forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: andonio64 on October 07, 2014, 05:29:54 PM
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Hallo friends, my last project was not about ww1 therefore I started feeling homesick and I needed to take on a new project.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/f/f4/FRANCESCO_BARACCA.jpg)
A tribute to the top Italian ace capt. Francesco Baracca was a project I had in mind since long time!
I wouldn't make the nth Spad XIII as seen so many times, so I chose the Nieuport 17.
He flew a Ni17 while serving in 70th Squadriglia, before joining the 91th where he scored 24 victories over his 34.
Most of the victories he scored in the 70th Squadriglia were on Ni 11 Bebè but the squadron was equipped in late 1916 / early 1917 with the 17s.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/022.jpg)
Here we clearly see the rampant horse peeping from behind the Skull and bones (Fulco Ruffo di Calabria) plane.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/023.jpg)
Here is Baracca portrayed in front of his Nieuport.
As reported in the fundamental book by Gentilli-Iozzi-Varriale, Gli Assi dell'aviazione italiana nella Grande Guerra (Ufficio storico AMI), (The Aces of the Italian Airforce in WW1 - published by the Italian Air Force historical office) the two victories credited to Francesco Baracca on his Ni 17 / 2614 date January 01 and February 11, 1917.
Here is the kit:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/001.jpg)
I bought this kit long time ago in a modeling shop, it's my first 1/32 kit.
Here is my analysis of the material I have:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/002.jpg)
Instructions and decals, the decals are almost useless, I say almost because the Nieuports arrived to the Italian squadrons directly from France, and they were painted in aluminium dope with the French roundels. Nearly always the roundels were overpainted with Italian ones but in this case they probably were overpainted with aluminium paint.
As you see in the above picture with the line up of three planes, there is no roundel on the upper wing.
Therefore I was thinking to use the French decals and spray aluminium over them so that they can perceived a bit through the coat of paint...
I am only worried about the thickness of the decal sheet being visible over such an even surface.
What do you think?
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/003.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/004.jpg)
About the sprues: these are the wings, the shape seem s correct enough (to be sure I was searching for 1/32 plans but was not able to find them).
The ribs are simulated with a thin "positive" stripe, they don't either look as a rib tape or shape the wing canvas,
Any suggestion for improvements?
I think I should sand them off... but how to replace them?
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/005.jpg)
The engine is good enough although I don't agree with their choice to split the cylinder in halves, some plastic flashes but nothing difficult to manage.
Just in case do you have any indication about aftermarket 1/32 Le Rhône 9J 110hp engine?
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/008.jpg)
The Vickers mg is not acceptable, I was thinking to buy the Gaspatch one.
In this Macchi built / Nieuport 17 the Vickers is clearly seen.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/019a.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/006.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/011.jpg)
These are the fuselage halves, good looking on the outside clean and crisp detail...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/007.jpg)
... but on the inside they cast those horrible strut traces and fake rigging... WHY????
And what about the injection marks???
Everything should come off completely.
When I bought the kit I also bought the Mastercaster improvement kit, but as far as the cockpit walls are concerned also here they casted the rigging in the piece.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/010.jpg)
Apart from the cockpit sides and floor the set has a lot of great pieces that we'll see during the work here are the wheels
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/012.jpg)
the wheels were shaped flattened to simulate the weight, but I don't like this so I will sand the tyres and try to make them even...
...and the cowling
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/009.jpg)
The other sprue (front and back):
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/013.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/014.jpg)
The documentation I have so far:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/015.jpg)
The profile, very easy...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/017.jpg)
At the moment I am working on a vector drawing of the horse.
The stencils on the rudder will be homemade as well:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/020.jpg)
Here is another image of Baracca's Ni17 after a mission, you can see the roundels are missing. No trace of the underlying French markings seem to peep out...
(http://www.finn.it/regia/immagini/prima/ni17_baracca.jpg)
OK, that's all for now, I look forward to getting any advice, warning and suggestion for improvement of the kit.
Thanks for your attention!
Antonio
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I built this kit in the exact same markings and I created masks or my own decals. I think the bleed through of the French roundals can be argued either way, but I wouldn't use the kit decals. Academy decals have a reputation for being thick.
Your master casters resin looks better than the blob of junk I received so I scratched pretty much all the interior instead ( it isn't really that hard). I took my lead from an Italian modeller, who did something similar with the kit. Unfortunately his name escapes me as does the forum he posted on
I'm off sick in bed with nothing else to do so a google trawl gives :
http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51294&page=3
http://www.modellismopiu.it/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=22963&forum=49
I'd also look at Mark Millers wonderful CAD images over at the Aerodrome
There are plans easily available as well, the irony is I can't remember where I put my build log.
I'd sand down the ribs and use the kit engine.
IMO it's a cracking model for the money and for a bit of effort really build up well.
