TonyW Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Another entry from me, the 1966 released Breguet 693. A stumpy looking airframe that was non too successful. No armour, no self sealing tanks and a habit of the undercarriage collapsing at the drop of a hat didn't help things. Somehow I've ended up with two and a half planes. A bagged kit from the Telford swap meet proved to have a few parts missing. One will be built for sure, another if there's time. I've started on the wings and engines. Wing fit is good. Cowls put up a fight though. Lots of trimming required, followed by clamping on one set, spreading on the other. It's all drying overnight with more tomorrow hopefully. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 27 minutes ago, TonyW said: A stumpy looking airframe that was non too successful. No armour, no self sealing tanks and a habit of the undercarriage collapsing at the drop of a hat didn't help things. But it looks so good! Surely a certain element of the femme fatale or je ne sais quoi should count for something? Welcome with this one and good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Hi Tony, Like a lot of the more modern French machines it had only started entering service as war broke out, and suffered from the usual French problem of underpowered engines which also turned out to be rather unreliable, as did the undercarriage. As a ground attack aircraft it was a bit slow but was flown with great courage and achieved some success against advancing German troops in 1940 I believe. It certainly was not the best of machines but the French aircraft industry was very late gearing up for the impending conflict, though in fairness the government must share the blame. I made one one of these years ago, and then replaced it 3 years back with a SMER copy - I think I replaced the guns as they were a bit crude but it made up well enough and looks quite good in the French multicoloured camo. Cheers Pete 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 3, 2020 Author Share Posted October 3, 2020 The guns are indeed very basic Pete. I'll deal with them when I get there. I've been reading up a bit on the Battle of France. Very sobering reading indeed. I wasn't aware of quite how savage the fighting was, the attrition was appalling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 (edited) Hi Tony, Yes, I seem to remember reading that when attacking a column one plane was hit and pilot deliberately crashed into the trucks causing heavy damage. Not as easy a German victory as sometimes suggested. The French were often poorly equipped and led but many units fought very hard. Pete Edited October 3, 2020 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 My favourite French aeroplane from WWII. 😀 Good luck with her/them. Le Sacrifice by IPMS France is a great reference and read if you can get a copy - hard to imagine nowadays how these people and the guys in the Fairey Battles did their duty. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Nice to see this Breguet 693 on here and I’m really enjoying the accompanying historical input that other members are prepared to share. My aviation knowledge does seem to concentrate on British/ Australian subjects and I’m fast realising that I should start to broaden this to French subjects too, they are proving to be quite interesting indeed. One thing I do love about these new Heller decal sheets is that provide so many copies of the French National insignia on the one sheet. Really handy for many of us who have old Heller models with unusable decals. Cheers and watching on.. Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 A bit of backwards and forwards with this one over the last week or so. I thought I would have a crack at a bit of interior detailing as the Falcon glazing I'm using is going to show the empty interior up a bit. I built up a bit of fantasy framework inside one half of the fuselage using plastistrut. It looked kind of OK when I knocked off for the day, but had somehow turned into oversized scaffolding overnight. Add to that, an undercoat of green I had fired on to the wings and fuselage highlighted all kinds of fit and finish issues. Normally, this would mean Shelf of Doom for the build, once I go off a kit for whatever reason, I generally move on. Plenty more kits out there and all that. Fortunately, I have more than one builder 693, so I've treated the Mk1 as a warm up and dug out another to try a bit harder on. A start has been made. Much trial fitting and careful trimming got the wing parts fitting a whole lot better than the first attempt. And a repeat of the interior, using the thinnest strut I have. I've swerved the first tackle and I'm back on course for goal again. Tony. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prenton Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Great response to the learning curve. Those empty fuselages really need something in them, even if not totally accurate, they give the impression that there is something there...and, of course, that the modeller cares....! Philip 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 That interior strip work looks really good Tony and will certainly help lift this kit to higher levels. I'm sure once finished, it'll be another TonyW classic build, very promising progress indeed. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS_w Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) if it's not too late, the entire interior of fuselage was "gris bleu foncé" on Br 691 except the rear aft the gunner. Cockpit was "gris bleu" or "bleu de nuit" on Br 693. The wheel well and interior engine cowlings were in the same colour as underside: "gris bleu clair" On upper side of main plane, heller engraves several heads of screw, the screws and their washers were at the underside only. Edited October 18, 2020 by BS_w 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Nice. I’ve always thought this series of Breguets were attractive and purposeful machines :). A good choice. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 1 hour ago, BS_w said: if it's not too late, the entire interior of fuselage was "gris bleu foncé" on Br 691 except the rear aft the gunner. Cockpit was "gris bleu" or "bleu de nuit" on Br 693. The wheel well and interior engine cowlings were in the same colour as underside: "gris bleu clair" On upper side of main plane, heller engraves several heads of screw, the screws and their washers were at the underside only. Thanks for the info. I need all the help I can get with this GB. There's nothing better than getting thrown in at the deep end, to teach you how to swim! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 This build got back on track today with a restart made on a possible duo build. The first attempt airframe found itself in a vat of bleach overnight that has done a good job of removing the paint I applied (rather badly) It's now daring me to just build it box stock in the original scheme. By George, I think I will! The cleaned up parts have joined the Mk2 build on my bench and I'll be breaking the glue out o the pair this week. I have a decal sheet from the current reissue that gives three schemes to pick from. I'm leaning towards the original scheme and the other early war one so I can sit both planes next to each other If I manage to get the pair done in time. Tony. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Lovely stuff - such a shame no full airframes exist of this type. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted December 6, 2020 Author Share Posted December 6, 2020 Both airframes got assembled over the weekend as I've decided to go for simplicity here, rather than carrying on adding interior detailing. I've been following a very nice build of this kit, using the Brengun interior photoetch set, over on another forum. The etch looks amazing installed and I very nearly ordered a set for my build. Seeing the finished model on Hyperscale stopped all thought of that as the detailing was all but lost inside the fuselage once the plane was assembled. I'll be keeping things basic here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike romeo Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 Looking forward to seeing these finished. I'm thinking with some more powerful, more reliable engines, and a strengthened landing gear, could have been a contender for a Coastal Command anti-shipping strike aircraft. 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 3 hours ago, mike romeo said: Looking forward to seeing these finished. I'm thinking with some more powerful, more reliable engines, and a strengthened landing gear, could have been a contender for a Coastal Command anti-shipping strike aircraft. 🤔 Nearly a Whirlwind! The French effort is a good looking little plane, not that much bigger than the Hawk in the picture above. It's got the usual French oddities all over it though. Why five fuselage windows on something so small? Why glass bomb doors? The complete lack of armour meant the low altitude bombing missions were very costly in crews and airframes. The bombload wasn't much to write home about either. Policy and procurement were all over the place in France at the time. Greg Baughens Rise and Fall of the French Air Force is a very good read indeed. It's well worth a read as it puts a lot of the French attitude to their air force into perspective. The French seem to have been as confused and badly led as most countries at the time, they just copped the worst of all outcomes at the worst possible moment against an enemy that had more luck. Us Brits got away with it by the skin of our teeth, and the Channel. Frightening times! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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