forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Completed models => Topic started by: ebergerud on May 25, 2020, 10:53:34 AM
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(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49932160316_819e5a3234_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5knDN)wholeftr (https://flic.kr/p/2j5knDN) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49929334436_524013f47b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j55TBJ)lft-ft (https://flic.kr/p/2j55TBJ) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49869019113_07a3a06831_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2iYKKYn)MSBigcockcockpit (https://flic.kr/p/2iYKKYn) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49931619378_f366eaab6a_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hARh)rigDet (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hARh) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
1/32 Special Hobby Morane Saulnier N
Paints: Golden High Flow; Gamblin Fast Matte Oils; Iwata Com.Art, Sennelier Pigments
Rigging: Gaspatch white metal attachment points; Gaspatch resin Type C turnbuckles; 2lb P-Line mono
Here is my rendition of the Special Hobby 1/32 Morane Saulnier N. It was an interesting subject because it possesses what we used to call true "funk appeal" and it was the starter fighter (as the Morane "Bullet") if you played an allied "career game" in the beloved Sierra flight sim Red Baron.
It's also a very good example of the break neck speed at which aviation advanced before (especially) and during the Great War. The original MS-N flew in 1913 as a racing plane and a handful were in service with the AM in August 1914. So figure ten years after Kitty Hawk, or two years after Bleriot. And in 1915 the French stuck a machine gun on it to fire through a type of armored prop. There were two MSN "aces" (or believed to be aces) and for a brief moment the MSN and the more successful MS-L (flown by Garros) gave the French a very local dominance in the air - until Anthony Fokker rained in the parade. The type N carried an 80 HP Le Rhone and allowing it to do 90mph. The Brits got a few of these, so did the Russians (and so did the Bolshies - there's a pic of a wildly weathered and marked Soviet MSN - looks very neat).
I don't think the plane could be called a great success as only about 60 were built. The original MSN employed wing warping. It was also a monoplane and thus had very high wing loading which made it a pretty "hot" plane for its moment. (There's a very neat YouTube 60 second video of an original MNS being pushed out of the hangar, mounted - with difficulty - by the pilot - and taking off very quickly and spewing dust and exhaust.) So it was sensitive to the controls and hard to land. It was also a very small plane - Cecil Lewis estimated that pilots couldn't be over 5'6" to cram themselves in. So the bird was not beloved by its pilots - never good news for a warplane. The plane perhaps had a greater potential. Variations on the theme culminated in the MS AC in 1916. This plane had a 110 HP Le Rhone, ailerons, redesigned frame and wings and a synchronized MG. By 1916 the type had dispensed with the "bullet" spinner allowing the plane to run cooler. Apparently the performance was pretty good, but when the AC was flying so was the Nieuport 17 and soon the Spad VII. So much for the Bullet. Bristol built the M1 scout that had a real "Bullet" look, and flew nicely, but fell afoul of biplane dominance.
This is was a very challenging build. I made several errors - but I won't them again, so the build was in that way a success. All of the woeful details are in the "In Construction" forum. Suffice it to say I'm thinking that these planes would have had many hours in the air because the need was extreme in 1915-16 and their rotaries were pouring out about a gallon of castor oil per hour. Add to that the effect of the elements, dirt and mud from the aerodromes of the time, and I thought some liberal weathering was in order. That's at least what I saw after looking at photos and thinking the situation over. Mileage may vary for others. Photos below.
Eric
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49931619308_1961461dd0_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hAQ5)rightDet (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hAQ5) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49931619213_6b2d605152_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hANr)fuseDet (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hANr) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49932130546_b067bc3512_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5kdNw)rt-ft (https://flic.kr/p/2j5kdNw) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49932442292_e0044818fd_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5mPts)right-r (https://flic.kr/p/2j5mPts) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49931619343_974f5ad04f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hAQF)right (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hAQF) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49931619433_2b39b41a48_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hASe)rear (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hASe) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49931619473_9e376235b5_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hASV)lft-r (https://flic.kr/p/2j5hASV) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49932130781_4d3e90fc56_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5kdSz)lft-f2 (https://flic.kr/p/2j5kdSz) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49932130826_f94cd519a9_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j5kdTm)left (https://flic.kr/p/2j5kdTm) by Eric Bergerud (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156656645@N05/), on Flickr
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Well done Eric,not the easiest build I found,especially the deceptively simple-looking rigging hanging off those fragile masts.In case you're interested,here is a link to PE MS logos which you could still install: http://www.tomsmodelworks.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_30&products_id=482
Cheers,
Dave.
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Magnificent! I love the weathering you've done.
Kevin
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You've nailed it, Eric! That's a fantastic Bullet, IMO. Very well done.
Best regards,
Bob
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Personally I do not think that you have overdone the weathering - as you write these machines flew a lot of hours and a great deal of oil would have been poured over it, not to mention mud, etc. The colours and finish is super - just wish that I had the skills to achieve the same effect on my models.
Stephen.
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Beautiful job Eric, and I too like the weathering which, given the subject and it's base color, is not at all overdone in my view.
Cheers,
Lance
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Love it! Especially the "real" shots next to your model. You can really compare things. Yours compares very, very favorably! You just need a smoking pilot... ;)
Really well presented.
Dan
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I enjoyed following your build and the results are excellent!
RAGIII
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Nicely done, great match to the b&w pics !
Ed
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That's a lovely Bullet you've built! I really like the tarnished and stained look of the linen.
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Looks like a well used bird. Nice result.
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What a lovely build this turned out to be! And the weathered grubby look is just like the photograph! Great work, and a joy to follow your build! Regards, Marc.
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Excellent!