Maurice Arnoux’s mounts in the 1935 Coupe Deutch de la Meurthe -- finished!

[Mjoo]

Maurice Arnoux was a french aviator. A fighter pilot with 5 kills in the WW1 and killed in action in 1940, he did quite a bit of air racing in the 1930s and was one of Caudron’s pilots in the 1935 Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe. That year Coupe Deutch was a 2,000 km long affair to be flown in two 1,000 km legs over a 100 km triangular circuit, with a one hour stop between the legs. Caudron had several aircraft in the competition. In fact, all other marquees/teams either didn’t make it in the qualifications or dropped out before actual competition due to technical problems. There were altogether five Caudrons at the staring line. Flight International Magazine reported the event very descriptively under the title ”A Family Affair”.

 

Arnoux was to fly a Caudron C. 460, while Albert Monville took a Caudron C. 450 to the sky. Arnoux ran his engine hard and set new speed record (averaging 469 km/h) for 100 km closed circuit on the 7th lap but, as a consequence, exhausted his oil reserves and had to quit on the next lap. Meanwhile Monville’s race was foiled by trouble with the ignition at take off. He got in the air far behind the others. When Monville arrived at the half-way stop, he and Arnoux switched places; Arnoux flew Monville’s plane for the second leg of the race.

 

In the end, Arnoux came in third while Raymond Delmotte, Caudrons chief pilot, won the race. He made highly consistent laps with little variation in speed or course. I wonder if the different strategies were agreed beforehand by the pilots or maybe even mandated by Caudron? After all, the Coupe ended up being an all-Caudron affair so they could’ve used it to test different strategies without being afraid of Caudron loosing the race.

 

The two planes were essentially the same design. C. 450 had a fixed undercarriage and C. 460 a retractable undercarriage. Apart the differences related to undercarriage solution, the planes were similar.

 

I’ll be building both Arnoux’s mounts in the race, a C. 460 and a C. 450 in 1/72 scale. I’ve sourced SBS Model’s resin kits for the build, and quite probably I’ll be doing the planes straight out-of-the-box. The kits have enough detail. Besides, my fatty fingers ain’t the tool for adding detail in this scale 😉.

 

As a reference, I’ll be using what I’ve found on the net. Have to be careful though and read with critical eyes.

 

Cheers,

-M

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by Mjoo
Update the title

[Mjoo]

Kits come in sturdy little top-opening boxes with attractive cover art.

 

 

Inside the boxes there is some nicely cast resin, PE, masks, decals, acetate for instrument panel and cast brass langing gear legs for C. 460, all packeged in resealeable bags.

 

 

Exterior detailing is nice fine lines. I really hope I don’t do anything stupid that results in sanding and loosing that detail. Here's cowling as an example..

 

 

Some of the parts look real thin and slender - and fragile. However, there are well-thought guards around those. Better not to cut these parts off the casting block before they are actually needed. Canopy is cast resin and quite clear.

 

 

I’ve built SBS Model’s Caudron C. 450 in 1/48 earlier and a C. 561 in 1/72 is on the bench at the moment. Based on those kits I have high expectations on fit and quality. Basic layout is same for all of them.

 

Cheers,

-M

[Wez]

It'll be interesting to see these side by side, I know they're different types but the difference is subtle and these are being modelled to a theme so are very welcome.

 

Good luck and welcome to the GB.

[Mjoo]

Thanks, Wez. I'll try to highlight the differences as build progresses.

[Mjoo]

Plastic has been cut! I’ve officially started though no glue has been spilled yet 🤩.

 

Wanted to start today for 1) symbolism — first day of group build, french national day, my very first group build etc. etc. — and 2) to check the fit between wings and fusalage. I wrote earlier that I’ve built the 1/48 version of the C 450. Wonderful kit except for the wing-fusalage join. If you followed the instructions, the wings were sunk into the fusalage; if you lined the wings properly, there was a largish gap in the belly of the aircraft. The other previous build of C. 561 I mentioned had same trait though not as bad as with bigger sibling. The butt of the wings literally came short.

 

So I sawed off the main components for both planes, tidied up the casts and did a test fit with fusalage halves, wings and cowling. Glad to find out these kits do not have the same problem! C. 450 has a perfect fit and once I properly go through the seams, I think C. 460 will fit together quite nicely, too.

 

That’s probably all for today. I did lay out the parts properly and took a photo of it all. As you can see, not a lot of pieces and many are intervariable between the planes. Decals are missing from the photo, I’ll come back to those later on.

