Francesco Baracca's Ni17/2614 Academy 1/32

[radio]

Wonderful detailing.
Martin

[andonio64]

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.


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.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?


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

[uncletony]

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/

[uncletony]

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

[andonio64]

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.

[ALBATROS1234]

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.

[stefanbuss]

$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

[andonio64]

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:

Sgt Stephen Bigelow



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

[andonio64]

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

[Adam]

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.



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.

[RAGIII]

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

[andonio64]

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

[mgunns]

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

[andonio64]

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

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 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

[Ernie]

Thank you for the Stallion marking, Antonio.   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