A bit of a hiatus, all to do with the fuel tank/ammunition boxes
There are pictures in Windsock Datafile Vol 1 page 40. Judging by the details, I think figures 94 to 96 are all the same aeroplane taken at the same time, and it has a huge fuel tank. Fig 97 shows an Alkan-Hamy synchronised Lewis gun with the same fuel tank and many of the same features
The problem with this is - where did the ammunition box go? The Lewis wouldn't need one, the Vickers definitely would
Vol 2 page 87 fig 87 shows the front of a 17bis, handily showing the supports for the side fabric. It also shows a huge fuel tank behind the seat, with a connecting pipe that must have been a fabricators nightmare!
Mastercasters (and ICM) have both gone with ammunition boxes below the gun, which would have taken half the tank away
I can't find a picture for this, so I was going to go with the extended tank. However, I've decided to give the resin box a reprieve.
I'm actually now wondering if all Vickers armed Nie 17s had that tank behind the seat - anyway, mine's getting one
If anyone has an image of a crashed Nie 17 or 17bis showing the cockpit details, I'd be very interested to see one
Richard