ccoyle Posted May 8 Share #1 Posted May 8 Greetings! Whenever I order stuff from Poland, I like to max out the order that can be sent at a certain shipping price point. That means that for my last order from WAK, received just this week, I was able to slip WAK's latest release into my cart. It's a Salmson 2 A.2, a French two-seat observation plane used in the last year of the Great War. First Squadron of the US Air Service also operated the type. The kit is designed by Maciej Lewan and features very nice artwork done by Marcin Dworzecki. A little skimpy on the diagrams, but hopefully enough to get the job done. Of course I also ordered the requisite laser-cut frames . . . . . . as well as a pair of resin Lewis guns for the observer's twin mounting. Okay, so you might be wondering why I decided to start this build when I just finished the Hurricane and had started back on Phoenix. Well, I'll tell you why. I blame this wholly on WAK. I checked the inside front cover to see if there was any information about the aircraft depicted in the kit, and there I saw the following (in English, no less): Yup, the plane was "piloted by A.J. Coyle." That did it. Hot new release . . . chance to be one of the first to build it . . . pilot with the same surname as myself (and it's not a common one) . . . the kit fairly screamed "build me NOW!" So I caved. BTW, I have not yet been able to determine if Capt. Coyle and I are distant relatives, but I have an extensive family tree, and he's not in it, so I suspect we are not. Oh, well. Capt. Arthur J. Coyle (standing), with Lt. A.E. Easterbrook. Anonymous unknown author, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. I may try to build this concurrently with Phoenix, or I might not. I'll just have to see how it plays out. Plus, I have another project on my radar. 😬 So many projects, so little time!! Cheers! yvesvidal, Old Collingwood, druxey and 15 others 18 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Black Posted May 8 Share #2 Posted May 8 14 minutes ago, ccoyle said: the kit fairly screamed "build me NOW!" Oh, yeah, you gotta start building this thing immediately. *Keith has a chair and a bowl of popcorn and ready for the show to start. Egilman, mtaylor, Canute and 1 other 4 Quote Current Builds: Wood Hull Screw Frigate USS Tennessee Decorative Carrack Warship Restoration, the Amelia Completed: Early Swift 1805 Model Restoration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted May 8 Share #3 Posted May 8 Would have been cool, to find out about a family member through the kit. It seems to be a nice kit and will look terrific with you doing your magic. Cheers Rob Keith Black, mtaylor, Old Collingwood and 4 others 7 Quote Current builds: "Big Tank" Crocker OHV motorcycle by DocRob - Model Factory Hiro - 1/9 McLaren Mp4/6 - Ayrton Senna - Fujimi - 1/20 - paused Duchess of Kingston - paused Finished builds: F4U-1A Corsair - Tamiya 1/32 USS Arizona 1/350 Eduard Caudron C.561 French Racing Plane 1/48 Nachtigall on Speed Arado 234 B-2N by DocRob - 1/32 - Fly Renault RE20 Turbo - Tamiya - 1/12 P-38J Wicked Woman - Tamiya - 1/48 AEG G.IV Creature of the Night - WNW - 1/32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 8 Author Share #4 Posted May 8 2 hours ago, DocRob said: Would have been cool, to find out about a family member through the kit. I've since learned that Capt. Coyle was born in Vermont, making him one of the 'Northern Coyles', who were mostly Catholic. His forebears arrived in Quebec in the early 19th Century before eventually making their way south into Vermont. Our family were Ulster Scots who arrived in the Carolinas sometime in the 18th Century. DocRob, Egilman, Javlin and 8 others 11 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 9 Author Share #5 Posted May 9 First Cuts Construction begins with the forward fuselage. One unusual feature of the Salmson was its powerplant -- a liquid-cooled, 9-cylinder Salmson 9Z radial producing 231 hp. The radiator layout featured shutters that looked rather like fan blades. You can easily see them in this photo: from Wikimedia Commons And here are the shutters as seen in the construction diagram: The shutters are provided as a flat, printed part depicting the shutters closed, but the instructions say that experienced models may attempt to display them in the open position. Challenge accepted: That job took awhile, so that's all I got done this evening. king derelict, mtaylor, Jack12477 and 16 others 19 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canute Posted May 9 Share #6 Posted May 9 I'm in, Chris. The shutters are looking good. Jack12477, Dave_E, Egilman and 3 others 6 Quote Ken Started: MS Bounty Longboat, On Hold: Heinkel USS Choctaw paper Down the road: Shipyard HMC Alert 1/96 paper, Mamoli Constitution Cross, MS USN Picket Boat #1 Scratchbuild: Echo Cross Section Member Nautical Research Guild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadwijm6 Posted May 9 Share #7 Posted May 9 These paper models are fascinating. Looking forward to following along. 