The Nieuport 17 was one of many versions of this famous WWI French fighter. Very successful, the Nieuport is one of the more popular modeling subjects of WWI aviation.
For this kit, I wanted to build something quick and out-of-the-box; no resin, photo-etch, scratch building, etc. Just the plastic in the box and whatever glue and paint was needed. I used old school lacquer Floquil Old Silver for the fuselage and wings to replicate the painted linen, Alcad metallizer for the spinner and cowling (that stuff is beautiful, can’t wait to use it again), and Vallejo acrylics for everything else.
Paints Used
“Old School” Floquil lacquer Old Silver for the majority of the body
Alcad Airframe Silver for cowl and spinner
Various Vallejo paints for wood effects, cockpit, tires, etc.
Marketed as a simplified “Weekend Project”, this boxing is meant to be built quickly and easily. Mostly that’s true, but there are problems with the instructions, Eduard included instructions for one kit and decals for a different kit pictured on the box cover. Once I figured this out, I did some searching and Paul Thompson of Internet Modeler was good enough to provided me with the correct instructions for this boxing.
One issue encountered the build was self-inflicted: I tried to fix a warp in the horizontal stabilizer with boiling water and warped the thing beyond use. Ultimately, I scratch built a replacement from sheet styrene. With the issues above, and an incorrect engine for the aircraft depicted (more of that “instructions don’t match the plastic” problem) I decided to just finish the kit as best as I could.
I did not fully rig the model, left off the oversized control horns, and a few of the struts are missing as they did not fit properly. But for my first aircraft kit completed in 19 years, and my first WWI aircraft kit ever, it didn’t turn out too bad.
In-progress shots taken with Canon SD700is. Completed model photos taken with Canon 400D (Rebel Xti) with hot shoe flash and 50mm fixed lens.
