Smeller 1/72 Morane Saulnier MS.230 Aeronáutica Militar Portuguesa

[2996 Victor]

This thread was begun as part of the 2021 French Fancy II Group Build, but didn't make it in time for the closing date.

 

Hi all,

 

A late arrival here in the French Fancy GB, but here's my choice: the Heller Morane Saulnier MS.230. Not exactly a rara avis, I know, but nonetheless I'm hoping to have a bit of fun with it

 

So, obligatory photos. Box top (this is the 1980 boxing):

http://

 

Sprue shots, tooled in 1967, I think:

http://

 

Close up of the rather excellent engine:

http://

 

Typical Heller instructions:

http://

The ancient decals have definitely seen better days, not sure that they're going to be usable, so I may have to source some replacements.

 

Looking forward to having a go at this kit!

 

Cheers for now,

Mark

 

[Wez]

I like the the MS.230, apparently the Luftwaffe used a lot of captured examples for training.

 

Welcome to the GB and good luck.

[2996 Victor]

Just now, Wez said:

I like the the MS.230, apparently the Luftwaffe used a lot of captured examples for training.

 

Welcome to the GB and good luck.

Thanks, Wez, I'm really happy to be here

 

Interesting about the Luftwaffe usage - might have to investigate that! I had considered doing a Belgian example or an MS.236, may still do!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome aboard Mark … Nice choice of aircraft. 

[2996 Victor]

9 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Welcome aboard Mark … Nice choice of aircraft. 

Thanks, Dennis! It is a nice aircraft, but even so I was surprised (dismayed!) at how small it is given my banana fingers  There are actually quite a wide spectrum of users with interestingly different schemes, so there's a decision to be made in the near future!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Dandie Dinmont]

This looks like it will be a really interesting build, and it's another chance to deploy your world class Franglais! A double win! How could I not follow along?

 

Craig.

[2996 Victor]

5 minutes ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

This looks like it will be a really interesting build, and it's another chance to deploy your world class Franglais! A double win! How could I not follow along?

 

Craig.

Bonnet de douche, Craig  rien de tel qu'un tout petit peu de franglais un vendredi matin! Welcome aboard for another rollercoaster ride of emotions  

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

[2996 Victor]

I think I've arrived at a subject for my little Morane  the Aeronáutica Militar Portuguesa operated a fleet of 21 Morane Saulniers from 1929 into, I think, the early years of WW2. Of these, four were MS.133s, one was an MS.230 and sixteen were MS.233s, the latter being a Portugal-specific version of the MS.230 fitted with a Gnome-Rhone 5-cylinder radial engine in place of the Salmson.

 

Although it goes against my usual "rule" to not do one-offs, in this case I shall! I daresay it wouldn't be too onerous to modify the kit to represent an MS.233. There is an LF Models decal sheet for this aircraft here, which I've ordered along with this Falcon canopy set which also contains vacformed transparencies for my LeO 451 among others  

 

For reference, I'm using my copy of MMP Portuguese Fighter Colours 1919-1956. Why, you may ask, is a trainer included in a book about fighters? Apparently, some of the MS.233s were fitted with a single synchronised weapon and used for gunnery training but, pending the arrival of Gloster Gladiators, as these aircraft were at the time the most modern in the AMP they could also be used in the fighter role in times of dire need.

 

Kora also do detail sets for this kit, but as they cost significantly more than the kit itself I haven't yet decided whether to invest or not!

 

Cheers for now.

 

Mark

[TonyOD]

This is shaping up to be a good one!

[2996 Victor]

11 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

This is shaping up to be a good one!

Thanks, Tony - fingers crossed!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[JOCKNEY]

Look forward to seeing this one come together, and finding out which version you choose to make with it.

 

Cheers Pat

[2996 Victor]

11 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Look forward to seeing this one come together, and finding out which version you choose to make with it.

 

Cheers Pat

Thanks, Pat!

 

I've completed the build on my F4F-4 Wildcat in the Less Than A Tenner GB today, so I'm hoping to get some time in on this little gem. I'm probably going with the single Portuguese-operated example. Probably! And I'm still deciding whether to get one or other of the Kora detail sets....

 

Hope to have some tangible progress soon!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[2996 Victor]

Well, after a weekend spent bringing my Wildcat to fruition, I've made a small start on this little project.

 

The ailerons were carefully detached from the lower wing, and the upper and lower wings sanded to hopefully improve the contact surfaces and to help thin the trailing edge:

http://

http://

 

And then the wing halves were assembled, taking great care to line them up as well as possible as there aren't any locating pips. Its pretty good:

http://

 

The wing is now getting a coat or three of Tamiya rattle can grey as a primer, and to help reduce the prominence of the wing ribs when I sand the wing surfaces. You may be able to just see the remnants of the sprue gates on the upper half of the wing. There are others still on the leading edge, too. I don't tend to remove these remnants until the wing is assembled, as I've found in the past that I can end up with a wobbly leading edge. Sanding the contact surfaces of the wing halves ensures that the sprue gates don't prevent them from joining properly.