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I built this kit in the exact same markings and I created masks or my own decals. I think the bleed through of the French roundals can be argued either way, but I wouldn't use the kit decals. Academy decals have a reputation for being thick.
Your master casters resin looks better than the blob of junk I received so I scratched pretty much all the interior instead ( it isn't really that hard). I took my lead from an Italian modeller, who did something similar with the kit. Unfortunately his name escapes me as does the forum he posted on
I'm off sick in bed with nothing else to do so a google trawl gives :
http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51294&page=3
http://www.modellismopiu.it/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=22963&forum=49
I'd also look at Mark Millers wonderful CAD images over at the Aerodrome
There are plans easily available as well, the irony is I can't remember where I put my build log.
I'd sand down the ribs and use the kit engine.
IMO it's a cracking model for the money and for a bit of effort really build up well.
Hi Gary,
thanks for your reply, I already saw your great WIP (http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=405.msg5311#msg5311), I also knew Starflyer's build from my earlier modeling activity, I still am in that forum but have no time to keep up to date everything, so, having to chose, I prefer strolling around this forum where I feel more "at home"... :-)
I think I will erase completely the interiors and use some of the Mastercaster pieces, not the cockpit panels.
I agree with most of your advice, I still will look for the 1/32 plans (I have the windsock but the drawings are maximum in 48th)... will google it more until I find it.
I also was able to see in the end the French roundels peeping on the top wings in both the pictures I posted... maybe I will paint them and then cover them, or maybe just a slightly darker metal circle would be enough...
I also agree in sanding off the "ribs" I shouls invent something to create them back after...
You did not sand them didn't you?
Ciao
Antonio
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I am looking forward to your build! I have 3 of these kits in the stash....
RAGIII
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Hi Antonio
I think I took them back a touch, but it's a dull job and I probably could have done it better.
To my uncritical eye once paints on it's not too bad.
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Hi Antonio
I think I took them back a touch, but it's a dull job and I probably could have done it better.
To my uncritical eye once paints on it's not too bad.
Yes it's dull indeed, I was thinking to sand them off not completely and try some shading to give the surface a bit more of "life".
How are you doing with your health? I hope you'll be out of bed soon!
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It's just man flu, hopefully I'll be right as rain in a couple of days. Thanks for asking
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Antonio,
I love the introduction to your build and am looking forward to watching it progress!
Chris
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Hello Antonio:
I too have built this kit and like Gary, just sanded down the 'ribs' a bit. As he said, once painted and a little shading, they look alright. I too bought the Master Caster kit and have yet to use it. Like Gary, it is just as easy to sand off the fake stuff on the interior, put a few sticks of plastic, rig and away you go. Some of the Master Caster stuff is useful, but not having used it will withhold judgement.
I will be checking in from time to time to see how you are doing on the build. I am looking forward to it as there is hardly any Italian stuff out there.
Best
Mark
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Looking forward to your build and in 32 scale !
Terri
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Thanks guys and doll for stopping by and leaving your message, I have started yesterday evening by detaching the engine pieces from the sprues and started cleaning from the flashes.
I hope to post some picture by the weekend.
Ciao
Antonio
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Antonio,
I have the Hobbycraft version of this Kit and will be doing it as Bishop's B1566 eventually. I'll be following your Build closely, nice to see some Italian "flavour" here! I considered getting the Master Casters Package however found several reviews that were very unfavourable, so I'll be "scratching" the interior as well. Great scheme you've chosen. Also, the Gaspatch Vickers are truly outstanding products, highly recommend you get a set for this model.
Cheers,
Lance
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Thank you Lance, I just got the Gaspatch Vickers yesterday and they are beautiful. I woul only make the hand lever from a round section wire because they are flat being carved on a PE fret.
The cockpit walls of the Master Caster package are very well sculpted but they have those inset wires I can't stand. Maybe I'll try to extract some details from them and re use...
Other pieces I have in my box also from that package are very nice and perhaps I will use them...
(http://www.mastercasters.co.uk/resources/MST32060_750.jpg)
...here is a picture I found on the "drome" forum
More later during this weekend.
Ciao
Antonio
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Hallo,
the progresses of this work are slow (as usual) but steady...
First of all I tried to pre-assemble the engine which - as said - is good enough, ...but
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/024.jpg)
as you can see the exhaust tubes don't touch the heads of the cylinders, although most of the cylinder heads will be hidden by the cowling, from below some of the lower cylinders will be seen.
So I think I should operate on this.
Same problem can be seen for the rods departing from the centre towards the valves on top of the cylinders. They don't touch the cylinder, moreover they are too thick...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Le_Rhone_9C.jpg)
This is an example of the rear side of the engine.
I am considering to put tiny round slices of plasticard where needed to join the exhaust tunes to the cylinder head and replace the valve levers (I don't know their exact name) with thinner metal rods.
