Up | Chez Marc Flake | Gallery | Home
This is the Maquette Morane G, a very inexpensive 1/48 scale kit that lends itself to scratchbuilt details. Externally, I replaced the engine with one of the Eduard Morane L engines, the wheels with Fotocut wire wheels and the propellor from Aeroclub. The inverted "V" in front of the fuselage and the tail skid supports were replaced with styrene rod.
Internally, I used styrene strip and .005 ethicon wire for the internal structures. I used styrene tube for the gas tank. A tip of the hat goes to Matt who provided the much-needed references required to build this kit.
This is the HR Models 1/72 Morane-Saulnier Type "H." It represents Lieutenant Pouchik Kozakov's machine. Kozakov used a large sea anchor as armament, dangling it below his machine, hoping to hook his oppenent. He received a medal after "overturning the enemy with a special anchor," according to Russian documents.
I found this to be a rather difficult kit. The tail end of the fuselage was not wholy cast, requiring slight cuts to even it off. It also needed alot of sanding to get the upper and lower fuselage surfaces smooth. And it turned out the 'H' has some warts on the port side fuselage that didn't become evident until the wings were attached and the first coat of paint was applied. Some pits also were revealed on the edges of the wings after painting.
I made a mistake when I superglued the wings on before I put on the "cheeks." I had to remove the wings to get the "cheeks" to fit, breaking one wing and cracking the other. Not only that, but the kit has two sizes of cheeks, so I had to really study my sources to pick the right one.
The resin landing gear are, well, resin, and not cast evenly at the root. I ended up using them, but wish I had taken the time to scratch new ones. I totally bolloxed (Australian slang?) the one wire wheel I attempted. So I built the kit with wheel covers. This is one skill I really want to master, but I keep messing it up.
I did have some fun with the anchor. It is a very small fishing hook bought at a sporting goods store. Originally it was a triple hook, but I snipped off one side and bent back the other two. The rope is beeswaxed sewing thread. I had a terrible time deciding how to pose the anchor, ending up with the one you see here.
This is the 1/72nd Eastern Express Morane-Saulnier Type I. This was the easiest to build. In fact, I can't think of any problems I had with it. I drilled and carved out the slot for the Vickers, which I scrounged out of the spares box. A vacuform seat was carved down to fit in the cockpit. This was also rigged with .003 monofilament. For Russian CDL, I used Humbrol Concrete. The decals were rather thick and had a flat finish, but with some Microsol and gloss paint, they came out rather nice.
As you can see, Garros' "L" is rather simple. The "deflector" propellor was scratch-built. The 1/72nd HR Models kit is rigged in .003 monofilament. The Hotchkiss was swiped from a Flashback Voisin and will have to be replaced. The French CDL is Humbrol Unbleached Linen and the rudder was done in Polly "S" Rondell Blue and Red.
This is the Revell Morane Type "N." It is not a project that I began this year. It is a rehab project where I took an aircraft model I built about 15 years ago and updated it with newer techniques.
Compare the profile shot of this model with the Eastern Express Morane Type "I" on this page. The difference is so striking, I almost can't stand to have the two sitting next to each other in the display case.