Morane-Saulnier MS.406

[Old Man]

Having got stuck in an elaborate scratch-build, I set looking about for something fresh.

 

One thing I came across was this:

 

 

It's been sitting there nigh on six years, and there is really not that much left to do. So I thought I'd at least put down a marker here....

 

Intended subject is an early production machine in Algeria.

 

Buzco was a model racer company that distributed Heller kits here in the U.S.

[Mjwomack]

3 hours ago, Old Man said:

I set looking about for something fresh.

 

One thing I came across was this:

Nope! Absolutely never ever happened to me whatsoever. The difference is I don't get stuck in complicated scratch builds because I never attempt them.

Thanks for explaining about Buzco.

[jean]

Hi,

I can think of worse kits to finish in a KUTA GB.

The Heller 406 is rather basic, but it does look like a 406.

Early model in Algeria? One of the all khaki-colored airframes?

 

Good luck.

 

JR

[Old Man]

1 hour ago, jean said:

Hi,

I can think of worse kits to finish in a KUTA GB.

The Heller 406 is rather basic, but it does look like a 406.

Early model in Algeria? One of the all khaki-colored airframes?

 

Good luck.

 

JR

 

I like Heller kits. They may not always get shape and internal proportions just right, but they are engineered better than just about anything else, and a treat to assemble. One thing they get right, whether on purpose or no, which modern kits fail at, is that a good deal of panel and surface detail ought to be raised, not engraved. You have to add it back sometimes to get things right:

 

 

 

This an RS kit I did not long ago.

 

On those very early ones, the wavy line is a challenge, I expect that's part of why this found a niche in the cabinet. I sort of owe the forum, as I got a great deal of help when I took this up at first:

 

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Old Man

[Old Man]

On 2/4/2023 at 1:27 AM, Mjwomack said:

Nope! Absolutely never ever happened to me whatsoever. The difference is I don't get stuck in complicated scratch builds because I never attempt them.

Thanks for explaining about Buzco.

 

I got curious about it, because inside the box was pure Heller, even the instructions. The basic business was accessories to soup-up electric race cars, a long past episode of juvenile mania, hence 'Buzz Company'.

 

Scratchbuilding is more nerve than skill. You can do it....

[Old Man]

Have the wavy demarcation pretty well in hand...

 

 

 

Several passes with paint thinned nearly to a wash on a small brush. I expect I'll find little touchings-up as I do other things, but I am happy enough to be moving on to giving 'Le premier avion de chasse au monde" its upper color. Undersurface was already done. The 'khaki' on the fuselage at present is just off-loaded excess paint from the demarcation runs.

[Old Man]

Got the color on the upper surfaces:

 

 

Needed decals are layed out, should be in hand by next weekend.

 

This is the intended subject:

 

[Grandboof]

Comming along well 

Martin H

[AdrianMF]

It's becoming quite a well-represented subject - I was surprised when I had a look at scalemates how many injection kits there are, let alone the re-boxes.

 

I have built some other Heller kits and agree with your views on them. For the MS 406 I have only seen the FROG kit, which was so crude it went straight to work as a paint mule, and the Hobbyboss kit, which was a really nice build.

 

Your paint job is looking good and I like the scheme too. Looking forward to seeing it getting finished and in the gallery!

 

I don't understand what is going on with the over-wing markings in the photograph though - is the blue dot so pale that it's just not showing up?

 

Regards,

Adrian

[jean]

6 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

 

 

I don't understand what is going on with the over-wing markings in the photograph though - is the blue dot so pale that it's just not showing up?

 

Hi Adrian,

the top roundels on the MS 406 became very small at one stage (which I never liked, but nobody asked me).

With the reflection of the sun, the pale blue becomes so over-exposed as to appear white. But it is there.

For me, the bigger the roundels the better!

 

JR

[Old Man]

9 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

It's becoming quite a well-represented subject - I was surprised when I had a look at scalemates how many injection kits there are, let alone the re-boxes.

