Heather's Workbench - the French connection, 1940 style

[clive_t]

On 8/8/2019 at 3:44 PM, Heather Kay said:

One thing that is personally bothering these days is an apparent inability to actually differentiate between colours of similar contrast. I work at a window that faces north, and on bright days the light tends to overpower things. I might need to try one of those green shades that the card dealer has in Westerns! I also think a visit to my optician might be worth considering, as things seem to be changing more quickly than my prescriptions keep up with.  💸

 

Isn’t growing old a wonderful adventure? No, I don't think so either. 😬

Ha, welcome to my world! Since I've given up work more than a year ago now, my increased modelling time has meant I am wearing my head-mounted magnifier with much greater regularity, to the point where I don't bother taking it off even when I break for lunch! I would, however, share this piece of advice for anyone contemplating a similar approach - a mini pork pie what you have just taken a bite out of is not a thing you should look at through any kind of artificial magnification.

 

Good work on the Caudron by the way

 

[Gondor44]

On 8/8/2019 at 5:40 PM, Heather Kay said:

 

Chocolate over the earth. That’s looking far more garish. 

 

I will have force myself to leave it alone now until the paint has dried enough I can retouch the undersides. Can’t wait for gloss varnish and decals!

Mmmmm Chocolate.....😋

 

Gondor

[Heather Kay]

6 hours ago, clive_t said:

a mini pork pie what you have just taken a bite out of is not a thing you should look at through any kind of artificial magnification.

[Heather Kay]

Stickers going on.

 

 

 

The really tiny stencil data on the rudder is pending the varnish drying. Although I apparently selected the most complicated camouflage pattern, the markings for this scheme are fairly simple.

 

 

[Heather Kay]

After the final decals went on, I got a rather hurried coat of matt varnish on the model. It was left overnight before I inspected. Annoyingly, the wet varnish on the upper surface of each wing stuck to the supports I’d used. I thought I had minimised the contact area before flipping the thing over to spray the bottom. I should have done things the other way round, so now I find myself trying to remedy paint flaws of my own devising.

 

Painting and finishing. Will I ever get it right? Just once would be nice. 😠

 

 

Undercarriage. If you’ve read my previous rants about limited run undercarriages, you will know my feelings about this. The Caudron has a pleasingly fussy set of flaps and doors, like the Defiant, in fact. The instructions are vague, and need several dry runs before it’s obvious what goes where. What the instructions don’t explain is whether the main wheels are supposed to be pigeon-toed like this. I mean, there is a precedent in the MS.406 had purposefully wonky main wheels, but just a note on the drawings to say this is meant to happen would have been sufficient. Let’s just say it’s not changing, so if it’s wrong it’s now wrong with a vengeance!

 

While that all dries so I can paint things, I shall go and consider my next exciting adventure from my stash. Having finished the main French single-seat fighters, I rather think it’s time I turned my attention to another air force for a bit.

[Heather Kay]

I think that’s all the bits stuck on now.

 

 

Look carefully and you can see the repaired damage on the wings. No, I’m not going to point it out for you. 😉 I think a very careful varnish respray over the repairs, and I shall call this done. Notice how the matt varnish has magically smoothed out the brushmarks on the camo? I think it’s because light doesn’t now reflect from the edges like it did when shiny. When the repair varnish to properly dry, I’ll set up a photo shoot and get this in the RFI section.

 

 

[Heather Kay]

Posh piccies taken, and RFI posted.

 

 

That was a fun little build, even if my finishing still doesn't quite cut the mustard. I think some quality time with my paint mule might be in order. It was quite refreshing to build a limited run kit without PE and resin details, and the end result is quite pleasing. It was only when I installed the little plane in the cabinet next to the other French single-seaters did it become obvious quite how small it really was! I ought to take a photo, but it won't be today.

 

Thanks for following along and commenting. There may be quite a gap before the next French type makes an appearance here.

