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Kit: Toko (1:72)
1/72nd Toko Nieuport 11. Finished with Blue Rider decals for a Belgian machine (serial unknown) of 1st Escadrille, Aeronautique Militaire, piloted by Lieutenant A. de Neef. Alberto Casirati's Windsock article on improving the kit was followed, with modifications allowing for dumb clumsiness. Lessons learned for the next one included: tighten the rigging better, don't keep dropping the model, and get the **** Lewis gun on straight,. Oh, and vacuum more often.
Kit: Eduard (1:48)
From the Eduard Escadrille N3 double kit in 1/48th, this is the Nieuport 16 of Sous-lieutenant Bocquet (about whom all I know is that Eduard spell his name also as Bucquet) in July 1916. Interior was made from bits of plastic and wire, except the seat which came from an Eduard Nie 17 detail set, as did the undercarriage leg fairings. The tail skid is a bit of bamboo (the kit part made a tasty snack for the carpet gnomes)and a shim of brass. I used an Aeroclub white metal 110 hp Le Rhone in place of the rather nice 80 hp item that Eduard give you. Main rigging and undercarriage bungees from Aeroclub stretchy thread, control lines, undercarriage and cabane bracing from rolled copper wire. Paints are all Humbrol. The browny shade is mixed from dark earth and olive drab, the rest is out of the pot. I really enjoyed this kit.
This is the Eduard 1/48th Nieuport 17, done in kit markings as Nungesser's mount of autumn and winter 1916, Escadrille N.65. I added a few cockpit bits but nowt else. Various silvers and varnishes where used. I think this is a nice kit, but the mold halves where misalligned by 1mm on mine, making all the finer parts un-usable. The fuselage was also warped a fair bit, and the area under the cockpit just behind the channel had sunk in on itself so far I had to rebuild it completely. This was a dark grey plastic. I have 2 others to do in tan plastic which seem to be moulded perfectly. These I'm really looking forward to making up.
Another Eduard 1/48th Nieuport 17, this time the RFC boxing, OTB except a few items like the undercarriage fairings and windshield from the Eduard PE set. I put the fuselage band too far aft. Gulp! Actually, from the Datafile photo I can't prove that anyway. Rigging is rolled copper wire, control lines are Aeroclub lycra thread. Turnbuckles are glue and paint.Humbrol Metalcote flat aluminium for the fabric and wood areas (the latter with a bit of extra shine added after), Rub n' Buff cowling. This was the beige plastic variety of molding, and flawless (c.f. the grey one, which in my examples were badly warped in every component). Excellent kit.
Kit: Glencoe (1:48)
Uncorrected except for a new rudder, new cabane struts, scribed underwing ribs, corrected cowl, and an interior of sorts, plus Aeroclub Vickers mgs.and engine Glencoe kit in 1/48th (well, it only cost me the equivalent of $1.00). Had to do at least one sharkmouthed a/c, so this is it.
Kit: Blue Max (1:48)
I only added some interior detail (and removed some that was not typical) in this Blue Max Nieuport 28. 1/48th scale.
Kit: Special Hobby (1:32)
Kit markings for N642, flown by Lt. Pierre Dufaur de Gavardie of Escadrille N12 in 1916. There's a photo in the FMP French tome which shows a lot more oil staining than I've done. It's not clear, but it seems to show a stripped Lewis, so instead of the kit part I used an Aeroclub item, but with one of the SH ammo drums. Nice kit, except the top wing was badly warped, the engine induction pipes all need shortening or they end up on the wrong part of the cylinders, the seat needs the lightening holes drilling out and the rib detail is a tad heavy (which is why I've brushed 3 coats of paint over it. The hysterical over-emphasis on the ribs in the photos is a digital camera thing, which I can't easily fix, although in reality they are still a bit overdone, just not as much. Due to various attempts to shoot myself in the foot, the outlining, metal parts and national markings/chevrons are all in different shades of French blue. Too late! It's finished!
Piloted by Jaan M. Mahlapuu of the 12th Fighter Detachment, Winter 1917. Markings from the kit. Dead easy kit to build. Profipack, so just glue, paint, a weensy bit of filler and some rigging added. Not sure about the headrest, though. Maybe there should also be a couple of stays for the rear of the skies.
Kit: RVHP (1:72)
There were several Nieuport triplane attempts. The first was based on a Nie. X 2-seater, the others on the Nie 17 airframe. This is a model of the 2nd triplane, which stayed with the French and differed from the later one that went to the RFC in having a Lewis gun and no cutout in the upper wing. . Photos seem to show 2 shades of camo sprayed very coarsly. I've guessed the undersides to be aluminium painted, but they could just as well have been CDL or something else. The kit is okay but I should have replaced the struts with something thinner. I did replace the undercarriage, which was miscast and unusable. The wheeels are also not best, but I couldn't find suitable replacements before I wanted to finish, so made do. There was no gun in my kit so I used an Aeroclub one. I could well have some of the rigging wrong.