sjsald Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Hey Everyone, While waiting for the paint to dry on the Caudron I thought I would unbox the SBS Models Loire 210 seaplane. I chose this kit because of the general rarity of the type and interesting subject matter. Furthermore, I am looking to continue pushing my skills. The kit has extremely well molded parts and some great photo-etched and white metal details. The two photo-etched frets look very good! The instructions and color references are very detailed: Also, the battleship Dunkerque logo is way too cool. Looking forward to getting a start on this one! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 Started off with the perfunctory washing of the parts to remove the mold release agent. The Hispano-Suiza 9Vbs engine included with the kit is gorgeous! Also, the history of this plane is actually quite interesting. It won a design competition to be the escort aircraft to be launched from the Dunkerque class battleship's catapults but after entering service was found to be structurally un-sound. Any historical notes or recommended reading on this craft would be appreciated! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdesaxe Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 You asked for it! This is extracted and translated from a much longer article I published in 2001. If you want the whole article, please contact me. Two escadrilles formed specifically to operate the Loire 210 in August 1939--HC1 based at St. Mandrier and HC2 based at Lanvéoc Poulmic. HC1 was a trials unit and l’Aeronautique Navale intended to dissolve the unit in due course and transfer its aircraft and personnel to two operational escadrilles, HC3 and HC5, that would serve aboard the cruiser squadrons of the Mediterranean Fleet. In the event, the outbreak of war in September 1939 put an end to this plan. The performance of the Loire 210 as a fighter was clearly inadequate in the face of modern aircraft, so HC1 was disbanded on 22 November and its personnel transferred to form the new land-based fighter escadrille AC3 at Orly. HC2 was an operational unit from the outset and was attached to the 1ère Division de Ligne, the battleships Dunkerque, Strasbourg, and Lorraine. (Most English-language writers refer to Dunkerque and Strasbourg as battlecruisers but this is incorrect--the French Navy always classified them as cuirassés de ligne [battleships]). L’Aeronautique Navale planned to form a second Atlantic Fleet unit, HC4, to operate from the light cruisers of the 4me Division de Croiseurs, but the outbreak of war intervened to prevent this. (A clear photograph of one of the production Loire 210s aboard a cruiser of this group does exist, however, suggesting that at least trials of the type aboard these vessels occurred). In late November HC2 also was disbanded and its personnel transferred to form AC3 with the aircrew released from HC1. The historiography of the decision to disband these two units and withdraw the Loire 210 from service is a classic example of the ability of a misconception to perpetuate itself to the point that it becomes an almost unassailable fact. In the June 1961 issue of RAF Flying Review a short piece on the Loire 210 appeared in the “Technical Gen” column. The anonymous author stated that “several accidents resulting from wing structural failures” led to the grounding of the type and the disbanding of the two special escadrilles that it equipped. This statement was repeated in William Green, War Planes of the Second World War: Floatplanes, Volume Six in 1962, and proceeded to win additional acceptance in numerous articles in English-language books and periodicals that discussed the type, collecting further amplifying details (including that there were two such incidents, both of which were fatal) and culminating in its appearance in William Green & Gordon Swanborough, The Complete Book of Fighters, published in 1994. This explanation has gained so much currency that it has even been repeated in two recent French-language discussions of the Loire 210! The only problem is that this assertion is incorrect. French naval records mention only two accidents with the type, one in which the pilot overstressed his craft in extremely violent aerobatic maneuvers and successfully parachuted to safety and the other when the pilot made a very heavy landing, ripping off his floats but emerging unscathed from the wreckage. French official documents reveal that the decision to withdraw the Loire 210 from service was based on a number of factors. The aircraft itself was an entirely ineffective interceptor, since it was slower that virtually every enemy plane it might need to engage. The concept had never been widely accepted within the navy, as was witnessed by the long delay in placing a production contract, and this situation was exacerbated by the plane’s poor performance in service. Finally, space was limited aboard warships, and the majority of officers considered that it would be a better use of resources to replace these ineffective floatplane fighters with additional reconnaissance aircraft. Nor only did this enhance the operational capabilities of the warships concerned, but it also released trained fighter pilots for urgent service elsewhere, mounted on far more effective aircraft (AC3 was equipped with the Bloch 151 which offered its pilots considerably better chances against the Luftwaffe). If you are interested in a companion piece to your model, I recall that at least one iteration of Azur's Loire 130 1/72-scale kit includes markings for an example embarked on the battleships of 1ère Division de Ligne at the same time as the Loire 210s. Maurice 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 @mdesaxe this is a spectacular read! Thank you! Your writing is top notch. It is sad to see such an inaccurate fact be propagated - I may have to modify Wikipedia.... I'll take a look at the Azure Loire kit. Companion models are always a good idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdesaxe Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 (edited) I will work out a way to get the complete article (in English) to you. I do not want to fill up your thread with this material. I wonder if it might be acceptable to the administrators to put it in the general section at the beginning of aircraft modelling? One thing you might note is that it should surprise no-one that l’Aeronautique Navale used its own paint colours that were not the same as those used by l’Armée de l’Air. The Loire 210.01 prototype was finished pretty much as the SBS instructions depict but the paint was called gris hydravion and was a medium blue-grey almost perfectly matched by US Navy purple-blue series Haze Gray 5H but with a satin finish. The bottoms of the floats had a protective coating called lanolin, which, for modelling purposes, is gloss black. I have a nice group photograph (whose source I cannot recall so I do not want