Nieuport 17 Triplane, 1/48 Eduard and Spin Model

[Bughunter]

For a change, something less beautiful (to avoid swear words). By that I mean the original.

 

Nieuport 17 Triplane  

 

The Nieuport 17 was also disfigured with three wings and even built or converted in several copies. This one was the A6686, which was tested in 1916. With the result that the pilot had almost no view of the runway, and ground visibility was equally poor. Therefore not a candidate for series production!

 

The original:

BRITISH AIRCRAFT TYPES 1918 - 1939. © IWM (Q 68931) IWM Non Commercial Licens

 

My forgery:

 

The model in 1/48 is based on the Nieuport 17 from Eduard with the help of a conversion kit from SPIN Model, which mainly contains the wings and struts made of resin.
The struts were rather resin lumps, so I made them from wood, also the propeller and tail skid are made from wood again. Some other parts, like the landing gear, have been replaced by metal parts.
Other accessories were a rotary engine from Small Stuff, which is rotatably mounted under a turned cowling made of aluminium. The Vickers MG and the turnbuckles for the rigging are from Gaspatch Models.

The painting was done with Alclad, Gunze and oil paints for a light weathering.

 

The conversion kit did not include decals, so the cockades and tail unit were masked and painted with Drooling Bulldog paints. However, I did not manage to cut masks for the fine white frames of the serial numbers with my cutting plotter, nor did I find a suitable replacement. So the project was on hold and the DH-2 boarded the workbench. In the end, Peddinghaus Decals helped out and made the serial number for me.

 

My replica turned out to be a nice model, but not a masterpiece - therefore not suitable for macro or contests. See for yourself:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy modeling!

 

Cheers,

Frank

Edited July 18, 2022 by Bughunter
Better quality picture

[Bughunter]

Some more detail pictures ...

 

Cockpit:

 

 

 

Tail skid made of real wood and metal:

 

The conversion struts:

 

My wooden ones:

 

I tried to replicate the complicated undercarriage.

A oil tank scratched, painted in copper.

With rotary engine:

[Luka]

Great rendition of a lesser known variant of this plane! I didn't know about this one. And a skilful build to boot too! 

[Britman]

Beautifully hideous! Well done.

 

Keith

[RMCS]

Wow

[Dric]

Very impressive, personal add-ons give life to your model. It's a great job.

[pheonix]

Another gem from your bench Frank. I too was unaware of this type until you brought it to my attention - and your customised additions have turned a basic model into another masterpiece. Just brilliant.

 

P

[Bughunter]

Thank you very much for your feedback and all the likes!

 

Today I tried a new b/w picture with view, angle and light of the known ref pic:

 

Original (source media.iwm.org.uk)

Fake:

 

And again in color:

 

 

Cheers,

Frank

[noelh]

Very impressive model of an aeroplane I  never heard of. Unsurprisingly as it looks like it's already  crashed without ever leaving the ground. Definitely falls into 'What were they thinking?' category. 

 

Another rare sight is your 1 cent coin. Haven't seen one in months. The smallest in circulation here is the 5 cent.😀

[Wulfman]

Beautiful rendition of a very strange aircraft !

 

Wulfman

[Epeeman]

Simply outstanding (as all yours are) workmanship, Frank -

 

But what an odd looking machine it created in triplane format ...........

 

Regards

 

Dave

 

 

[Bughunter]

Thank you very much!

 

6 hours ago, noelh said:

Unsurprisingly as it looks like it's already  crashed without ever leaving the ground. Definitely falls into 'What were they thinking?' category. 

Interestingly this was built and tested as 3 or 4 machines, mostly in France, but this one in GB.

There are more to come! I will do also a Nieuport 10 as Triplane. There is a book "The Fighting Triplanes" in my library with more interesting types.

 

6 hours ago, noelh said:

Another rare sight is your 1 cent coin. Haven't seen one in months. The smallest in circulation here is the 5 cent.

In Germany are still those x.99€ prices, so the Cents are still in use. And for reference: yes, 1 Cent is smaller compared to 2 Cent and 5 Cent

 

 

5 hours ago, Epeeman said:

Simply outstanding (as all yours are) workmanship, Frank -

Thank you Dave, what a praise!

 

Cheers,

Frank