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A bullet with my name on it: Eduard 1/48 Morane Saulnier type N


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I've been slowly losing my building mojo the last year, and after screwing up a very well planned build that has ended up as another item on my Shelf Of Doom due to my carelessness, I felt the need to build something relatively simple to get it flowing again.
 

So after carefully spending hours going through my "medium" sized collection of kits to find something to build (one of the most enjoyable parts of this hobby IMO :smile:), I chose the Eduard Morane Saulnier type N ProfiPack:
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Cool looking little plane, supposedly a good kit with few parts but still detailed, radial engine and not too difficult to rig. Checks all the boxes.
Unfortunately there are no Type N survivors and not many pictures left to document it. The closest I've come to see a photo of the cramped cockpit has been one with the pilot inside, which kinda ruins it for research purposes, so even the Windsock File is of little help.  

So I have to rely on Eduard's research/guesswork here. First job was to mess around trying to recreate the missing rivet line on the enormous casserole spinner with my Rosie the riveter, which went pretty well. 

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It is a bit too high and perhaps too subtle to be seen after paint, but it's a start. I know you should leave your dessert until last, but since I need to get myself going again I just skipped a step in the instructions and started on the engine instead. 

The Le Rhone 9c is really a beautiful little engine, right up there with the Vincent Rapide/Black Shadow engines:
 

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So even if this little engineering masterpiece will be very difficult to see behind that huge spinner, I nevertheless spent a bit of time on it. First I added spark plugs made from stretched sprue to the cylinders, because why not?, before I sprayed the cylinders (and the crankcase) aluminium and gave them a little wash:
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Mundane stuff so far, but I sprayed the intakes Vallejo copper and picked the bolts on the crankcase out in steel, spark plugs in brown and wires added using Uschi fine rigging thread. Guess the original spark plug wires were pretty thin and tight to survive the motor spinning around, my attempt to replicate them is difficult to see without squinting. 

Didn't take pictures of these intermediate steps, so this is of a test fitting of the engine with all parts loose:
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I think I will need to adjust the photo etched valve pushrods manually one by one to get them to line up to the cylinder heads, not totally convinced the octopus' arms of the copper intake tubes will align all that well to the cylinder heads either, but fingers crossed. :fingerscrossed:
Overall pleased with the engine. I tried as best as I could to find a way to replicate the prominent Castor oil stains that are all over these engines, but didn't find a way to get that clear, reddish brown, gloss colour, so I have just given up for now.

If anyone know how to do that, or know if someone makes a product to achieve this, please let me know! 

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Started on the cockpit, and since I have been unable to find any photos or drawings to help me, I just have to guess what could need improvement in this kit's cockpit.

And that is just one thing so far. The seat.

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The cushion is great looking, but the backrest is way too thick to look realistic. And given that the Le Rhone engine just delivered 80 hp they would remove weight everywhere possible, so I'm sure the seat in the Type N was basically similar to the one in the similarly engined Nieuport 11, which is made of wood with lot's of holes to reduce weight.

So I filed the seat back as thin as I dared and drilled holes in it.

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I just winged it so it isn't perfect by any means and needs a bit of clean up, but I'd say it is still a noticeable improvement over the original.
And it was fun, I like drilling holes in things. :smile: 

Edited by Eivind Lunde
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On 3/8/2022 at 8:45 PM, Eivind Lunde said:

So after carefully spending hours going through my "medium" sized collection of kits to find something to build (one of the most enjoyable parts of this hobby IMO :smile:), I chose the Eduard Morane Saulnier type N ProfiPack:

 

 

Yes!! My stash is well under 20 kits, but going through them once in a while is good practice. I like reminding myself what I have to build. It also helps curb my kit collecting!

 

Following with interest, looks a great little build.

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Engine is completed. The intakes mated up very well to the inlets, the photoetched pushrods on the other hand are too short to reach the valve rocker mechanism. :doh:

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I'm not a fan of photoetched details to represent 3D things like a pushrod, so I was very close to using Albion nickel silver rod instead. Had I known it wouldn't fit properly I'd taken the time to do that, but you have to look closely to see it so it is OK I guess. 

 

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On 11/03/2022 at 09:40, Ol' Scrapiron said:

I was going to post some La Rhone 9 pictures I have taken at various museums but you were pretty quick on that engine. Looks sharp.

