Nieuport 24bis - 1/32 Roden

[Viking]

Nieuport 24bis

1/32 Roden

 

 

The Nieuport 24 was a development of the Nieuport 23, but offered few improvements over it. Entering service in 1917 it featured a more powerful engine, increased wing and redesigned tail surfaces. It was used by few front line squadrons, but was mainly relegated to training duties.  The large rounded fin/rudder and tailplanes were replaced with those of Nieuport 17 to create the 24bis, the subject of this kit from Roden.

 

I found this kit going for half price at the last IPMS Bolton show, and thought it would be rude not to offer it a home, especially with the demise of Wingnut Wings. Roden kits are not of the same quality as Wingnut Wings but are still quite buildable if you accept that more care is needed. I read some other builds of this kit on line, so was forewarned that wing struts might be problematic as they could end up canted inward. I solved this by filling the location holes on the upper wing, and re-drilling them 3mm outboard.

I found that the critical thing was the lower forward fuselage part.  It is2 -3 mm too wide, and will force the fuselage with out, meaning the upper forward decking won't fit. Simply trim it down and test fit until the cowling fits neatly on the fuselage, The lower wings are meant to be a butt join with only 2 tiny pegs to locate them. I felt that was never going to work so cut the pegs off and replaced the rear ones with a brass wire spar that went through the fuselage,. Not one for the beginner, but with a bit of experience a nice model can be built from this kit.

 

I have a liking for French WW1 aircraft but they are only a few available in 1/32 scale, so I was glad to add this one to my collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My growing collection of 1/32 Frenchies, Morane 'N', Nieuport 24bis, & Nieuport 11

 

Thanks for looking,

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stevej60]

All beautifully done John,just the right scale for these WW1 types too.

[SAT69]

Truly outstanding! I like the setting you have it displayed in and the wonderfully painted pilot figure gives a proper sense of scale and a feel for the times in terms of uniform colors and style.

Edited September 15, 2020 by SAT69
misspell

[Spitfire31]

Superb Nieuport! And the lovely French pilot adds just the right and proper attitude.

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[Epeeman]

Well done, John - you have done an outstanding job on this none-to-easy kit and your result is stunning, mate.  I love the way you have simulated the different tonal effects between metal and fabric which you have totally nailed.

 

I tried to build this one myself in the past and ran into nothing but problems with it so it sadly ended up in the bin!!

 

I may give this another go based on what you have said regarding your experiences.  One question if I may though:

 

The instructions ask you to bend the plastic seat back and fit to the seat.  Even running hot water from a kettle still resulted in this part breaking.  How did you overcome this bit?

 

Regards

 

Dave

[Old Man]

Excellent model, Sir!

 

A real treat for the eyes. Great to see the Aviation Militaire represented, and so well.

 

What was the unit?

[Head in the clouds.]

Superb work on a subject I am being drawn to more but will probably never model.

[SoftScience]

Very very cool! And the shot of your French trio looks really good! 


Like you, I found this kit deeply discounted, and snatched it up. After  seeing the iffy wings thought, I got a bit timid. While doing up a dry fit, I did notice that the lower wings stick out too wide. I gather that reducing the width of the fuselage, as you did, will bring the wings in as well. Thanks for the tip. 



And I like your petite turnbuckles. What did you use? 

[John Masters]

Really super!  One can never have too many Nieuports...

[J Sherratt]

Very nice!

[Viking]

 

 

On 14/09/2020 at 14:54, Epeeman said:

One question if I may though:

The instructions ask you to bend the plastic seat back and fit to the seat.  Even running hot water from a kettle still resulted in this part breaking.  How did you overcome this bit?

Regards

Dave

I almost forgot about that Dave. I wrecked it trying to bend it! Fortunately I thought there was a high chance it was going to break, so I drew around it to make a paper template before I started. And then used it to make a new back from plasticard which I marked all the holes on with a compass point, and drilled out. It rolled into shape perfectly. The kit part was too hard and brittle. I forgot to take photos, but here are a couple of 'under construction ones. Also I used a spare Sopwith Camel lapbelt, not strictly accurate but better than nothing. Another thing - the rudder decal was massively oversized, so I masked & painted the rudder stripes.

 

 

 

On 14/09/2020 at 16:31, Old Man said:

What was the unit?

Oops, I forgot the obvious! It is N3305 flown by Caporal Six of Escadrille N.159, February 1918.

On 14/09/2020 at 16:54, SoftScience said:

And I like your petite turnbuckles. What did you use? 

Heat stretched cotton bud tubes, sliced into little sections, and fishing line for rigging. Since they changed to making cotton buds with paper shafts my stocks are depleting!

 

 

Thanks for all the comments guys, much appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Duncan B]

Oh that's nice, I wouldn't have guessed at it being a Roden kit at all.

 

Duncan B