Second kit is finally caught up with the first one. The second one has taught me something I didn't know before, mainly that early Martinsydes had rounded stabilizers. I already knew about the landing gear, which will show up shortly, but this one was new to me. It's funny that I should end up with two, because they only built sixty of them.

Also the second kit is a bit wider than the first. According to the drawings I have this seems to be closer to the reality, but there's nothing I can do about it now. Not that I would anyway, since they fill a gap and there are others I'm much more interested in.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psd1188c8f.jpg

A bit wider but it also looks like the scale is a bit larger.

That could be, but the length and the wingspan match up alright, and both of those dimensions match the drawings.

Optical contusion? :dead:

Early and late landing gear.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps68880d73.jpg

They still look like completely different airframes and fat boy still looks bigger. I like the old gear with the training wheels. :)

I have to agree. The funny part is that the fatter one is closer to the drawings in size but the other one is closer in outline. As I said early on, there was a resin kit that was described as being perfect, but it's not available anywhere, for any price. it's like the kit was reviewed but never released. It's a good thing it's not that important an aircraft to me. I'll live with it.

So do I. And they really were training wheels. Just like the skids on so many others, the idea was that in a rough landing the plane couldn't nose over. They finally realized that putting the main wheels far enough forward would serve the same purpose.

Main paint applied. The earlier version will represent one of four aircraft sent to Mesopotamia.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psf3caf27e.jpg

After a week of busying myself elsewhere I finally have the upper wings mounted.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psd3ba5053.jpg

One month to the day since I started, and I finally have the decals on and the final overcoat. I still need to mount the guns and propellers, paint the wheels and struts, and get them rigged.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps5db86809.jpg

The first one is finally done. The second should be tomorrow.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psfead3b25.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psd59d4fd6.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psaec89665.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psf576735a.jpg

Very nice!!

The grass on that runway needs cutting :)

Another day lost. After playing music all night Monday I was in no condition yesterday for anything but sitting. This morning I got half the main rigging done. This afternoon I started on the other half and ran into trouble. Things wouldn't glue down, and when they did they were out of place. Cut that part away and do it again, then discover that some piece I'd already done had come loose. It took three tries to get it all where it belonged. Finally, though...

This represents a fairly standard Western Front aircraft.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pseb652a94.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psd29417d1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps79c028c9.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psdde9c43f.jpg

Next project: Morane-Saulnier 'BB', a rather obscure reconaissance biplane built in France, but the only buyer was the British Royal Flying Corps. There were less than 100 built, and some controversy over how many of them had the planned 110-horsepower Le Rhône 9J engine and how many only had the 80-hp 9C.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps784bf1f4.jpg

I'm using the fuselage from the Revell Morane 'N' kit as a basis, but this will be mostly scratchbuilt. The first problem to be overcome is that the Revell kit is wrong right from the start. It tapers to a point at the rear, where the real aeroplane tapered to a horizontal knife-edge, just like the square-bodied model 'H' before it, and like the Fokker and Pfalz eindekkers, the latter of which was an exact license-built copy of the 'H'.

First step was to cut a pair of shims out of scrap plastic, then sand and shape them so the tail was the proper width and the fuselage taper matched the drawings.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psa9733b6f.jpg

I recently picked up a rare off-brand model of the Morane 'N' which the maker claimed was much more accurate. It's also a lot smaller, which is causing some concern. Harleyford's Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War says the 'N' was 22' long, and their Reconaissance Aircraft book says the 'BB' was 23' 2", which is less than a foot difference in length. The off-brand model 'N' is much smaller than Harleyford's drawing. On the other hand a couple of other sources say the 'N' was 19' 1" long, which is exactly what the off-brand model is. If that's the case then the Revell 'N' model is oversize by quite a bit, but it's perfect for the 'BB' conversion.

In any case I think it's going to be a fairly easy conversion.