For the time being I put aside the engine working on other details.
Here is the tail surfaces, I matched them to some technical plans I found on finemodelworks.com, really big and well detailed, I reduced them to a scale very close to 1/32.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/025.jpg)
The shape of the aileron tips was too pointed, I know it's not an important detail, but the transformation was so easy I decided to go.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/026.jpg)
Then I sanded the ribs, cut away the ailerons, put some plasticard bits to simulate the hinges
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/027.jpg)
Same work done on the rudder ribs, moreover I added a couple of pins to fix it to the fuselage being able to displace it to a side.
The stencil on the port side will show the complete S/N + weight and fuel indication, on the starboard side there will be only the 2614 code
Then I started working on the fuselage:
I traced (using a well known primary school method!) the two openings in the forward part of the cockpit (to be glued inside)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/028.jpg)
to replicate their shape which I decorated with nuts, I made them big hoping they will be visible after closing the fuselage.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/029.jpg)
Stepping forward to the inside of the fuselage: I got rid of the horrible internal rigging cast into the plastic and, not being able to make a perfectly shaped cage, I decided to stick the woodwork to the sides.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/030.jpg)
I glued square rods of plasticard to the walls but before gluing them I pierced the vertical ones on top and bottom to let the rigging go through.
The cockpit part that goes from the seat back to the engine firewall was made of metal and as the Mastercaster set states it was covered with diagonal wooden planking. I remember I had seen somewhere on the web an old photo where
this structure was visible but am not able to find it anymore, in any case as I like this feature I decided to replicate it inside my model scribing some pieces of plasticard.
Some modellers (much better than me interpreted the diagonal pattern covering also the forward part of the cockpit but I thought it would be scarcely visible also because there will ba a lot of things there filling the available space,
so I decided to stay just with one panel per side:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/031.jpg)
Some minor details on the fuselage outside:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/032.jpg)
I used a .8 mm diameter brass tube to replicate the exhaust on both the sides
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/033.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/034.jpg)
letting them pass through inside, where the brass tubes will join the inner front assembly as shown in the 2 pictures following:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/037.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/036.jpg)
Maybe this will not be seen from the cockpit hole but in some way helped placing the round piece I took from the MasterCaster set
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/035.jpg)
Here you can see the copper pins I put into the exhaust tubes and the white plasticard I put to let the support tube touch both the cockpit sides.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/038.jpg)
Here you can see on the left the piece that will close the space behind the pilot (the small holes are for the rigging and the big holes to let cables run towards the tail control surfaces.
On the right the floor piece I took from the MasterCaster set: I sanded it off, put a bigger rod to hold the plank behind the seat and made some tiny holes for rigging.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/039.jpg)
Here is a first try to set the cockpit structure, maybe the top corners should be further rounded to leave room for the headres piece that should be glued against the white plasticard piece
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/040.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/041.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/042.jpg)
Here I tried to dry-close the fuselage, and the result is satisfying althugh not yet finished.
That's all for now.
More in the next days!
Ciao and thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, tips and advice for improvement!
Antonio
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Reall nice work on your Nieuport Antonio! Very well done so far!!
RAGIII
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Nice work, wait for the next.
Martin
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Hi Antonio,
great progress, congrats!
One remark - the engine on the photo you have posted is an 80 HP Le-Rhóne 9C and the photo shows the front side of the engine - on the 9C the copper intake manifolds as well as the push-pull rods were attached to the crankcase in front of the cylinders.
On a 110 hp 9J the intake manifolds and the rods are behind the cylinders - as correctly depicted on the engine in your kit.
Attached a photo of a 9J front side.
Cheers
Ondra
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You're right Ondra, I have the pics of both the sides of the engine you attached.
Thanks for the correction!
Thanks to Rick and Radio for the appreciation.
AnDonio
PS
@Ondra: I haven't yet finished to work on the vector Horse...
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Great Start, Andonio...this will be a labor of love and we get to watch. Keep going!
Cheers,
Dan
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Hallo Dan!
Happy to read you back!
Thanks for your appreciation, yes it's gonna be a labor of Love as you said!
:)
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You're off to an excellent start, Antonio! I have a feeling this may turn out to be your best yet.
Cheers,
Bud
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Thanks Bud!
I hope you'll be right!
::)
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Coming along very nicely, Antonio, and I can now see some merit in that Master Caster Set. This Log will be much referenced when I get to my 17, hopefully in the next several Builds.
Cheers,
Lance
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You are doing a marvelous job, Antonio! The Academy
kit isn't all that bad, other than the horrible decals, and
with your skills and improvements, I know your model
will be a real showpiece. :D Great start, my friend!
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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You are off to a great start Antonio, the alterations you are making are all going towards making this an excellent model, I look forward to watching you progress with this kit.