to post it in case it infringes copyright) of HC2 just before World War II that shows one of the production machines together with two Loire 130s. All have an overall aluminium finish with lanolin covering the float and hull bottoms. By this time, the Loire 210s had the usual naval cocades with black fouled anchors instead of the plain ones SBS provide (which are correct for 01). I have added the complete article (in English) to the interwar discussion section for those who asked for the complete article. Maurice Edited May 26, 2020 by mdesaxe additional information now in interwar discussion 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 On 5/26/2020 at 8:40 AM, mdesaxe said: One thing you might note is that it should surprise no-one that l’Aeronautique Navale used its own paint colours that were not the same as those used by l’Armée de l’Air. The Loire 210.01 prototype was finished pretty much as the SBS instructions depict but the paint was called gris hydravion and was a medium blue-grey almost perfectly matched by US Navy purple-blue series Haze Gray 5H but with a satin finish. The bottoms of the floats had a protective coating called lanolin, which, for modelling purposes, is gloss black. I have a nice group photograph (whose source I cannot recall so I do not want to post it in case it infringes copyright) of HC2 just before World War II that shows one of the production machines together with two Loire 130s. All have an overall aluminium finish with lanolin covering the float and hull bottoms. By this time, the Loire 210s had the usual naval cocades with black fouled anchors instead of the plain ones SBS provide (which are correct for 01). These color notes are super helpful! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 Made some progress today on the Loire. This is truly an amazingly well designed kit! The interior of the cockpit was a blast to detail! The instructions are parts are phenomenal. The overall fit is spectacular as well. The engine is a super detailed as well with photo etched wires. The lines of the aircraft are quite spectacular as well. It is also cool to see the technological progress that happened while this plane was being made. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew.S Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 WOW that's wonderful kit and you are doing a great job! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenCJ Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 7 minutes ago, Andrew.S said: WOW that's wonderful kit and you are doing a great job! I agree on both points. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 This kit has been in many baskets but so far, no 'BUY' button has been pressed. She is looking great by the way. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 9 hours ago, Andrew.S said: WOW that's wonderful kit and you are doing a great job! Thank you! 9 hours ago, StephenCJ said: I agree on both points. Thank you! 8 hours ago, Courageous said: This kit has been in many baskets but so far, no 'BUY' button has been pressed. She is looking great by the way. Stuart Thank you! With my experience so far with the kit I would say push the button Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 8, 2020 Author Share Posted June 8, 2020 Made some progress today mounting the engine as well as some photo etched parts on the wings and tail. This is one of the nicest kits I have assembled! The folks at SBS have done a great job 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 It does look very nice...still haven't hit the buy button though. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 Made some more progress finishing the assembly of the plane. This model is perhaps the most well engineered model I have worked on. The photo-etched details are spectacular 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 Nice job. I have one of these kits and I'd say one of the best (subject/detail/fit) I've ever seen. Top 5 certainly - as demonstrated above. I did say I'd buy two (one to look at, one to build) but so far I've been busy buying other SBS kits. All are among the best in the world but so far the Loire 210 is the pick of the bunch. If I had a 'Desert Island Kit' list, this one would be on it. Now come on SBS - where's my 1/48 YF-93? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 That front on shot looks rather nice. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 10 hours ago, Sabrejet said: Nice job. I have one of these kits and I'd say one of the best (subject/detail/fit) I've ever seen. Top 5 certainly - as demonstrated above. I did say I'd buy two (one to look at, one to build) but so far I've been busy buying other SBS kits. All are among the best in the world but so far the Loire 210 is the pick of the bunch. If I had a 'Desert Island Kit' list, this one would be on it. Now come on SBS - where's my 1/48 YF-93? Which other SBS kits have you built? Their Caudron C.450 was a great build as well. 8 hours ago, Courageous said: That front on shot looks rather nice. Stuart Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 Great work on bringing this together- the penultimate photo above looks especially impressive. 👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 33 minutes ago, TheBaron said: Great work on bringing this together- the penultimate photo above looks especially impressive. 👏 Thank you! Most of the credit goes to the team at SBS though.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 1 hour ago, sjsald said: Which other SBS kits have you built? Their Caudron C.450 was a great build as well. Thank you! The PZL P.1. Small but perfectly-formed! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 46 minutes ago, Sabrejet said: The PZL P.1. Small but perfectly-formed! That is great! I have been tempted to purchase that kit as well! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 Made a little progress today - specifically touching up some of the silver paint on the engine cowling and assembling the propeller. Next up will be some intensive airbrushing of the whole model! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 Made a little progress tonight - masking the main cowling and airbrushing the prop. Trying to make slow but study progress Hoping to make some progress airbrushing the fuselage later this week. The paint scheme calls for a grayish blue so it may take some experimenting with mixing the right color. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 So I mixed up some paint and airbrushed the Loire last night. I think the color actually looks pretty good! What are peoples thoughts? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjsald Posted June 21, 2020 Author Share Posted June 21, 2020 Made some progress this afternoon finishing up the painting and placing the decals! Next up will be the rigging 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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