Thanks. Yeah, the Le Rhone was license built in high numbers so I think there are still a few in museums world wide. Fascinating engine technology. :inlove:

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OK, a few pics of the ones I've seen in person just as a reference for those that may have future projects in mind.

 

LeRhone C-9J -- Evergreen Museum 2018

 

Le-Rhone-C-9J-Evergreen-2018-07-01-7842.

 

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LeRhone 9J -- Waco Museum 2018

 

LeRhone-9J-Waco-2018-10-13-7560.JPG

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LeRhone-9J-Waco-2018-10-13-7561.JPG

 

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Le Rhone engine -- Warhawk Air Museum; Nampa, Idaho 2021

 

Le-Rhone-engine-Warhawk-Museum-Nampa-202

 

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LeRhone C-9 -- Waco Museum 2018

pretty sure these are the same engine

 

LeRhone-C-9-Waco-2018-10-13-7528.JPG

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LeRhone-C-9-Waco-2018-10-13-7530.JPG

 

 

 

Your engine is already done, but maybe these will be of some benefit to other builders.

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Thanks, one cannot have too many reference photos. And I certainly should have watched the photos more closely before committing the photo etched pushrod part to superglue, because the Eduard instructions have them the wrong way around! :swear:
 

What I thought (and I guess the one who made the instructions as well) was some added detail on the end, is actually meant to act as a locator for the rocker arm on the cylinder. This means the photo etched part is flipped 180 degrees in the instructions, the result being that the pushrods are slightly to the left of the centre of the cylinders instead of to the right, where the intakes are and they should be.

If you add that mistake to the fact that the whole piece is too small to even reach the cylinder rocker arm, then I'd say that the next time I'm building a Le Rhone from Eduard, I will just make the pushrods myself.

 

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Since there was nothing I could do about that irritating little fault with the pushrods, I went on to work on the interior. 

As I have been unable to find a picture or even a drawing of the Type N cockpit, I just have to merge Eduards guesses with my own, to come up with something that could be correct. 

The seat got painted with Vallejo wood colours to simulate the wood back rest, and the cushion leather brown with a slight wash to bring out the nicely detailed creases. I have read about other peoples attempts to make leather look good, and one simple way is to give it that leather sheen by using your nose. :laugh:
I used a Q-tip to rub the outside, (NB! NOT the inside!) of my nose and face to get some of the fat that is on the skin onto it, and then I rubbed it on the painted seat with a surprisingly good effect! 

That simple and yes, very unusual, job gave the seat a convincing shine that you see on leather cushions. As usual my Galaxy S8+ cameras lack of subtlety makes it difficult to see, but I would certainly recommend this to others looking for a quick improvement.

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59 minutes ago, Eivind Lunde said:

I used a Q-tip to rub the outside, (NB! NOT the inside!) of my nose and face to get some of the fat that is on the skin onto it, and then I rubbed it on the painted seat with a surprisingly good effect! 

This is a top tip, but I have to wonder how you found out about it, and even more interesting is what you have tried that hasn't worked? 🤣

I have a few Eduard Camels in my 'substantial' stash (by your standard) that I think had Le Rhones, so the the pictures and your build will be used to inform these.

 

Box on!

 

Strickers

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The interior is starting to come together now. The floor has been sprayed Vallejo wood by mistake, I really wanted the yellow-ier New Wood, but when finished with some Transparent Wood applied with a sponge, it looked a pretty good approximation of the (supposedly) lighter ash wood floor. So it'll just stay that way.
 

I use an old Tamiya Thunderbolt pilot to test when I am unsure if things looks correct, and while Billy Bob may be bigger than the average petite Type N pilot, it certainly seems that the floor is too high. That's why the seat is basically on the floor I guess, and even if I used a bit of styrene sheet to raise it slightly, Billy Bob looks like he sits in one of those Shriner cars.

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Nothing much I can do about it though since the floor basically keeps everything together and it would take major surgery. It's not a big deal anyway

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1 hour ago, Eivind Lunde said:

The Camels had Clerget engines, and they are quite different while still rotary engines. Not nearly as pretty. ;) 

I stand corrected, but a little more visible in the Camel than the MS

 

Box On

 

Strickers

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