The tubes on each side of the forward fuselage are the engine intake tubes, rotary engines did not have an exhaust pipe as such, the exhaust valve expelled the waste directly into the air.
Des.
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Thanks Ernie, Lance and Des for your appreciation!
Des, thanks for your correction to my error about exhaust, air intake.
Now I understand why in the pictures the tubes appear slightly directed forwards and not backwards as normally an exhaust pipe should...
I hope to post news soon, this weekend I had not a lot of time to model.
Ciao
Antonio
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A lovely start, Antonio. I can't wait to see how you develop things from here.
Best wishes
Nigel
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Hallo,
I decided to use the cowling from the Master Caster Set, but trying to dry assemble it I noticed it is much smaller (in diameter) than the front panel (see areas pointed with the red arrows)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/043.jpg)
This is too much for me, so I stepped back to the kit's cowling.
I glued on the basis of the cowling a 0,25 mm thick plasticard stripe to recreate the tiny rimming that can be seen (for example) here:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/021.jpg)
this is the result:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/045.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/046.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/047.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/048.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/049.jpg)
As I liked the detail of the Master Caster Set shown in this picture
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/009.jpg)
I tried to remove it to glue on the Academy's piece.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/044.jpg)
The plastic is too thick so I drilled away most of its thickness, here is the result. thin enough but still I'm not sure I will use them, they have a different curve...
But, handling the provisionally joined fuselage halves I broke the tail skid!
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/050.jpg)
So I decided to cut everything off ...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/053.jpg)
And rebuild it from scratch:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/051.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/052.jpg)
OK that's all for this weekend.
:-)
Ciao
Antonio
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The cowl and tail skid both look terrific. Nice work on both.
Molto bene!
Chris
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Nice save on the tail skid. Your replacement looks a lot better than the original.
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Wonderful detailing.
Martin
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Thanks Martin,
now I am studying the stitching that appears on both the sides of the cockpit-engine compartment because (ça va sans dire!) I don't like the detail of the kit.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/011.jpg)
First of all I tried to understand what it was (anybody has information about this?)
I found two very large pictures on Wikimedia commons, here are the links, because they are really huge:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nieuport_17_LOC_hec.09329.jpg (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nieuport_17_LOC_hec.09329.jpg)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nieuport_17_LOC_hec.09326.jpg (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nieuport_17_LOC_hec.09326.jpg)
If you enlarge (especially the second one) to its real size you can understand there was a series of small hooks to fasten a small rope holding a sort of sheet (leather?) covering all the upper side of the nose. Maybe to avoid shiny reflections on the metallic finish?
I haven't seen that sheet in any model or drawing, but if you look at this picture, maybe it's there?
(http://www.finn.it/regia/immagini/prima/ni17_baracca.jpg)
What do you think?
Is it possible sometimes that "sheet" (sorry I can't think of a more appropriate word) was removed in flight? what material it was and what color?
I am very interested in your opinions out ther...
Antonio
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I think the lacing is simply what holds the upper cowling in place. Unlace it to remove the upper cowling to access the ammunition bin, fuel tank, etc.
Are you familiar with Mark Miller's wonderful 3D renderings?
http://www.wwi-models.org/Images/Miller/render/Nieuport/
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there is leather involved...
discussion here:
http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22614
and here:
http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34812
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/WinterHawke/Dawn%20Patrol%202005/DPR2005c022.jpg)
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Thanks Bo, I knew Mark Miller's wonderful 3D renderings, I will take them as a trace for inner details. As per the "leather" work, also after reading Dan San Abbot valuable comment, it was a stripe (leather - as appears from the picture you re-posted - veneer as Dan San said) helping the top cowling to be kept in place, maybe also for a fast opening.
But the colour of the top cowling often appears darker, that's why I started thinking about a different material or a coat of paint. But I've never seen this difference in colors reproduced in schemas.
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you are doing nice work with this kit. its really not too bad, i as you did got both of the mastercasters sets. i also was very disappointed when i saw the cowl was way too small to use. $18 down the drain. then you have to dress up the kit part, not too hard but when you buy something to so you dont have to its sad. the problem is many rtv silicone shrink when they fully cure. it happens even when the part is tiny. this is why the taurus mercedes rocker box assy is too short. you would think there was a way around it. keep up the great work.
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$18 down the drain. then you have to dress up the kit part
I completely agree with you. It's a shame to waste valuable resources on aftermarket parts that are (in the end) no improvement.
Impressive work, so far - i will watch with interest how you will replicate those fasteners.
Stefan
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Yes Stefan, it's always a pity wasting resources, but now I take the advantages I can from that set, in particular the details on the cowling, as gcn did before me!
I will post some new pics soon.
Now I went forward on my search to understand how to replicate the stitching on top of the cockpit.
