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Azur 1/72nd Breguet Br.693AB.2


Heather Kay

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I'm not sure how many entries I might make in this GB. I have another Azur kit, and four Heller kits to choose from (not including the 1/24th Ferguson Petit Gris, which would count as an entry here of course). One thing I have learned in group builds is not to get too carried away. So, I'll start modestly with the Breguet and see what happens next.

 

1940, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill by now! :lol:

 

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Suitably stirring box art. The Br.690 family was one of those designs that started out as one thing and ended up as several others. This particular kit is for the Assault Bombardement version. I will try to give a more detailed history of the type once I start the build.

 

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The instructions are fairly typical of Azur, with fairly clear illustrations. I haven't really studied things in depth yet, so I suspect there may be one or two vague areas that will require some thought.

 

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There are four marking options. Oddly, despite the instruction sheet obviously printed on a colour laser printer, the paint schemes are mono. To get colour versions, one must decamp to the CMK Kits web site.

 

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To the plastic. Standard short run fare, crisp detail and little flash. Some parts - undercarriage doors, for one - are somewhat thick, but nothing some careful sanding can't deal with.

 

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Interior detail is catered for quite well.

 

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As expected, some parts will be difficult to extract cleanly. I usually decide to replace some parts with scratch items from brass wire and rod, so that's not a huge problem.

 

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An adequate instrument panel, I think. So often we tend to want to go overboard on interior details, only for it all to be obscured once the transparencies go on.

 

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Motors are sharp resin moulds, as is the rear machine gun. A small PE fret covers bomb fins, belts and gun sights. The transparencies look thin and clear. There isn't a commercial masking set available - though I haven't checked recently - so I'll need to be careful with the tape.

 

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The transfers are sharp and clear. Previous Azur kits have had really good transfers, so I expect good things. Nice to see the data panel information for the rudder is separate from the tricolour stripes. I usually prefer to paint the stripes, so that's good.

 

Now, I'm not sure when I'll actually make a start. I have a busy weekend ahead, and the day job modelling tends to take it out of me such that I really don't want to sit at the bench playing with model hairyplanes of an evening. Still, it's not a race, and if I choose I can take my time and just build this one entry for the GB.

 

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Hi Heather

 

This is a very nice choice of a kit I built some years ago. When I check I am surprised it was in 2011.

If I remember well it was not difficult except that the engine doesn't fit into the cowling.

 

Patrick

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1 hour ago, VG 33 said:

except that the engine doesn't fit into the cowling.

Noted, thank you! 
 

1 hour ago, LorenSharp said:

That little Breguet's lines almost give it a 30's Art Deco look. Very nice

 

It's one of those designs from the French plane makers that seems to have completely avoided being hit by the ugly stick. It’s got some very pleasant shapes in it, unlike some of its contemporaries.
 

1 hour ago, Navy Bird said:

I'm in. Another French aircraft I know nothing about.     :popcorn:


That’s two of us, Bill! I’m up for some learning as I go.

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I enjoyed building my 2 Breguet's for the Heller GB (One was a Heller, the other was this kit but not this exact boxing). The kit went together well. The undercarriage was a bit of a pain. The worst thing was the yellow and red stripes of the scheme I chose  :)

 

 

I'll watch along and see how it should be done.

 

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Nice choice Heather. I'm in for this one too. There is something about those early war French aircraft designs that I love. Added to that are the somewhat colourful camouflage schemes. I must treat myself to one someday, but too many fast jets, helicopters and gliders to finish yet!

 

Terry

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Awesome :) sheer coincidence, this exact same kit is one of the recent additions so will pay attention. 
I may have a slightly later edition, as my destruction manual does have colour - although somewhat misprinted :P

 

Going through this book, I already found suitable material for ms.406, Bloch 151, Potez 630s and the Hawks - all in the stash already.

Shame Lost Airspace is only available in Dutch though.

y4mXd9Xh3VO97poWqZfMokWKjg1yCzi5SXKhHPfH

 

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Looking good Heather, go on throw in the tractor. They are known as Vaal Aapies (Little monkey) down here in SA. Lots of them around in museums and farm yards.