 

 

That pigment stained rag is my weapon to fight dust; I try to do as much of the sawing, grinding and sanding on a wet rug to tie down the dust and other tiny particles.

 

Incidently, I found a build of C. 460 on the previous French Fancy group build.

 

Cheers,

-M

Edited July 14, 2021 by Mjoo
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[Mjoo]

Cockpits are painted and ready for assembly. Not much will been seen once the fusalage halves have been closed. I will pose the cockpit open and leave out the hatch on the left side of cockpit. In the real thing the canopy slides forward and the hatch comes completely off (unhinged), so that’s quite plausable for a parked aeroplane. This allows for slightly enhanced visibility into the cockpit.

 

I tried to build some depth into the painting with lighter and darker shades. Painting is also deliberately exaggerated but hopefully doesn’t look overdone once the fusalages are closed. Painting is bit crude, too, that’s not intentional but my lack of skill for producing smooth colour transitions.

 

Instructions don’t give any painting guidance for the interior. For some reason I think it was light grey but cannot find verification on that. It could be that I read it in some french modelling forum — an achievement in itself as I don’t speak french at all 😉; Google translate is suprisingly good if you have prior knowledge on topic and enough good will to overlook the not-so-smooth language & misinterpretations it will produce. Any other colour in the cockpit is purely fictional and in there to give some accents to the boringly grey overall look.

 

If somebody knows how the colours actually were, I’d like to know.

 

Left side of the fusalage is the same for both planes. 

 

 

The lever on the wall is used to control the flaps. Relief coming from the lever represents the pushrods that move the actuators . I may have glued the lever in ”flaps down” position although I won’t be posing them that way. I pondered some time whether I should replace the relief with rods but decided against it; I don’t think I could’ve cut the relief off cleanly enough.

 

On right there is a pressure bottle on C. 460 but not on C. 450.

 

 

C. 460 also has an upright "pole" in front of the pilot.

 

 

NACA Technical Memorandum No. 765 focuses on 1934 Coupe Deutch competition which both C. 450 and C. 460 took part. There is a description and schematic on the operation of the C. 460 landing gear mechanism. It’s an oleo-pneumatic system. Compressed air pushes a piston which pushes oil and causes hydraulic jacks to move the landing gear. Relieve the pressure and the movement is done in reverse. I think that pressure bottle is the air reserve and the "pole" is the cylinder. 

 

Looking at the photos I realize I’ve left the flap actuator rods unpainted with accent colour. Have do that, then it’s time to assemle the cockpit and start mating the fusalage halves.

 

Cheers,

-M

[Mjoo]

Both planes had the same 6-cylinder, supercharged Renault engine that produced ca. 230 kW. It was inverted and there was a fairly large opening in the front exposing some of the engine. The kits represent that as a relief depicting first two cylinders. Nicely cast piece of resin that contains all that is needed without making the kit unneccessarily complicated. The engine relief is now painted, too.

 

 

I've tinted the cylinder pushrods to get some accents to the engine block, but it doesn't show that well in the pictures.

Cheers,

-M

[Mjoo]

Wasn’t ready for joining the fusalage halves after all. Instrument panels needed to be assembled. Tiny things, here they are sitting on top of Tamiya 10 ml paint bottle. Not perfect, but they’ll do.

 

 

Seat belts are on and the seat subassemblies are glued to the right fusalage halves along with the bulkheads. Flap actuator rods are painted. Nice detail on the bulkheads: there was a dot/hole marking the backsides so less change to install them incorrectly.

 

 

Now I am ready to join the halves.

 

 

 

Fit was really tight and I got the things inside the hull just a tiny bit misaligned. I should’ve taken more time with fitting the seat assemblies and bulkheads. But the seams don’t look that bad, just need some putty and careful sanding. The top looks worse but I am more worried about the bottom and the possibility of loosing the fine ribbing there due sanding. There’s also some minor casting imperfections on the bottom near the seams. We’ll see how this turns out.

 

I tested Tamiya epoxy on the other fusalage and VMS slow CA on the other. Not sure really sure what to think of them. The one with larger gap was glued with Tamiya epoxy but the gap is not due to the glue used, the bulkheads were more misaligned in this one, thus the larger gap.

 

Cheers,

-M

[Mjoo]

I think the topside seams are ok. Bottom ones need some work, but first I need to get some primer on so I can better see the problem. Wings, nose and tail bits have been attached, too.

