Steve's Models

[Sailor Steve]

I went ahead and finished the first one. A very early Nieuport Nie.10b. There were two versions, AV (observer in front) and AR (observer in rear). Even with the observer in the rear seat the gun was still mounted to the top wing, so he could only fire forward. I chose to do the AV, mainly because it's so much weirder than the other, and also because the kit offers the extra wing centerpiece with the cutout already there.





Closeup of the tail markings


I chose to give the observer a French Hotchkiss gun rather than the later and more common Lewis.


A bit of serendepity. I couldn't get the pilot to sit straight, and finally gave up trying. It wasn't until I had the observer installed that I realized that the pilot seems to be leaning over so he can see around the guy blocking his view to the front.


80 horsepower Gnome engine with front bracing. The single-valve pushrods are visible on the front of the cylinders.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

A bit of serendepity. I couldn't get the pilot to sit straight, and finally gave up trying. It wasn't until I had the observer installed that I realized that the pilot seems to be leaning over so he can see around the guy blocking his view to the front.

.


Pas mon ami, c'est d'avoir trop de haricots pour le petit-déjeuner! C'est la guerre! Bon Travail! L'une de vos meilleures encore! No my friend it's the beans for breakfast! Such is war! Good work! One of your best!

[Jimbuna]

That observer really makes the model stand out for me Steve....very well done sir

[Sailor Steve]

The second one is done - a Royal Naval Air Service Nieuport N.10C-1. 'C' is for 'Chasseure' - "Chaser", or "Pursuit" to the Americans - Fighter.

The good handling and maneuverability of the N.10 led them to quickly develop a single-seat version, the father of all Nieuport fighters. It carried a Lewis gun mounted to the top wing, pretty much like every other Allied single-seater before they had synchonizers. The drawback in this early era was that the gun was rigidly mounted, and couldn't cock back to change the drum. It was difficult to accomplish, especially as the rotary engine didn't allow the pilot to slow down, so not only did reaching the drum require quite a stretch but there was also the 90-mile-per-hour slipstream to overcome.









The engine in this case was usually the 80-horsepower Le Rhone rotary. It was more reliable than the Gnome and despite the equal rating gave a few more horsepower.

[Sailor Steve]

Next Project: A Fokker E.II. I don't really need another Eindekker, but I had a spare Eduard E.III kit left over and I found several pictures of an E.II that I really like. It will be an out-of-the-box build, as the E.II and E.III are pretty much the same, at least according to the source I trust the most. On the other hand, if all the other sources are correct then the E.II should also have the shorter wingspan. This is still unresolved and will likely remain so forever.

The Kit:

[Aktungbby]

The engine in this case was usually the 80-horsepower Le Rhone rotary. It was more reliable than the Gnome and despite the equal rating gave a few more horsepower.

It's Le Rhône (alt+ numpad 147) mon ami; I know you're a stickler for grammer! Fabulous work! and I like the 'wear' details on the edges of the fuselage too! Is the box cover illustration on your Eindeckker project the classic Richthofen-Hawker duel? The upper wing on the Nieuport was dicey in a steep dive; I used to lose it and die ingloriously in Red Baron from my own poor aerobatics. Unless of course, I was up against Guynemer in his Nieuport which was vastly superior to my Eindekker; in which case I simply got killed...every time!

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

It's Le Rhône (alt+ numpad 147) mon ami; I know you're a stickler for grammer!

I know. I didn't know about the combination to find it, and I'm sure I'll forget by tomorrow. I do have three different sources on hand where I can grab things like that, but I didn't think it was worth it.

Is the box cover illustration on your Eindeckker project the classic Richthofen-Hawker duel?

No, by that time von Richtofen was flying an Albatros D.II. Otherwise he might not have won.

The upper wing on the Nieuport was dicey in a steep dive

That was mainly the N.28, in which the upper wing would be pulled away from its supports, causing the fabric to tear loose. According to at least one source it wasn't the dive that caused the problem, but the stress of pulling out.
http://www.airminded.net/n28/n28.html

The problem on the early Nieuports was the lower wing, which only had one spar. It had a tendency to vibrate around the point of the 'V' strut, and then to break completely off. They might not have known about the problem at all except a couple of pilots managed to land safely with one lower wing missing.

I haven't seen any evidence that this was a problem on the N.10, it being larger and stronger than the N.11-N.27.

[Sailor Steve]

Main assembly done. The landing gear and tail skid are from a Revell kit. The Eduard parts are more to scale, which is great for a display model, but they won't stand up to the rigors of gaming.

[Fish40]

Really enjoy the builds Steve, great stuff!

[Sailor Steve]

Main paint applied. I'll explain the colors later.

[Sailor Steve]

Mostly done. Rigging and a little more touch-up, and it will be finished tomorrow.

[Jimbuna]

Those wing decals really make it stand out

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Mostly done. Rigging and a little more touch-up, and it will be finished tomorrow.

Russian Flag?

[Sailor Steve]

It's done. I said long ago that sources disagree as to the details of the E.I, E.II and E.III. According to the source I used the E.II and E.III are indistinguishable from each other, the main differences being the amount of fuel stowage.

From below this particular E.II would look just like any other, the bottom surfaces all remaining clear doped linen. The Windsock Datafile on the E.I and E.II has three photographs of this same aircraft. The first is the rollout pose taken the day the plane left the factory. It is CDL overall, with no wheel covers. The second is an in-service shot taken at the front. It is still CDL, but has the side stripes, and has wheel covers on it. The third is the airplane in pieces at the repair depot, and it is the one this model is taken from.


Ray Rimell, the historian and artist who did most of the paintings for the early Datafiles, says the upper color may be medium grey, dark grey, 'Feldgrau' (field grey) or Fokker Olive. He went with the olive, but notes that the color is "purely conjectural" on his part. He also says the same of the side stripes. In the photos they appear black, grey, black and white. He went with the obvious for his painting, but from descriptions of period photos the "black" could be black, dark blue or even purple. The "grey" could be red, yellow, green, light blue or orange. I used to have a triplane I made using a decal sheet that had red, white and blue stripes on it. I figured that I could use my imagination on this, and who could prove I was wrong? I decided on black, red, blue and white purely on a whim.

In this picture the Idflieg serial 'Fok. E.II 69/15 can barely be made out under the wing. What can't be seen is the Werke number up under the wing. Also the only pictures without wheel covers are from the factory and the repair depot. All in-service shots show wheel covers in place. Still, I liked the look and decided to have at least one eindekker with the spokes exposed.


Here the Werke number can be seen on the bottom of the tail. If you look closely you can barely make out the "Lift Here" markings, three of them along the bottom of the fuselage.


The model came with the nine-cylinder Oberusel U.1 engine, but it didn't have the valve actuator rods on the front of the cylinders. Sometimes I ignore that sort of thing, but this time I couldn't. I cut the rods out of very thin brass wire and glued them in. Unfortunately these block the engine from turning fully around. There is still some play so it moves a bit. Propeller by Integral, who made most of the props for the eindekkers.

[Buddahaid]

That came out really nice Steve. I was going to say you could silver solder some brass wire for the spindly LG but I've been taking care of my parents this week and didn't have my password to log in away from home.