 

Colin

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On 15/07/2021 at 21:38, JOCKNEY said:

Great choice Heather, your 1940 collection seems never ending.


It still surprises me with the variety. I keep finding new aircraft I have add to my wish list! And I’ve not even begun to explore the French naval aircraft yet! :shocked:

 

On 15/07/2021 at 22:06, Wez said:

Brilliant!  So pleased to see one of these and I know you'll do it proud.


I hope so. I like Azur kits.

 

On 15/07/2021 at 22:57, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Lovely choice and my Apologies for the late welcome Heather, been too busy with life today. 


Life? Don’t talk to me about life. </Marvin>

 

On 16/07/2021 at 07:45, RidgeRunner said:

A great choice, Heather 


Ta. :like:

 

On 16/07/2021 at 11:50, Richard Tucker said:

I'll watch along and see how it should be done.


Now that’s setting the bar. I’d better do my best. Incidentally, the Vichy colours is one very good reason why I've concentrated on stuff up to the end of June 1940! They can wait until I start thinking about the Mediterranean theatre aspect of 1940.

 

On 16/07/2021 at 12:01, Grandboof said:

Will be watching . Another learning curve . 


More of a googly than a curve, I think. 
 

On 16/07/2021 at 12:13, Terry1954 said:

Nice choice Heather. I'm in for this one too.


Cheers Terry. The Breguet is one of the more attractive designs of the period. There’s more than a hint of Beaufighter round the nose, before Bristol got there, and it looks like someone used the French curves at the drawing board instead of the set squares!

 

On 16/07/2021 at 15:19, Biggles87 said:

It has a certain elegance about it, but then it would because it’s french innit.


I wish we could say that about all the other French planes! :laugh:
 

On 16/07/2021 at 17:03, alt-92 said:

Awesome :) sheer coincidence, this exact same kit is one of the recent additions so will pay attention. 


Thanks! Progress will be slow, for various reasons. I have to admit to not buying reference books these days. I’d love to, but sometimes the amount of information I need doesn’t really warrant the expense. There’s tons of images on the internet, plus the knowledgeable folk here, and to be honest most modern kits are fairly accurate right out of the box these days. :nerdy:

 

On 18/07/2021 at 09:32, heloman1 said:

Looking good Heather, go on throw in the tractor.


We shall see how I get on. After last year's GB overload I’m purposely taking several steps back this year, and only entering a couple of builds in the four GBs I’m signed up for. I’ve already built a Fergie for Best Beloved, but we mistakenly ordered two kits. :innocent: The other currently remains unopened. The styrene gods are tempting me with some super detailing from photos of the real thing, perhaps even a nicely weathered well-used example of the French licence-built Fergie…

 

What am I saying‽ 

 

*gives self a stern talking to about priorities*

 

Right, what’s been happening?

 

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Not a lot, by the looks of it! My first steps in these sorts of kits is to go through the instructions and mark up the colour call outs. At the same time, I get a feel for how the kit goes together. I also got the fine Sharpie out and wrote the part numbers on the runners and the parts themselves so I didn’t need to keep referring back to the little map at the front of the instructions. Then, some Humbrol 96 acrylic got slapped about the interior parts, and then mostly scraped off again for gluing purposes! To prove I do learn, I drilled out location dimples in the cockpit tub to make locating the rudder pedals and control column easier. I’ll detail paint the various control boxes and panels, and fit the other parts at some point today.

 

There are lots of little windows. I’m wondering whether to fit the glazing now and get it all sanded flush before joining the fuselage up. 


Slow progress, then, but a start has been made.

 

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A French Fergie with Vichy stripes?

 

The red and white stripes are more a 1941 thing (he wrote without checking), and not fully adopted then judging by the D.520s sent to Syria.  The initial marking was just a long white stripe down the fuselage.  There's more in Ehrengardt's book for Caraktere, which is more than worth getting for anyone considering a range of French subjects.