 

 

 

 

Next I need to prep all the small bits and then to the paint shop! Or garage, as the other members of the family call it.

 

This is taking form now; there’s a passing resemblance of an airplane present, rigth?

 

Cheers,

-M

[Mjoo]

I wonder if somebody here has some insight on the markings?

 

I’ve been looking at the decals. For C. 460 they seem ok but for C. 450 I’m not so sure 🤔.

 

Everything I have found on the net says Monville was race no. 3. The decals give the plane as no. 13. I haven’t found a clear picture with Monville’s race number (there are always people standing in the line of sight) but it looks to me that it is 3, not 13. Easy remedy, though, I’ll just cut the decals in a suitable way.

 

Another thing is the pilot’s name on the cowling. Instuctions  give text as ”Arnoux” without any decorations. Again looking at the photos, it seems to me that at the starting line it reads ”Monville” in the cowling, decorated with a coloured circle in front of the name. So either the decals are wrong or the ground crew repainted the name during the break between the legs. The circle looks to be light colour but old black and white films are tricky to interpret. 1935 it could be orthochromatic or panchromatic film they used. Anyways, there is little I can do as I don’t have any means to produce new decals. Still, I’d like to know.

 

The decals look like this:

 

 

I think that at the start of the race Monville had his name on the cowling as in decal 12 for C. 460 is for Arnoux (upper sheet). Instead the instructions give only text "Arnoux"; see decal 14 from the C. 450 sheet (lower).

 

Cheers,

-M

[Mjoo]

1 minute ago, Mjoo said:

Anyways, there is little I can do as I don’t have any means to produce new decals

 

Actually, there is something I could do: I could paint a coarse rectangle with slightly different shade of blue where Monville’s name should be, and slam the ”Arnoux” decal on top of it to simulate hasty paint job done between the legs. Likely to be an un-thruth but since I’m guessing anyway…

 

Cheers,

-M

[Mjoo]

Both planes have been primed, puttied & sanded and re-primed. Not happy with the surface but it is what it is.  I’m moving forwards with the build and still learning to use the airbrush.

 

 

Tyres have been painted and masked for spraying the hubs. Turns out my that "house maintenance kit" punch set's smallest blade (3mm) is pretty much spot on for the wheel hub masks. I decided to paint tyres first as it resulted simpler painting workflow; could've gone the other way round just as easy.

 

 

Hefty looking fine precision instrument 😉.

 

One of the wheels had a larger-than-minor casting imperfection. I didn’t bother fixing it but decided to use it for C. 450 as the wheel spats will hide the faults.

 

Incidentely, there’s six wheels instead of four. That’s because this build has caught up with a C. 561 build I started some time ago. I’ll be building these three in lockstep so C.561 may ”bleed” into some images here.

 

This build is about the two Caudrons Arnoux used so anything relating to C. 561 is co-incidental and only serves to illustrate the actual topic.

 

However, here’s two images starring the C. 561. First a family portrait:

 

 

Undeniable resemblance there. And what a sleek airframe the C.561 was!

 

 

Cheers,

-M

[JOCKNEY]

Lovely to see these 2 being built side by side.

Having built a Caudron 714 some time ago you can certainly see the family resemblance. 

 

Cheers Pat 

[Mjoo]

4 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Having built a Caudron 714 some time ago you can certainly see the family resemblance. 

Yes indeed. There is continuity in Caudron designs through the 1930s.

 

Cheers,

M

Edited August 7, 2021 by Mjoo

[Mjoo]

Blue is the colour! For Caudron racers, at least.

 

I have mixed feelings on painting these things. I enjoy playing with the colours, mixing the paints and the act of painting itself. On the other hand it took me two weeks to get from primer to gloss, mostly spent just waiting for paint to harden between short sessions with airbrush. Progress is boringly slow, and my builds tend to pile up at this stage. Anyways, colour has now been laid down and gloss coat applied.

 

What was the real colour? I have no clue. I couldn’t find a good reference on the colour so I sort of interpolated from what other modellers had used (including different Caudrons on the Britmodeller). I went after darker end of middle blues. Gloss coat makes these look lighter than they actually are. Hope the blue will tone down once I’m finished.

 

 

I tried to get variation on the all-blue apperance and painted some panels with different shades. Not a success. In the cup the shades did look different but on the plane it’s all same blue. Only clearly visible difference is unintentional: paint lifted on the cowling of C. 450 and the fixing that left that panel quite pale compared to the rest of the airframe. Oh well, a decal is to be placed there, hopefully hiding the mishap.