I found these three pictures:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/bigelow.jpg)
Sgt Stephen Bigelow
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/bishop004.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/bishop005.jpg)
Billy Bishop
So the leather belt covers the stitching. I will glue a thin plasticard belt over the stitching, leaving the lower part of the stitching visible and scribing the belts from behind so that they appear covering the rope.
Also the picture of Baracca's plane a few post above shows this ...
Thanks for commenting and for further suggestions.
Antonio
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Hi there, I tried to do what I described in my previous post but I wasn't able to make it as I had in my mind (and as you see in the pictures...)
When scribing the belts from behind they warped and lost the linear shape so that they became unusable (tomorrow I'll post some pictures), so in the end I glued the belts just above the stitching and pierced some holes in it to give them some detail.
Everything will be more clear with some pictures.
In the meantime I sprayed the details made so far and the cockpit interiors with gray primer, so that I can start the paint work.
Ciao
Antonio
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Antnio as I read your thread recently it made me sad..
I also have this model in the workshop. I bought it to celebrate the birth of my grandson. On the day of his birth I went to the model shop and asked what models from the period of WW I in 1:32 scale are available , there was only this one so I bought it. At home I looked in the box and a little bit I grieved when I saw what I bought. Equipment cockpit, actually does not exist. My colleagues in Poland advised me buy Mastercasters a resin cockpit . I really liked it and after a few days I had it at home. After assembling the cockpit looks like.
(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv186/AlbatrosDIII/Nieuport%2017/mDSC02866_zpsff06442b.jpg)
I have mixed feelings about whether it was worth it to buy it, is a little too narrow and I think the quality is also not satisfactory.
I think to do scratch cockpit.
I also have the engine cover and also noticed that it is too narrow. So I wonder if I did not cut it in one place and insert a thin strip of plastic.
Adam.
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Antonio,
You are really doing brilliant work on this one! Your saves on the cowling and tail skid are awesome! Your thread and that Adam have me wondering about the Master Casters set. I remember when the Hobbycraft kit was released their was talk about the forward fuselage being too wide. I wonder if he meant to have the Modeler correct this thus making the cowling fit or if it is just an overall Ill Fitting replacement! I am thinking I will try the somewhat more basic detail set by LSM. Cant be any worse right?
RAGIII
RAGIII
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Hallo Adam, I am not totally disappointed with the Master casters set, it has very nice details but, as also RAGIII pointed out the dimensions of the cowling do not fit with the kit's dimensions, and the rigging is cast into the resin cockpit walls. I personally don't like this an prefer to use real lines for a more realistic look.
I have seen the LSM detail set quoted by RAGIII but all in all I still prefer the details of the Master casters (see the seat as an example)
I think these kind of detailing sets should never be taken as definitive solutions but as additional resources to be used always through our own creativity and invention.
All in all I am satisfied enough so far. I stooped a bit the works also because I had a tiresome week (at work) and this weekend I have to work for a delivery on monday to ann important customer...
Ciao and thanks for your attention on this thread!
Antonio
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Hello Antonio:
This is coming along nicely. I have this kit and the Master Caster set for it. I have been away from the forum and am catching up slowly on the builds here. I will be following along as you progress through the build.
Best
Mark
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Thanks Mark.
In the meantime I have gone a bit forward with my build, I will post some pic later.
Meanwhile I also have traced the Rampant horse in a vectorial format and I want to share it with you
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD (http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/cavallino_unito.svg)
It is an SVG file, so anyone familiar with vector graphic can resize it to adapt it to the different scales, and eventually flip it to have both the starboard and port markings.
I traced it from a shape that I found on the website of the Baracca's Museum in Italy.
In THIS PAGE (http://www.museobaracca.it/Il-Cavallino-Rampante) scroll down and see the image gallery on the bottom of the page, click on either one of the arrows and you'll see the photo of a wooden shield with the black horse painted on it.
Ciao
Antonio
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Thank you for the Stallion marking, Antonio. :D That will be tucked away
for safe keeping. About the MasterCasters bits. I used the
cowling & wheel set on my Ni.17, which worked not bad, but I
remember I had to sand the nose of the fuselage to within an
inch of it's life to make the new cowling fit.
Looking forward to more updates.
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Glad you liked it Ernie, I hope it will be useful for many of our fellows.
Antionio
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Antonio last week I was in the Army Museum in Brussels and I did for you these pictures. :)
(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv186/AlbatrosDIII/Nieuport%2017/mDSC03059_zps1bc1d8d8.jpg)
(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv186/AlbatrosDIII/Nieuport%2017/mDSC03058_zps7c6db614.jpg)
(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv186/AlbatrosDIII/Nieuport%2017/mDSC03054_zps52d790fd.jpg)
(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv186/AlbatrosDIII/Nieuport%2017/mDSC03052_zps90821c88.jpg)
I do not know if it is not too late. In the pictures is the Nieuport 23.
