Nieuport 11c.1 by ccoyle - FINISHED - Kartonowa Kolekcja - 1:33 - CARD

[ccoyle]

So, not gonna rest on my laurels and will instead roll right on to the next project. I found the Hellcat build a little taxing, so I'm turning again to a publisher with whom I've had good success, Kartonowa Koleckcja. I have chosen the Nieuport 11c.1 Bébé for several reasons:

• It's a biplane. Biplanes are cool.
• It's French. I have no French planes in the finished pile.
• It's from the Great War. So far, the five biplanes I have completed are all inter-war designs.
• It has interesting livery options (more on this later).
• It has a relatively low parts count -- shouldn't take too long to build.
• It's small. Unlike the Hellcat, it fits my display options.

 

Like all KK kits, this 2009 publication is attractively presented. The glossy cover features artwork done by the designer, Pawel Mistewicz.

 

 

The parts are also very nicely rendered. The kit provides optional skins for three different aircraft.

 

 

And one of those options is a mount from the Lafayette Escadrille (bottom) -- that sealed the deal.

 

 

I also have the laser-cut frames. Look for first cuts soon!

[Paul Le Wol]

Chris, your builds are always so enjoyable to follow! Standing by.

[Canute]

The American component of the Lafayette Escadrille still exists at Seymour Johnson AFB, flying F-15Es. The 335 Fighter Squadron, the Chiefs, claims descent from the Escadrille.

[ccoyle]

First cuts on the diminutive Nieuport -- a few interior walls. Only two doubled parts so far.

 

[popeye the sailor]

following along Chris..........another of your great projects   

[ccoyle]

Work goes by pretty quick.

 

[ccoyle]

The cockpit is now complete -- no major issues so far. I'm sharing more than the usual number of photos for this step, because like most airplane builds, a lot of this won't be readily visible once the fuselage skins are added.

 

 

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

Excellent work Chris,   that cockpit  looks  so real.

 

OC.

[ccoyle]

Side and bottom skins done.

 

 

And just for fun, here's a little size comparison. Yes, these are in the same scale. 😆

 

[lmagna]

Looking good Chris

 

Now that you have taken that comparison picture you will need to build an F-86, F-4, F-14/15/ or 16, and F-22, or 35 to show the evolution of fighters and sizes through the wars. 

[Edwardkenway]

4 hours ago, lmagna said:

Looking good Chris

 

Now that you have taken that comparison picture you will need to build an F-86, F-4, F-14/15/ or 16, and F-22, or 35 to show the evolution of fighters and sizes through the wars. 

Yes, yes, do it! You know you want to🤭😇 

[ccoyle]

Fuselage work continues. The trick with pieces like these is to get them pre-shaped as best as possible. With parts like the forward half of the upper fuselage skin, I find it works better to tack down one side, let that set, and then tack down the other side. The fine-tip glue dispenser I purchased this spring has proven to be a big help in laying down beads of glue.

 

 

[Egilman]

Beautiful build brother... So precise....

 

What I wouldn't give for those gluing skills... They are so important to building in paper...

[Ian_Grant]

Amazed that that's all the pilot had to sit on - a backless (or nearly so) chair with a lap belt! Not much more evolved than a tractor seat.

[mtaylor]

1 hour ago, Ian_Grant said:

Amazed that that's all the pilot had to sit on - a backless (or nearly so) chair with a lap belt! Not much more evolved than a tractor seat.

Nearly so... just a small one.  Considering when this bird flew there were next to nothing for creature comforts.

[ccoyle]

Also no parachute, no armor, no self-sealing fuel tank -- basically flying around in a tinder box made of doped fabric and twigs. Anyways, last pic for today -- finished windscreen.

 

[Canute]

Where did you get that dispenser, Chris. My working time for wood glues is too short. I have a plastic sheet where I squirt some glue, then dip a wire paperclip to pick up a drop or so of the glue. I use Borden's Wood Glue. If I'm cutting and fitting, that glue will skin over before I get the new parts ready for glue.

[ccoyle]

1 hour ago, Canute said:

Where did you get that dispenser, Chris.

 

I got it at Hobby Lobby. I have taken to using the Evergreen Canopy Glue almost exclusively for card. One has to work rather quickly with it, but it grabs well, and excess glue can be wiped away with a damp brush.

 

Fun story: Ironically, most of the skin seams are black. I have no idea why the French used those black edges as they did, but it makes edge coloring easy with a black Sharpie (I have also temporarily 'liberated' some of my wife's collection of Sharpie coloring pens for other edges). For the few edges that do require the very pale buff coloring, I just happened to have a long-unused bottle of cheap acrylic called "antique white" that is virtually a perfect match. So, ultimately, this kit required no custom edge color mixing.

[Canute]

Chris, thanks for the steer on the glue dispenser.

 

Nice fix on the Sharpies for edge-coloring. No bleeding?

[ccoyle]

23 minutes ago, Canute said:

No bleeding?

 

No, they bleed. You have to be careful about where and when to use them. With the black edging on this kit, the bleed is not a problem.

[ccoyle]

It's hard to see in this photo -- heck, it's hard to see in real life -- but twenty twenty-one parts were added to the fuselage between the last update and this one. Tiny, tiny parts.

 

[ccoyle]

Last pic for today -- tail skid (10 pieces).

 

[Keith Black]

 That looks so realistic, Chris. Since I've started following your builds Ive been amazed at the quality of a build that can be achieved with card. 

[thibaultron]

 

A little known factiod. As well as fuel tank size, another limiting factor when flying these planes, was that castor oil was added to the gas for lubricating internal parts, and the exhaust retained a decent portion of this!

[Ian_Grant]

Same with my model planes in the 80's oops I meant in the 70's.  They always ended up with an oil mess on the nose and at the wing roots. Don't know what it's like now; I've seen some amazing model plane engines ($$$) at the hobby shop nowadays, 4-strokes with valves...

Edited July 20, 2022 by Ian_Grant

[amateur]

Blinking with my eyes, and you’re half done already.

 

looking good

 

Jan

[mtaylor]

16 hours ago, thibaultron said:

 

A little known factiod. As well as fuel tank size, another limiting factor when flying these planes, was that castor oil was added to the gas for lubricating internal parts, and the exhaust retained a decent portion of this!

 

Towards the end of his life von Richthofen was reportedly severely affected by castor oil such that sometimes he couldn't even make it out to his aircraft.  

[ccoyle]

Fascinating side note: In the past year, I have finished eight models -- that's a real tear for me!

 

On to the top wing! First the sub-structure -- very stout:

 

 

And the outer skin:

 

 

Wound up with one small part left over, but if I don't tell you what it is, you'd probably never figure it out on your own. 😉

[Paul Le Wol]

Super good looking Chris. My guess is that you ended up with a spare franistan 😀

[ccoyle]

Busy, busy, busy -- time to take a break! 😋