👍🏻 Keith Black, Egilman, ccoyle and 5 others 8 Quote Cheers, James. Current Builds Microaces Scrappee Liaison Radio Controlled Occre Polaris 1/50 Hong Kong Models 1/32 B25 J Mitchell Completed Airfix Westland Sea King HU.5 1/48 Airfix Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc 1/24 Airfix Avro Lancaster B.III (SPECIAL) 'THE DAMBUSTERS' 1/72 Airfix Titanic 1/400 Airfix King Tiger 1/35 In the hangar, dockyard or factory Airfix Fairey Gannet AS.1/AS.4 1/48, Airfix North American P-51D, Mustang 1/48, Airfix Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XIV 1/48, Airfix MGB 1/32, ICM Gloster Gladiator 1/32, 5 Airfix Tanks, Airfix Blackburn Buccaneer S.2 C/D 1/48, Artesania Latina Zuiderzee Botter 1912 1/50, Airfix WWII British Army 30-cwt 4x2 GS Truck 1/35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 10 Author Share #8 Posted May 10 First two cowl rings and radiator shutters completed. Now I'm busy trying to make sense of the assembly instructions and diagrams, which leave a substantial portion of the build process to the imagination. Papa, druxey, chadwijm6 and 11 others 14 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_E Posted May 10 Share #9 Posted May 10 I’m in! 🍿🥤👍😊 Jack12477, Egilman, chadwijm6 and 5 others 8 Quote Dave Current builds: Rattlesnake Completed builds: Lady Nelson On the shelf: NRG Half Hull Project, Various metal, plastic and paper models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 11 Author Share #10 Posted May 11 When this kit first arrived, I noticed that it is designed to use butt joints. I really dislike butt joints. Because it uses butt joints, no joiner strips are provided -- not even the sort that are typically used to close rings. Hmph. Work proceeded on the first fuselage section. Regardless of what the kit designer intended, I simply made myself a joiner strip to close up the ring, which, as you can see in this first photo, is not entirely ring-shaped. It's a ring where it joins the cowl, but then flares to a flat bottom along the rest of the fuselage. The forward-most bulkhead is a simple circle, but the aft bulkhead has a cutout where cockpit elements will be located. I stiffened the entire flimsy-looking bulkhead with thin CA. I also painted the interior a sort-of canvas-colored tan, because I don't know how much of it will be visible once the fuselage and cockpit are assembled. (BTW, that's just an old, dried glue blob in the lower left corner.) Both bulkheads required some sanding to get them to slip easily into the ring. Here's the completed fuselage section, now mated to the cowl assembly. The cowl has numerous blisters, which I will add later to avoid smooshing them while working on the fuselage. That first butt joint turned out well. I'll be very happy if the rest turn out as nice. Moving to the next fuselage section, construction of the forward cockpit begins, so there will be a lot more elements. Cheers! Jack12477, Marcus.K., realworkingsailor and 15 others 18 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 12 Author Share #11 Posted May 12 All the cockpit bulkheads have been prepped. GrandpaPhil, hof00, druxey and 15 others 18 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 14 Author Share #12 Posted May 14 I call this next one the "last time you'll ever have a clear view of this cockpit" shot. And here's the cockpit section all closed up and mated to the forward fuselage. The butt joint did not turn out as nicely this time. A simple fuselage slice is next, followed by construction of the observer's position. Cheers! chadwijm6, mtaylor, GrandpaPhil and 16 others 19 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Posted May 14 Share #13 Posted May 14 On 5/9/2024 at 9:35 PM, ccoyle said: Now I'm busy trying to make sense of the assembly instructions and diagrams, which leave a substantial portion of the build process to the imagination. This is what I am finding on the Nautilus. I found that the JCS card model had much better instructions. Jack12477, mtaylor, Canute and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 15 Author Share #14 Posted May 15 Gradually the fuselage lengthens. Richard44, Papa, Keith Black and 14 others 17 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 18 Author Share #15 Posted May 18 The observer's position is complete. These are the last views anyone will see before it gets zipped up. After this, anyone wanting to get a good closeup look will need to use an endoscope. 😑 Canute, Jack12477, Egilman and 16 others 15 4 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 19 Author Share #16 Posted May 19 Zipped up . . . . . . and skinned. GrandpaPhil, Richard44, Keith Black and 12 others 15 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 20 Author Share #17 Posted May 20 Two more sections added to the fuselage. Ryland Craze, hof00, yvesvidal and 14 others 16 1 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 21 Author Share #18 Posted May 21 The main fuselage sections are done now. Next I'll need to go back and mount all the little lumpy-bumpy parts. Richard44, Danstream, Ryland Craze and 17 others 20 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 22 Author Share #19 Posted May 22 For those of you who are interested, I thought you might like to see