Adam.
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Thanks Adam, the pictures are beautiful.
I will save them.
I was in Brussels last summer and the museum had the 1st floor closed for maintenance! S**T!
Did they open it again?
CIao
Antonio
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Yes museum is opened, but be careful, because they have lunch time break probably from 12 to 13 hour and second you have to be early in the winter time because there is no light and it is difficult to make pictures.
Adam.
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Hello to all,
Very nice work. I follow. ;)
Best regards.
Alain.
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Hallo friends,
here is some picture of my latest work:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/054.jpg)
I paited the propeller
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/055.jpg)
Here is how I did it:
Gray primer
- Base: TAMIYA XF-78 Wooden Deck Tan
- grain done by drybrushing with acrylics in tube "raw umber"
- covered with Vallejo Wood Grain 70828
- finished with "Satin" Mr. Toffano (great transparents for brushes)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/056.jpg)
Group picture of cockpit and its elements. The internal rigging is real and not resin casted...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/057.jpg)
I glued the forward block (ammo container and fuel tank - I think)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/058.jpg)
In this picture you can see how much distorted the resin piece was...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/059.jpg)
More detail on the cockpit elements I prepared so far.
I would have preferred a warmer wooden tone on the interiors with respect to the propeller, so I used a different base (yellow ochre) and for the grain I used Raw Sienna , but in the end when I passed the Vallejo Woodgrain everything gets flattened to the same tone. I should change the strategy, I know Vallejo has different wood tones but are they "transparent" like this? In rder not to cover the grain drybrushed beneath it?
Any advice? ...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/064.jpg)
Then I decided to work on the engine, I painted and glued the pieces that did not require extra attention:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/060.jpg)
Here is the back face of the engine with the valve stems on it.
Too short, d'you remeber? they did not reach the head of the cylinders, and too thick!
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/061.jpg)
So I cut the stems away (I measured and they are 0.75 mm)
to replace them with a plasticard rod diameter 0.50 mm (in the picture is the thinner rod on top)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/062.jpg)
Here is the central part glued at its place
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/063.jpg)
Here are the new stems cut and glued at their place (in foregroud are shown again the pieces I removed).
Now I will go on with other details in the cockpit. I'd like to close the fuselage this weekend...
Ciao! And thanks again for the attention!
AnDonio
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Superb job of the propeller, Antonio. :D The rich colour is really
great. You have done very well detailing the engine. Nicely done. :D
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Exellent work and paint.
Martin
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I agree with Ernie and Martin, Very nice painting on the prop and also I think the interior woodwork looks fine!
RAGIII
-
Here are some pics of the completed cockpit...
Tomorrow I will close the fuselage.
I need to glue inside the control cables that go to the tail planes.
Here we go:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/065.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/068.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/066.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/067.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/069.jpg)
The oil pulsator is scratch made, unfortunately I had already glued the gas lever too high and the transparent piece had not enough room and went a bit too high.
The dial on the instrument was taken from a sheet of APC decals,.
Ciao!
Antonio
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Fantastic work on the cockpit, Antonio!
Cheers,
Bud
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Fantastic work on the cockpit, Antonio!
Cheers,
Bud
Thank you Bud!
:)
Antonio
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Lovely, busy looking cockpit -
great work, mate!
Regards
Dave
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Lovely, busy looking cockpit -
great work, mate!
Regards
Dave
Thanks Dave, yes it was very complicated to make the pieces go together, I used Mastercaster bits, scratch built pieces and pieces from the box... in the end I am satisfied, although -as usual- it could have been better...
:-)
Antonio
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The cockpit looks terrific! So much detail in such a small place.
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Hello Andonio:
I like what you have done so far. The cockpit is shaping up nicely and the master Caster assembly enhances the overall appearance of the cockpit. The gauge is a nice touch, as that can be seen once you button it all up. Nice touch!
Best
-
Nice job on this bird, congrats.
Dric
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Fantastic work on the cockpit, Antonio!
Cheers,
Bud
I agree 100%
RAGIII
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Thanks guys!!!!
-
Hallo friends...
after a long time here is finally an update, I had gone forward but had no time and energy to upload the images and organize a post, well, now here I am...
I analyzed a couple of pictures:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/motore.jpg)
and prepared the Gaspatch MG with personal modifications.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/070.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/071.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/072.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/073.jpg)
The shield under the gun's mouth is a brass PE provided along with the 2 Vickrs kit by Gaspatch, the lever with handle was made by me with electric copper wire and the white things are plasticard added by me.
The front supporting pieces are not even in length, they have already been modified to a more acceptable and even dimension.
I understood just after completion of the piece that the small tripod was buried in the cowling so it was not visible... but I like the way I have made it and will leave it there!!