 

[stevehnz]

That all seemed to come together quickly Heather, I've just come from the RFI which rather took me by surprise. A very nice job on it, nice enough to make my pondering if I need one of these into a "to right I need one of these"  sort of feeling.

Steve.

[Heather Kay]

1 minute ago, stevehnz said:

That all seemed to come together quickly Heather

Indeed. I was looking in the stash for a reasonably quick build to refresh the palate that didn’t need any scratchbuilding or modification, and this one fitted the bill. With under 40 parts all told, it didn’t take long to put together. In fact, painting it took longer than building it! I can recommend it, even as a short run kit. 

[Heather Kay]

Morning line-up of my French Air Force so far.

 

 

it gives a good impression of sizes, I think. Oddly, I thought the Dewoitine was quite petite, but it’s a monster compared to the Caudron!

[Courageous]

1 hour ago, Heather Kay said:

Morning line-up of my French Air Force so far.

Great line-up there Heather.

Do you mind reminding this old duffer what they all are?

 

Stuart

[Heather Kay]

24 minutes ago, Courageous said:

Do you mind reminding this old duffer what they all are?

Speaking as one rapidly approaching my own dufferdom, certainly!

 

From left to right: Caudron CR.714, Morane-Saulnier MS.406, Dewoitine D.520, Bloch MB.152, Curtiss Hawk H-75 A-2.

[AdrianMF]

Fabulous lineup! The schemes are very attractive. You weren't tempted to build the FROG examples of the MS and Dewoitine then? (a sort of nominative determinism?) (Sorry)

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Heather Kay]

9 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Fabulous lineup! The schemes are very attractive. You weren't tempted to build the FROG examples of the MS and Dewoitine then? (a sort of nominative determinism?) (Sorry)

I honestly didn’t know they existed - though now having seen the MS I rather think I would have avoided it! I was aware of the Heller (and repops), but the MB.152 from that stable is, well, basic and much of its time. I find I like more recent kits for the detail out of the box. It’s not that I don’t like doing the donkey work to bring older kits up to scratch, it’s more I’m getting a bit lazy. Looking at the several Heller twins in the stash, I’m going to be busy bringing those up to a level I will be happy with.

[AdrianMF]

I have a couple of Heller Dewoitines (501 and 510) tucked away for the Heller GB. I expect the FROG kits are pretty agricultural!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Brandy]

What? No bombers? How can your 1940 French Air Force be complete without bombers?

 

Ian

Ducking and running

[Heather Kay]

4 minutes ago, limeypilot said:

What? No bombers? How can your 1940 French Air Force be complete without bombers?

 

Do not fret. There are plenty of twin-engined monstrosities to come. Just not right now.

[Courageous]

I think that Breguet 693 should be next. Did you ever track down a Potez 63.11?

 

Stuart

[Heather Kay]

Just now, Courageous said:

Did you ever track down a Potez 63.11?

You can see one nestled next to the Fokker D.XXI.

 

The next build is highly likely to be a Blenheim MkIV in bomber guise.

[Brandy]

Those look interesting. I'll be waiting at the bar.....

 

Ian

[S. Uehlinger]

Heather, brand new member here!   I have really enjoyed your French thread.  I have a similar great interest in the Armee Del'Aire - and have built a bunch of aircraft recently which I will put online shortly of that force.   It's often more interesting to read the history behind defeats rather than victories - and losers, rather than winners.    Perhaps that is why I have often gravitated to Italian, Japanese and French aircraft.   Also, because of my background working in Eastern Europe (my wife and daughter are Moldovan), I enjoy the obscure markings of the smaller air forces.   I just completed a Dewoitine D.520 in Bulgarian markings, and have several Messerschmitts in Romanian colors.     Also working on an Arado trainer which will be Hungarian, and a Focke Wulf "Stosser" trainer that will be in the pre-Anschluss Austrian AF.

 

I have completed a Bregeut 693, several Bloch 151s, Moranes, Hawk 75s, Caudron, Dewoitine D.500 and D.520s.   I also am working on an Amiot bomber, which I hope to have completed in next few weeks.  

