This is the old Revell 1/72nd Nieuport 17C1 kit. Basic modifications to the original Kit were: - Removal of all “fabric” detail; - Removal of all rib detail on wings; - Application of rib/tape by means of decal strips at rib locations on the wing uppersurfaces and of scribed lines on the undersurfaces; - Scratchbuilt centre section of the upper wing (structural details were done in bamboo and streched sprue); - Scratchbuilt wing struts (plastic for the cabanes; bamboo for the V interplanes); - Scratchbuilt cockpit detail; - Reduction of the diameter of the cowling opening; - Removal of the “engine” moulded in place with the cowling (substituted by an aeroclub item); - Insertion of an exhaust channel, at the front end of the fuselage; - Scratchbuilt inspection panels on both sides of the fuselage; - Correction of the fuselage profile, by means of adding a plastic wedge to the last 2/3rd of the fuselage bottom; - Scratchbuilt rudder; - Scratchbuilt undercarriage.
Painting was done with Dyrup enamel silver(from the home repair shop) silver with black and white added to taste. Although it can’t really be seen on the photos there are 3 different shades of silver. Decals are mostly Carpena, the red “2” coming from Americal Gryphon’s “Storks” sheet (kindly and most generously provided by Matt Bittner: Many thanks, mate.).
If you look closely, there are differences in shade regarding the reds and blues, not only because the decals were from different manufacturers but also because some markings (rudder and cone de penetration) were hand painted.
I think that cocardes were painted on the aicraft during the manufacturing process while personal markings were field applied at a later stage. The machine gun (a roden item) also stands a little to proud of the Cowling, but to correct that I would have to shave a bit of the other end of the gun and I didn't feel like mutilating such a beautiful piece of moulding.
I had a lot of fun with this old kit and I'd like to thank all those that have helped and guided me through the build up either with their written articles or with their "live" advice: Alberto Casirati, Diego Fernetti,Ken Acosta, Lance Krieg, Matt Bittner, Mike Fletcher, Steve Perry (hope I'm not letting anyone out....) A final note of thanks to my friend Rui Aballe, who offered me the kit and to Sanjeev Hirve who has provided us with some 6 stars software to update the galeries. Muito obrigado, Rui e Sanjeev.