I was also mislead by observing this picture:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/021.jpg)
where the MG seems not to touch the cowling, all the other Ni17 pics I found around showed the MG laying directly on the cowling.
In the above pictures you can see also the attempt to recreate the seaming thread fixing the top cowling to the sides of the fuselage, I know, it's not a good work, also the thickness of the wire is a bit excessive... OK red mark on it but let's go ahead...
:-(
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/075.jpg)
here you see the attempt to re-create the oil tank, the windshield was provisionally put in place to see the way it looked.
After I sprayed the fuselage with gray primer and painted glossy black the metal components to have a different shade of aluminum.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/076.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/077.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/078.jpg)
I will spray the model using a rattle-can of Tamiya TS 83 "Metallic Silver".
-
I turned my attention to the V shaped inter-wing struts: here they are: the metallic horizontal bands are just a couple of "positive" marks and the moulding marks are very thick.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/079.jpg)
So I filled the space between the positive marks with Mr.Surfacer 1000 and filed away the extractor marks:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/080.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/081.jpg)
Finally I painted them (some necessary touch up appears after magnifying...)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/082.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/083.jpg)
Undercarriage ready and primer-ed:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/084.jpg)
Undercarriage, wheels and fin painted:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/085.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/086.jpg)
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Last things done yesterday were to preshade the tail plans, glue the control horns on them, fix the assembly to the fuelage and set the rigging in place:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/087.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/088.jpg)
Here I completed the tail assembly with the small struts, I used 0.8 mm diameter plasticard rod in place of those supplied by the kit, in my opinion too thin:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/089.jpg)
Some preshading also on the rear part of the fuselage:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/090.jpg)
Dry fit test of the rudder on the model:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/091.jpg)
That's all for now!!!!
Thanks everybody for the attention...
AnDonio
-
With enviously I observe your progress in the construction of your Nieuport. ;)
Unfortunately, I had to suspend the work on my Nieuport. :'( Just before Christmas, my aunt broke her leg. :'( Because she lives alone so I invite her and now she is staying in my room where I have a workshop. :'(
Adam.
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With enviously I observe your progress in the construction of your Nieuport. ;)
Unfortunately, I had to suspend the work on my Nieuport. :'( Just before Christmas, my aunt broke her leg. :'( Because she lives alone so I invite her and now she is staying in my room where I have a workshop. :'(
Adam.
Adam, thanks for your comment, it is a very lovely decision to host your wounded aunt...
By the way for her health and for your hobby I wish the poor lady a fast recovery!!!!
;)
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Hi Andonio,
This is such a nice and wonderful build to follow. Your inventiveness and craftmanship are fabulous. Teriffic research you did too. Wonderful!
Kind regards
Patrick
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Very nice, Antonio! I love your machine gun mount.
Cheers,
Bud
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Looking good Antonio. Like Bud I really like the Machine Gun Mount!
RAGIII
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very interested i your mount.
I do love the Nieuports, and italian decoration are quite unusual.
keep going on!
Xan
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Thanks everybody!
-
Hallo...
yesterday I had time to put in place the cabane struts and the rigging between the two front struts
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/092.jpg)
Then I tried to position (just laying it on top of the struts) the upper wing
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/093.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/094.jpg)
And it went to its place very precisely... wow
Now I was looking again to this image
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/021.jpg)
and noticed Baracca was using an Aldis gunsight, for sure he had one on his SPAD, therefore I will try to reproduce one.
I don't have any picture (other than this) to understand where it was placed, but from this picture it seems to be on the left of the Vickers and maybe on the left of the windshield too...
What do you think?
Is it possible it was in front of the glass ? Could Baracca aim without putting his eye on the lens?
Let me know your opinion!
Antonio
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Hi Antonio,
hope this helps answer your question - the pilots were not supposed to put an eye directly on the lens, e. g. on the S.E.5as the sight was mounted in front of the windshield as well.
Cheers
Ondra
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Hi Antonio,
hope this helps answer your question - the pilots were not supposed to put an eye directly on the lens, e. g. on the S.E.5as the sight was mounted in front of the windshield as well.
Cheers
Ondra
Thanks Ondra, it's clear what you mean, I will put an Aldis on the left of the Vickers, but will decide how to place it just after the windshield and the Vickers are both glued on the cowling.
In the meantime I have prepared a plastic rod with thwo brass tube chunks at both its ends, I have not a photo yet, will show it soon.
At the moment I am working on the wings to dim the ribs and to pierce the holes where eyelets and buckles will go.
I hope to show some progress during the week.