 

I have built some other Heller kits and agree with your views on them. For the MS 406 I have only seen the FROG kit, which was so crude it went straight to work as a paint mule, and the Hobbyboss kit, which was a really nice build.

 

Your paint job is looking good and I like the scheme too. Looking forward to seeing it getting finished and in the gallery!

 

I don't understand what is going on with the over-wing markings in the photograph though - is the blue dot so pale that it's just not showing up?

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

Jean nailed it. I thought you noticed the dots. I didn't notice till I saw the picture I'd got a couple of drops of the undersurface blue on the starboard wing. It was going to get another, slightly more yellow coat anyway, I confess I'm mixing to match my old PollyScale 'French Khaki' bottle.

 

I saw the Frog 406 before I saw the Heller. I'd no idea the dumpy thing existed. I used one recently to experiment with adding raised applique (groove, settle in bit of rod/stretched sprue, hit with Xtra-Thin) before the RS one done above. I'm glad its getting coverage, it's an important machine, if not highly regarded. Most of its problem was it was underpowered, the Swiss and Finns gave theirs another couple hundred horsepower and got much improved performance. I've another RS 406 I mean to do as a Vichy in French Indo-China.

[Old Man]

3 hours ago, jean said:

Hi Adrian,

the top roundels on the MS 406 became very small at one stage (which I never liked, but nobody asked me).

With the reflection of the sun, the pale blue becomes so over-exposed as to appear white. But it is there.

For me, the bigger the roundels the better!

 

JR

 

 

Thank you, Jean. The little roundels are going to have to be home-made, along with squadron marking and the rest. Making the picture worse, the red outer ring disappears into the drab uppersurface, so the pale dot is about all that catches the eye.

[jean]

Hi Old Man,

 

it looks like the photo was taken using an orthochromatic film, hence the red is pretty much black and the blue is at the other end of the scale, especially if subjected to bright sunshine.

The 30 cm diameter roundels are likely going to be fun to make and the graphism of the white 3 on the rudder is unusual.

The circle containing the 3 and the bottom half of the triangle marking are blue, pretty much like the roundels' center. 

The roundels underneath the wings will be large ones.

There is likely as well a large alpha numeric white code stretching under both wings. You will have to forget about it or make up a fictitious one by looking at other codes.

 

I agree with you and Adrian that the antediluvian Frog MS 406 is a pale caricature of the real thing, but to me it is a fossil worth keeping. This was all there was back in the day and people had to make do with it.

A couple of years ago I built one and invested as much TLC as I could, even if it was built OOB. There is a lot to be said for Classic Plastic models, and I enjoy looking at mine throning on its art deco Frog stand.

 

Great build and good luck with the home-made decals.

JR

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by jean

[Old Man]

Thanks, Jean.

 

The matricule of this one was N342. In the link up above requesting information (years ago) Mr. Maas of Buffalo renown read me the table, this was the first of the new number series. The first 30 (including 405 examples) ran N251 to N280, then at No. 31, it started again with N342.

 

The little roundels will be homemade, with a bit of green outline to be safe in cutting  it out. Most of the rest will home-made, too. Wife is a positive witch at that sort of thing.

[Old Man]

I regret being unable to finish this one, Gentlemen.

 

We have had some medical distractions. All is turning out well, but wife runs the decal shop here, and it's closed a while longer.

 

Having entered this here i view as a matter of honor, and the thing will be completed as soon as possible.

[Old Man]

Continuing this with a WIP thread upstairs in Aircraft Modelling. By now it's a point d.honneur to finish the thing....

 

 

[Mjwomack]

On 3/30/2023 at 9:53 PM, Old Man said:

Continuing this with a WIP thread upstairs in Aircraft Modelling. By now it's a point d.honneur to finish the thing....

 

 

Ooh a reverse KUTA- that's got to be a first. Thanks for the link, for a plane I have no interest in (don't tell @jean) I'm fascinated by this build; I tihnk it was the discussion of the roundels that hooked me. Yes I know I really, really should get out more.