 

 

The darker, intentionally rough patch of paint represents the hasty paint job for Arnoux’s name as described earlier. These close-ups are harsh.

 

Small bits are pretty much finished and waiting for final assembly.

 

 

 

I think the exhausts came out quite nicely. They look more brown in nature than in the picture.

 

 

There was a stamping tool included for C. 460 wheel covers. Good thing too, bending those without the stamp would’ve been quite painful.

 

 

Note to self: never prime before stamping 😬.

 

Next up panel lines and (light) weathering. That’s the part I am most uncomfortable with.

 

Cheers,

-M

Edited August 8, 2021 by Mjoo
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[Mjoo]

Decals on, panel lines done and there’s some race dirt splashed on to C. 450, too.

 

I am seriously incompetent at decaling. However, these went on without much fuss. Quite unlike the C. 561 I mentioned earlier. That one had a grand total of two decals and I botched both of them. But with these two Caudrons, I am happy. There is some silvering, but maybe it’ll be less pronounced once the final clear coats are on.

 

I am also quite happy with the shade of blue I mixed for the exterior colour. It is not too dark but still distinctly darker than the blue in the tricolori stripe on C. 450.

 

I think that the decal at the nose of C. 450 hides quite well that botched paint job.

 

 

 

I put some dirt in C. 450 but left C. 460 clean. My logic was that these planes were serious racers and showpieces for Caudron’s capabilities as a factory. They must’ve been kept well and cleaned carefully after each flight. Thus, I imagined that Arnoux started his race in a clean C. 460. Once the in the air it was all out and when he switched with Monville, the C. 450 had been run hard. I tried to simulate oil leaks and soot from exhaust on the belly of the thing. End result is a bit heavy handed, I must say. And the camera makes it come out stronger than it is in nature.

 

 

Wheel wells are light grey as was with the interior. I’m not sure if this is correct. The other option I pondered on was the blue I used on the exterior. I got no references on this, so I guessed and went with grey.

 

Next up some touch-ups and yet another clear coat to protect the decals. I think (hope?) it is the final one so it’ll be satin/semi-gloss. After that it’ll be all the small bits that are still loose and some detail painting.
 

Cheers,

-M

Edited August 22, 2021 by Mjoo

[JOCKNEY]

Hi @Mjoo

These were  virtually finished when we last heard from you and looking absolutely brilliant,  have you completed them ?

Cheers Pat 

[Mjoo]

Hi @JOCKNEY, I've been occupied with other thigs past few weeks with no energy left for modelling. But I did attach last small bits this morning. Some (very small) touchups remain to be done. Hoping to do the photography next weekend. Here they are in their current state (with guest appearance by C. 561):

 

 

Cheers,

Mjoo

[Mjoo]

I’m declaring these two done! Did the final touchups this morning.

 

I feel that the trickiest thing with this build was assembling the landing gear for C. 460. Delicate resin, hard as steel bronze and PE with minimal attachement points. Well engineered but you can't escape the fact that these need to be really slender if you're true to the scale. And those slender things need to carry the weight of the model. Things are not lined up as nicely as they could but they are good enoug for me.

 

Another hard part was attaching the exhaust. Along with the propeller blade they make a suprisingly large contribution to the overall look of the aircraft. I didn’t get them lined up as well as I hoped.

 

Overall I am happy about how these two turrned out. Great kits and a positive feel on the build it self. I still need to do final photography and get these to the gallery. Wont happen today but maybe next weekend.

 

 

Cheers,

-M

[2996 Victor]

Hi @Mjoo, just caught up with this and wanted to say that these are two very impressive builds. A beautiful finish overall, and a very good rendition of the interior, if I may say so. The shade of blue looks perfect.

 

Great work and brilliant results!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Mjoo]

Thanks, @2996 Victor! The  blue is bit monotonous to my eye but I do like the shade, too.

[Mjoo]

Pics are now in the gallary. Ye old macro lens is cruel, it show every nick and blotch in the surface with utmost clarity. And every dust speckle, too. Take home -line here would be that always dust before photography -- even if the subject has been sitting only few days on the bookself and behind closed doors. 🙄

 

This was fun build.

 

Cheers,

-M

 

 

Here's some more pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The C. 561 got photographed, too. Notice the dust on the wings...

[Bertie McBoatface]

Three very smart models. Well done.

[John Masters]

Very pretty!