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Humbrol 96 eh, looks good. I have a selection of Xtracolour french WW II colours in my stash so I was hoping I would find something suitable for my Breguet 27 there, and talking about elegant french aircraft, how could the same company produce two such diametrically opposed designs.

John

PS : I have the Smer version of this but I don't think it would compare well.

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Ok, here are the dates for Vichy markings. 

9 July 1940  White band along the fuselage, as previously carried by Potez 63s.

20 May 1941 Yellow noses and tail for fighting in Syria

24 June 1941  "Application de bandes alternées rouge et jaunes de 20 à 25 cm de large sur l'empennage entier (sauf le gouvernail de direction conservé tricolore) et sur la partie avant des fuseaux-moteur et, éventuellement, sur la partis compris entre l'arrière du moteur et l'aplomb de bord d'attaque, suivant la type d'aéronef."

 

There's more from 26 November, but not relevant here.

 

So if you are sticking to 1940, hold back on the red and yellow.  There are a number of photos and profiles for this type in the book, but none for the white stripe period.  I presume they would be the same as previous but with the stripe added, but I presume several of the units will have been disbanded.  There is a rather different one in bare metal/aluminium paint and the red/yellow bands, if you wanted anything different for 1941.

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Well, this is proving to be slow going.

 

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I thought I’d just quickly finish the cockpit fittings and retouch paintwork. The PE belts fought me so much I nearly trashed them and substituted masking tape ones. At this scale and through the glazing, frankly, no-one would tell the difference. I found the instrument panel isn’t wide enough to meet the opposite side of the cockpit, so that was fun. 
 

Anyway, I’ll let the paint dry a bit more then add some silver/aluminium dry brushing for wear and tear, followed by a wash of black to bring out details. The current mood is "don’t care", so I’m not certain I’ll do any more today.*

 

 

 

 

*I'm sure I will. It’s just been a funny sort of few days here.

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My mood improved following our evening meal.

 

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Further internal details. The various switchgear boxes and magazines went in. The mags had location holes, the switchgear didn’t. The instructions are also very vague as to location of the boxes, but they’re all but invisible with the fuselage halves together.

 

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Last job today, so the solvent has time to set nice and hard, was fitting the eight tiny fuselage windows. They are a tight fit, they all needed a careful swipe on each edge with a fine needle file, but they all fit well. I carefully followed the number sequence to fit each pane in its set aperture. I let some solvent cement just wick around the edges. Each pane is proud of the fuselage, on purpose. I plan to sand each one flush and polish them to a glorious shine before making masks for them.

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Ah, the elusive glorious shine! 

I will see a unicorn before I achieve a shine, even half glorious.

Beautiful kit, that puts the Heller one to pasture. And a great build.

Good luck with the window cleaning!

 

JR

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17 hours ago, jean said:

Good luck with the window cleaning!


Thank you. I think it worked out okay. I don’t go for the concourse shine, as the planes were operational and I doubt getting a good view from the fuselage was high on priorities when in the thick of it.

 

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Suddenly I’m here. The fuselage halves weren’t a bad fit, but there was a little gentle sanding once the glue had set. I’m accepting some of the fine panel lines may have been sacrificed in a good cause. I’ll be able to see how things look with a coat of primer. The wing halves join without major pain. The usual thing with these sorts of kits is concentrating on getting a nice fine trailing edge. A bit of careful scraping and sanding got me where I felt happy. The fit was pretty good overall. The nacelles are bit of a mixed bag. Three pieces, including a firewall/bulkhead, go together reasonably. There’s going to be a little filler smeared in the wing-nacelle joins. 
 

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The trailing edge ends of the nacelles though is a right old mess. It is supposed to be a nice smooth transition. Quite a bit of filler and sanding will be needed. The wing roots aren’t all that bad, and a smear of Perfect Plastic Putty ought to deal with them. I hope I’ve managed to get the wings on level.

 

There’s a set of bombs in the kit. I decided to leave them out, as they’ll never be seen, even with the bay window glazed bomb hatch underneath. 
 

Now I’ve sort of run out of steam. I’ll leave things so the wings set nice and solid, then work out what's next.

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