 

There was also a strange prominent square lug on the lower fuselage, which stopped the fuselage halves meeting, so I've trimmed and sanded that back as well.

 

Decals for the Portuguese MS.230 should arrive tomorrow. I'm still debating which if either of the Kora detail sets to get: I'm happy to scratch an interior but the IPs are non-existent. I did think about getting a Yahu Tiger Moth IP set, just to put something in. They're a bit different to the Morane, but would they really be that visible.....? Hmmmm!

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Dandie Dinmont]

Cracking start Mark. If it helps make your mind up, the big H appears to be out of stock of the Kora interior set ☹️
 

Craig. 

[2996 Victor]

Thanks, Craig, it has the makings of a nice little model, although all the struttery around the wings and undercarriage legs is a bit daunting

 

I noticed Big H were out of the interior set: dashed inconsiderate, I thought!!!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[2996 Victor]

And the lesson today is: Do Not As I Do, Do As I Say.

 

I somewhat over-did the sanding of the wing ribs so that they've gone from looking a bit too prominent to looking totally crap! I need to rethink the process: I'll probably sand the wing smooth and find some way to recreate the rib tapes, maybe with narrow strips of decal. I've seen it done with thick paint and a bow pen, and also I think with some sort of acrylic paint pen, but I don't think I've got a steady enough hand these days  

 

Cheers for now,

Mark

[2996 Victor]

The Portuguese decals arrived today:

http://

http://

 

And this is what I've done to the poor, unsuspecting wing  

http://

http://

Requires work.....

 

I've ordered some narrow Tamiya masking tape and I'm planning on sanding the wing smooth, masking the inter-rib spaces, and then building up the ribs again with several coats of paint. A gentle smoothing to take down the square edges of the paint should hopefully restore the status quo.....

 

Thanks for looking in!

 

Mark

[VG 33]

Hello

 

As you can see

here

the rib effect is very subtle.

 

Patrick

[2996 Victor]

11 minutes ago, VG 33 said:

Hello

 

As you can see

here

the rib effect is very subtle.

 

Patrick

Hi Patrick,

 

many thanks for the link - what a beautiful example of an MS230! That's exactly the sort of photograph I've been looking for.

 

I felt the moulded-in rib detail was too pronounced but sanding it down the way I did was, with hindsight, totally the wrong approach. However, I think I can rescue it without too much difficulty. What is surprising is how varied the inter-rib "troughs" are - some are much deeper than the majority so that even with evenly sanding the surface they're still evident. Some Mr Surfacer 500 should help there, I think!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Dandie Dinmont]

Hi Mark,

 

Might Mr. Surfacer be a better bet than paint for building the ribs back up? Just a thought.

 

Craig.

[2996 Victor]

Hi Craig,

 

good thought! I've got some "500" and "1000", so if I mask the inter-rib spaces and spray or even brush on Mr Surfacer that should work well. I might be able to then use the masking as a guide to sanding the Mr Surfacer back to an even height. Brilliant, thank you!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Andwil]

The wing looks good but the fuselage looks a bit off 

 

AW

[JOCKNEY]

Sorry for all the grief Mark.

 

I'm blooming glad I was completely lazy and left mine well alone  !

 

That Portuguese version looks very smart. 

 

Cheers Pat 

[2996 Victor]

2 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Sorry for all the grief Mark.

 

I'm blooming glad I was completely lazy and left mine well alone  !

 

That Portuguese version looks very smart. 

 

Cheers Pat 

Thanks, Pat  you definitely did the right thing: it was certainly a Parsley moment

http://

"Sometimes," said Parsley, "I really don't know why I bother!"

 

But I'm sure I'll make something of it in the end!

 

The Portuguese air service is very interesting, I've got a few other models planned: Gladiator, Mohawk and Hurricane.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[2996 Victor]

Inspired by @Marcel's build in the High Wing GB, a little progress has been made. Firstly, the wing has been further sanded, primed and re-sanded, and bizarrely although the upper surface is smooth, the ribs are still perceptible  so I gave it a polish with MicroMesh:

http://

 

Apart from the centre-section which has some rivet detail I'm keen to preserve, the underside of the wing has been evenly sanded. Some of the valleys between the ribs are particularly deep, so I've now resorted to good old Mr Surfacer 500:

http://

 

The Heller logo has been scraped off of the starboard cockpit wall, and the plastic thinned:

http://

 

Comparison:

http://

 

Both halves thinned, the kit floor part (3) added, and a new full-length floor is being made with the aid of a profile gauge:

http://

 

I wasn't sure whether to share this last photo as it really doesn't look too clever, plus one of the bracing wires has detached itself  But here we are:

http://

Stringers are 15thou PB wire, frames are 40thou square Evergreen styrene strip, bracing wires are 5thou copper wire. I had high hopes that it might look the dog's danglies: I just hope it looks a bit better under a coat of paint..... It needs a bulkhead or two and the instrument panels as well.

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

Cheers for now,

Mark