[AaCee26]

On 2/15/2023 at 9:38 PM, Old Man said:

I saw the Frog 406 before I saw the Heller.

Hi all,

 

Frog was considered terrible bad even when it was first released. A local aviation magazine model columnist suggested to fill the front fuselage with butty and reshape it...

 

Heller was likely first Heller kit I have and it made a deep impression with the surface detailing.

 

Wishing this doesn't disturb you but might be interesting to someone:Later I built several of them widening the front fuselage to get room for the engine, replacing windscreen and movin the fin/rudder hinge line a bit forward and re-shaping the trailing edge. IIRC also lower part of the rudder was a bit narrow without a small extension. Belly between the wing is too flat but is it worth the trouble?

 

As Hasegaw, Specil Hobby, Azur and RS-Models are easily available I won't go that route any more.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee 

[Old Man]

1 hour ago, AaCee26 said:

Hi all,

 

Frog was considered terrible bad even when it was first released. A local aviation magazine model columnist suggested to fill the front fuselage with butty and reshape it...

 

Heller was likely first Heller kit I have and it made a deep impression with the surface detailing.

 

Wishing this doesn't disturb you but might be interesting to someone:Later I built several of them widening the front fuselage to get room for the engine, replacing windscreen and movin the fin/rudder hinge line a bit forward and re-shaping the trailing edge. IIRC also lower part of the rudder was a bit narrow without a small extension. Belly between the wing is too flat but is it worth the trouble?

 

As Hasegaw, Specil Hobby, Azur and RS-Models are easily available I won't go that route any more.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee 

 

 

I did bulk up the belly there a bit on this, Heller often slims their subjects down somewhat. Nothing about the width of the nose jumped out at me. When I bought this, Heller was still what there was on the subject, and I don't think the new ones were around when I began to build it. It's been interesting to compare it to the RS kit I built recently. I had to do horrid things to the Heller undercarriage to get the same set, and certainly the chord at the wing root on the Heller is greater than on the newer kit. It does meet 'looks like one to me' standards, though I'm sure someone greatly interested in the type could find all sorts of things off about it.

[Graham Boak]

Not having enough width in the nose to get the engine in was completely standard from just about everyone "way back when" until maybe the 90s.  (Monogram P-51B the honourable exception.)  Even into the new century there were examples not getting the message, (Airfix Hurricane IIC, for one, and how many  people realise just how wide the bottom of a Bf.109 is?  I was astonished the first photo I saw with the underside cowling hanging down - and to see it on the real "Black 6".  At least the MS.406 (real thing) makes it absolutely clear by its shape.

[AaCee26]

On 4/2/2023 at 4:03 PM, Old Man said:

 

 

I did bulk up the belly there a bit on this, Heller often slims their subjects down somewhat. Nothing about the width of the nose jumped out at me. When I bought this, Heller was still what there was on the subject, and I don't think the new ones were around when I began to build it. It's been interesting to compare it to the RS kit I built recently. I had to do horrid things to the Heller undercarriage to get the same set, and certainly the chord at the wing root on the Heller is greater than on the newer kit. It does meet 'looks like one to me' standards, though I'm sure someone greatly interested in the type could find all sorts of things off about it.

Hi OM,

 

As you say it depends on how well one knows the subject. For some reason I have always had a soft spot for the type. During last 40 years or so I have built about 10 Moranes. Starting with Frog, then many times Heller including three or four different ways to try to convert it to the Mörkö, later a couple of Hasegawas with finally getting a Mörkö done with a conversion kit, a HobbyBoss utilizing estra parts from RS and Azur...

 

On 4/2/2023 at 4:29 PM, Graham Boak said:

Not having enough width in the nose to get the engine in was completely standard from just about everyone "way back when" until maybe the 90s.  (Monogram P-51B the honourable exception.)

 

Frog Morane would take it and there are still room for more... Only thoing they got right just beeing so bad overall...

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee.