aeroclub), Lewis mg.(Fotocut, scarff-ring is scratch, there are appr. 50 parts in the guns and ring), radiator is modified Revell, exhausts are hybrids of Airfix and Revell, and Blue-Rider decals on the wing underside. There are also some commercial foto-etched parts in the cockpit. The fuselage was made by heat forming plastic over a wooden mould, wings are solid, and covered with thin plasticard where the internal structure was embossed by penciliing on the inside. Struts, interior and propellor were made of marquetry wood. The louvres were made of triangular section strue, each one glued on individually, that was the worst job of all. Rigging is stainless steel wire. Painting is by masking and spraying (the numerals too), the lady on the side was first a white circle sprayed on, then red bits of decal, finally I made my own decal for the black lady using a zerox. I made the fin text in the same fashion. Paint is mostly Humbrol, mixed to my idea of french 5-colour camouflage. The model took about 2 years to build.
4 Airfix SPAD VII s