Ciao
Antonio
-
Hallo friends,
this update is (if possible) is slower than usual, because of problems I encountered with the spray colors... but let's show it step by step:
Masking and presahading of wings using masking tape 0.75 mm for main ribs and 0.50 mm for the spare ribs :-) near the trailing edge...
lower surfaces:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/099.jpg)
upper surfaces
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/096.jpg)
detail...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/097.jpg)
finished work
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/098.jpg)
Let me show now the state of the art on my workbench yesterday night:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/100.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/101.jpg)
The result does not appear too bad, but to be honest the photos this time (due to the flash light) appear to be very benevolent and not ruthless as usual...
The color rendering on the surface showed many uneven areas that in the picture are not as evident as to the naked eye.
To mask this defect I used a heavy wheathering, but nothing of it shows in the flash light.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/102.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/102a.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/104.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/104a.jpg)
The nice effect I obtain is the evident difference between the metal parts (previously coated with glossy black) and the fabric ones.
I used Tamiya colors in rattle cans: TS-83 Metallic Silver, which revealed a lot of stains and uneven areas especially on the wings and tail planes (I made no picture of that horrible sight).
You can perceive some of the problems on the tail planes...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/103.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/105.jpg)
I had another small problem on the belly: inserting the tailskid in the hole the two fuselage halves opened a bit showing the junction line... It is visible although not so evident in this photo.
After taking the picture, I put some putty on it; later today, I will sand it and paint again but with a brush.
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/106.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/107.jpg)
I rubbed the first coat of paint off the wings and used a different can: TS-17 Glossy Aluminum. All the preshading was useless because these canned colors appear to be totally opaque... No problem, but at the end the second coat of paint appears much better than the first, although it still shows some stains in the same place of the first coat, but in a much more acceptable quantity, like a sort of accidental weathering.
The external areas of both the upper and lower wings' undersurfaces were left unpainted waiting for the green and red colors to be painted.
On these parts, I will be able to decide whether to leave the preshading visible (it is not likely I will leave it, for consistency with the other surfaces) or not.
You can also see the Vickers finished and waiting to be glued, and the two horses anxious to jump to their place...
^_^
Thanks for your attention as usual!!!!
AnDonio
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Very nice paintwork as usual Andonio. Love it!
Kind regards
Patrick
-
Thanks Patrick, you're very kind.
I forgot to tell that the problem on the wings appeared after spraying the upper surface of both upper and lower wing, that's why on the lower surfaces I still have the preshading on, I didn't have to rub the first coat of color off the piece.
Ciao
AnDonio
-
Very good paint Andonio.
Martin
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Very good painting, good tutorial for me. ;)
Adam.
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Thanks Adam!
Here is a small update:
MG and Aldis in place:
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/108.jpg)
the ammunition intake ramp, the Aldis pointing device and the exit ramp are made from scratch, the ammunition belt is a piece of the Gaspatch Vickers set...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/109.jpg)
here the horse is visible...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/110.jpg)
...and here as well, with its silvering halo, I still have problems with self printed decals when they are not cut precisely the transparent part is very visible due to the matt spray coat...
The Aldis appears pointing towards the sky, it slipped after glueing, but as I used the CA would be a highly risky operation to remove it from there...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/111.jpg)
From the sky...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/112.jpg)
Tricolore and wheathering under the wings ...
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/113.jpg)
upper surfaces, the wheathering is there but the artificial light prevents from seeing it...
Yesterday I put wings and struts on and started rigging: 6 out of 8, I thope to finish everything by the end of the week...
Ciao
AnDonio
-
Hello AnDonio,
I simply love what you have done with the Nieuport! It is very eye-catching. Gorgeous it is my friend! Great work
Kind regards
Patrick
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Thanks Patrick!
-
Truly lovely work, Antonio! Looking forward to seeing her completed.
Cheers,
Bud
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Looks great, Antonio. ;) I am really glad you solved the issue with Baracca's horse.
Sorry I could not help with the masks, did my best. :-[
Cheers
Ondra
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Don't worry Ondra, I will never thank you enough for your kindness, unfortunately the drawing was too complex for such a small mask.
;-)
I am glad that you liked it.
I finished rigging yesterday evening and now the last teo steps will be fixing the undercarriage and then the propeller...
I am already thinking to my next project...
:-0
-
Hallo folks,
today I finished my work on the tribute to Francesco Baracca, our national Hero...
Some pictures of the finished plane, the whole set in the Completed Models section (http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=5277.).
Thanks for following and looking at my work!
Antonio
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/114.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/117.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/118.jpg)
(http://www.andonio.it/model/ni17baracca/123.jpg)
-
I love that last image, the display is great.
Warren
-
I have enjoyed following your build! Your Nieuport has turned out beautifully!
RAGIII
-
Thanks Warren and Rick!
-
Hello Antonio,
This is one of the nicest Nieuports I've seen. The scheme is lovely and the look of it tremendous. I love it. Many congratulations!
Kind regards
Patrick
-
Thanks Patrick