The Imperial Russian Air Service Императорскій военно-воздушный флотъ Nieuport 17 XVII C.1 s/n 4187 flown with the 22 KAO Корпуснои Авиационный Отряд (air detachment organic to an army corps) in September 1917 just before the revolution. This is the Eduard limited edition 1:48 scale kit #1106 with a choice of four decal sets.
Wiki says: The Nieuport 17 XVII C.1 was a French sesquiplane (one and a half wings) fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during The Great War (1914-1918). An improvement over earlier versions and better adapted to the more powerful engine. Aside from early examples, it had the new Alkan-Hamy synchronization gear, permitting the use of a fuselage-mounted synchronised Vickers gun firing through the propeller arc. At the time of its introduction in March 1916, the type's outstanding manoeuvrability and excellent rate of climb gave it a significant advantage over fighters on both sides and was described as "the best pursuit plane of the day". The Imperial Russian Air Service operated large numbers of Nieuports of all types. Being largely reliant on aircraft procured directly from France, there was pressure within Russia to establish the domestic manufacture of fighters and the type was produced under licence by Завод «Дукс» (Dux) bicycle and automobile factory (Завод #1; later the Polikarpov design bureau). Inexperience and the limited availability of trained personnel to assist, and poor quality raw materials, limited quality and quantity. Many of these were operated on the Eastern Front against the Imperial German air force, and during the Russian Civil Wars. Surviving aircraft were divided between the new Russian government, and the "White" Czarist Russians during the brutal Civil War. Russian Nieuport aces include Alexander Kazakov, who flew the type against the Germans and later fought for Churchill against the Russian government during the civil war.
Length: 5.80 m
Wingspan: 8.16 m
Powerplant: 1 × Le Rhône 9Ja 9-cylinder rotary engine, 82 kW
Maximum speed: 170 km/h
Endurance: 1.75 hours
Service ceiling: 5300 m
Never has a kit caused me this much agony. Near the end of the build I crushed the model while holding pressure on the wings to allow the CA glue to set on the struts. This was also my first attempt at rigging, but only the tail section is rigged. Decals sit nicely on a coat of Future floor wax. There are about 25 photo etch parts in the build; almost all of them tiny and easy to lose. The masks provided were of very poor quality. Basic colour is Vallejo acrylic aged white.
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| Nieuport 17 XVII, 22 KAO , Sept 1917 |
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| attempting some tail rigging with stretched sprue |