what an insanely talented card modeler (not me, obviously) can do by kit-bashing a rather rudimentary model. Scroll down to the pics at the bottom to see the scratch-built super-detailing. It's on a whole 'nother level. MiG-3 at Kartonowki gallery MAGIC's Craig, Keith Black, Jay 1 and 11 others 10 1 3 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canute Posted May 23 Share #20 Posted May 23 Super work on that early MiG. The Russians seem to like vivid cockpit colors, like the turquoise in some MiGs and Suchois Egilman, Dave_E, mtaylor and 2 others 5 Quote Ken Started: MS Bounty Longboat, On Hold: Heinkel USS Choctaw paper Down the road: Shipyard HMC Alert 1/96 paper, Mamoli Constitution Cross, MS USN Picket Boat #1 Scratchbuild: Echo Cross Section Member Nautical Research Guild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlwhitt Posted May 23 Share #21 Posted May 23 I've often wondered about the use of turquoise, as the Japanese (thinking of the Zero) used it as well in the wheel wells as this Russian one has,. Egilman, Old Collingwood, Jack12477 and 4 others 7 Quote Rick Current Build: MS Mayflower II Completed: MS USF Essex, MS USS Constitution Cross Section, MS 18th Century Armed Longboat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 23 Author Share #22 Posted May 23 2 hours ago, Canute said: The Russians seem to like vivid cockpit colors, like the turquoise in some MiGs and Suchois It's not really turquoise so much as sky blue. The Russians didn't seem to waste much time on experimenting with color schemes -- sky-blue undersides and two-tone gray topsides were commonplace. I can't say for certain, but I suspect they used the same blue for interiors and undersides simply because it expedited construction. The Soviets figured out early that simplifying their manufacturing processes got materiel into the field faster and in larger quantities. mtaylor, Keith Black, Canute and 3 others 6 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted May 23 Author Share #23 Posted May 23 Eighteen cowl blisters done. 😵 Egilman, Canute, hof00 and 17 others 20 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canute Posted May 24 Share #24 Posted May 24 Fiddly bits for sure. Nicely done. Dave_E, Egilman, Keith Black and 4 others 7 Quote Ken Started: MS Bounty Longboat, On Hold: Heinkel USS Choctaw paper Down the road: Shipyard HMC Alert 1/96 paper, Mamoli Constitution Cross, MS USN Picket Boat #1 Scratchbuild: Echo Cross Section Member Nautical Research Guild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsk Posted Saturday at 06:48 PM Share #25 Posted Saturday at 06:48 PM Your work is always so clean and precise. A rare talent! mtaylor, Egilman, Keith Black and 3 others 6 Quote --jeff In Process: US Revenue Cutter 1/72 Card (Seahorse), Skipjack Kathryn 1/72 Card (scratch build) Completed Builds: Slavic (Viking) Longship 1/72 (Falconet) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted Sunday at 01:24 AM Author Share #26 Posted Sunday at 01:24 AM More cowl bits added. I mighta got more done today except I spent the entire day stripping the old finish off my fence. 😬 realworkingsailor, wvdhee, Dave_E and 16 others 16 3 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Moore Posted Sunday at 01:32 AM Share #27 Posted Sunday at 01:32 AM Very crisp and clean Chris, you are a master at this in my book. Must need such a careful touch. Canute, Ryland Craze, Old Collingwood and 4 others 7 Quote Tim Moore Perfect is the enemy of good In progress IJN Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Mikasa, 1:200, Hobby Boss On Deck DH.9a Ninak, 1/32, Wingnut Wings The Blue Sky Company, 1:48, Sierra West Models Completed Fiat 806 Grand Prix 1:12, Italeri; Fifie 1:32, Amati Victory Model; HMS Bounty 1:48, Artesania Latina; Endeavour 1:60; Corel; Miss Severn 1:8, Legend Model Boats; Calypso, Billing Boats; Carmen Fishing Trawler, A.L. ; Dallas Revenue Cutter, A.L., Bluenose, A.L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsk Posted Sunday at 07:18 AM Share #28 Posted Sunday at 07:18 AM 5 hours ago, ccoyle said: I spent the entire day stripping the old finish off my fence Pffftt! Get your priorities straight, dude. Old Collingwood, Jay 1, mtaylor and 5 others 1 7 Quote --jeff In Process: US Revenue Cutter 1/72 Card (Seahorse), Skipjack Kathryn 1/72 Card (scratch build) Completed Builds: Slavic (Viking) Longship 1/72 (Falconet) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted Sunday at 06:48 PM Author Share #29 Posted Sunday at 06:48 PM 11 hours ago, Jsk said: Pffftt! Get your priorities straight, dude. My priorities are in perfect order -- they just don't match my wife's priorities! druxey, Egilman, mtaylor and 5 others 2 6 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted Sunday at 09:45 PM Author Share #30 Posted Sunday at 09:45 PM Added the pilot's headrest and windscreens. The kit provide neither interior frames nor glazing templates for the latter; I made photocopies and used those as templates. Jack12477, Dave_E, chadwijm6 and 12 others 10 1 4 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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