 

I like the Ms.406 because it has some interesting paint/decal schemes - and they also fit into standard Trumpeter smaller display cases - a plus!

 

Looking forward to seeing your future work...

 

Scott

Allentown, PA, USA

 

[Heather Kay]

25 minutes ago, S. Uehlinger said:

I have really enjoyed your French thread.

Hi Scott, and thank you. I never really intended to build models outside the two main protagonists in 1940. It’s just that, as you learn more about the period, it seems unfair not to include the "also rans". The pilots that fought against invasion were every bit as brave as the others.

 

Now, I’m torn about how to include the later markings worn by aircraft under the Vichy regime. I’m sort of leaning towards not including them at this stage, though I may have to when my interest turns inevitably towards the Mediterranean and North African theatres.

[S. Uehlinger]

I have done some of the Vichy Aircraft..obviously lots of masking!  I have a Heller Bloch 151, and a D.520 done in "half Vichy"....yellow tailplanes w/o stripes.    I have a Heller Bloch bomber that I have repainted the tailplanes and Cowlings Vichy, but it is incomplete.   The Vichy schemes, while challenging, are a nice change from the standard trip-color cam..which I spray paint.    No airbrushing, but I am adept at masking, and so I am very pleased with the results.

 

I tend to work on my models on an "assembly line" basis....usually like 6 at a time or so....so the result is that I complete a bunch of models at one time...painting en mass several aircraft I find more fun, anyway.

 

I tend to do the older kits, as they are not as pricey as the more modern kits, like Azur (I do have the Loire fighter, just received it) .   The Frog D.520 kit is presentable, the MS not so much.   I like Frog because of their sometimes unusual subjects, and their relatively low prices.    I particularly like their Macchi 202 and Feast G.55 of which I have several.  They are fairly accurate, and allow me to try out some of the cool Italian Paint schemes.

[Heather Kay]

 

Koolhoven FK-58C.1

 

No, nor me. It’s fantastic how this simple hobby of ours can lead us to learning new things. I had never come across the FK-58 before, but it came up during some research into Dutch aircraft for my 1940 obsession. Of course, it had to actually be flown by France, didn’t it! 
 

 

There weren’t many of them, and those the French actually had in time for the Battle of France didn’t exactly set the world on fire, but serve they did. Well, once the Polish air crew had fitted them with weapons anyway. The kit, typical fare from Azur, covers two prototypes and one set of markings for a French plane. Guess which one I'm going to do. 

 

Some colour in the instructions, nicely printed transfers, a small sheet of PE and a printed instrument panel sheet.

 

 

Resin details. Would you just look at that glorious tread pattern on the wheels!

 

 

 

The plastic bits. I note alternate parts for propeller. The kit is supposed to build the aircraft fitted with the Hispano-Suiza motor. My guess is the other parts are for either the Bristol Taurus or Gnome-Rhône versions. The Hispano variant was the type that actually saw what amounted to combat duties. The link under the first image up top will take you to the Wikipedia page.

 

Like so many of these out-of-the-way aircraft I find I’m building, I will rely on the kit designers and makers to have got the basics right, and I will build pretty much straight from the box. This should be fun, and it will complete - as far as I can tell, anyway - my French single-seat fighter collection. When display space can be found, I’ll get into some of the twin-engined machines.

[alt-92]

15 minutes ago, Heather Kay said:

 

Koolhoven FK-58C.1

 

 

15 minutes ago, Heather Kay said:

 

Like so many of these out-of-the-way aircraft I find I’m building, I will rely on the kit designers and makers to have got the basics right, and I will build pretty much straight from the box. 

Unfortunately, the complete destruction of the Waalhaven airfield during May 1940 included the Koolhoven factory, with all plans & drawings lost. 

All that remained are inferred drawings, photographic evidence and best-guesstimates. 
Which makes it all the more interesting that Azur/FFROM decided to go for this aircraft at all