Morane Saulnier Typ N WIP
I had to glue the cockpit frame while it was in the fuselage to make sure it aligned properly. The fuselage halves have no locating pins.
The printed instructions have very thick outlines and I found them hard to follow.
I 3d printed some replacement wheels as the kit ones were too thick.
First time trying to paint woodgrain with oil paints on the seat.
The dials were uncut plastic film instead of decals, it was difficult to cut them out and they were black instead of white like what they should be.
The frame was painted with Ammo Mig light gull gray, while the back part was painted with Mr Color C45 Sail Color over brown primer, which will also be used for the fuselage. The leather parts are Tamiya Nato Bown XF68. The brass dials are A-Stand/Alclad Pale Gold over gloss grey primer.
The resin engine had a lot of imperfections.
I had to glue each rod individually by cutting them off from the central bit as they did not align.
I had to superglue each plastic arm here individually as it wasn't aligned with the cylinders.
I painted the engine overall in alclad polished aluminium, then detail painted the copper parts with Vallejo Metal Gold Copper
I wasn't able to fully cleanup the rear, but very little of it is visible anyway.
Before and after cleanup of the wing, every single part of this kit needed heavy cleanup.
I test fitted the undercarriage as it had to be assembled from multiple parts and I decided to paint it separately to make masking the fuselage easier.
It's hard to see but I added brass rod inserts to the elevator to make sure they were stable, the contact point is very small on these.
I had to enlargen the hole here to be able to fit the deflector holder that's in the background.
These deflector pieces were resin and I didn't realize they had locating pins on the casting block side, so one of the pieces has lost most of its locating pin
I broke this part in two, so I had to superglue it back together.
The plastic on this kit has random raised spots, this piece has already been cleaned up but there is a small spot visible at the top.
The kit doesn't come with the Morane Saulnier logo on the cowling so I attached the aftermarket PE to it.
This rod that's part of the machine gun mount broke as I was trying to clean it up.
Because the other rod broke, I used 0.8mm brass rod(same size as the plastic parts) to replace them.
The machine gun barrel broke when I dropped it, I guess the plastic is a bit fragile.
I filled the seam and cleaned it up, but the barel ended up breaking again after lightly hitting the floor
I replaced the barrel with a brass rod. I probably can't drill a hole for the barrel here, but the kit machine gun didn't have one either.
One of the ignition arms(?) broke off when I was handling it and I couldn't find it. I put that cylinder on the side so it's less noticeable. I hope that because of the large propeller hub it won't be too bad.
I'll paint this top cowling that has the machinegun separately from the body, it seems to fit well without any glue.
I got some of these parts primed, the propeller is a separate subassembly that will be attached last. The propeller is probably the only big resin part in this kit that looks good without major cleanup, but it did have two holes which I think are air bubbles that I needed to fill.
The fuselage halves both had ejection pin marks or something else on the outside for some reason, they left indents that had to be filled here. This is after sanding and filling them in, they were extremely noticeable without any cleanup.
I managed to find the missing rod, I hope none of them fall off during the masking/painting phase as I'll have to mask this part off.
Using this aircraft painting stand I dry fitted the wings to the fuselage, this should hold them in place as the glue dries.
The wings are meant to be perfectly level with each other from what I see, there is no dihedral angle to worry about.
The Gaspatch Models Hotchkiss looks very nice but isn't a drop in replacement
I had to widen the gap for the mg
There's a little piece poking out of the Mg preventing it from being able to go far enough forward.
Because it can't go far enough forward, the cip doesn't fit in the kit PE holders that seem to be narrower than the real ones.
I removed the piece poking out.
The MG now easily fits, it should look much better than the kit version after painting
Comments
10 10 May, 21:39
megagnome
I started this model a few months ago, but put it on pause after getting frustrated with the build.
I started this model a few months ago, but put it on pause after getting frustrated with the build.
10 May, 22:02
cecil
Nice work! I built this model a couple of years ago and it was challenging but fun. My only suggestion is to make sure you add some additional anchor points before assembling the wings to the fuselage…it will make your life a lot easier 🙂
Nice work! I built this model a couple of years ago and it was challenging but fun. My only suggestion is to make sure you add some additional anchor points before assembling the wings to the fuselage…it will make your life a lot easier 🙂
13 May, 13:39
megagnome
Thank you! I took a look at your build, I see you attached the wings after painting them, I was thinking of gluing them on before to make sure they hold up as they are definitely very heavy, but it makes painting the body a bit harder. I think my least favorite part so far has been how thick the molding lines were, especially on the wings. Did you add any supports to the elevators? They seem like they will struggle to hold up without some brass rod inserts.
Thank you! I took a look at your build, I see you attached the wings after painting them, I was thinking of gluing them on before to make sure they hold up as they are definitely very heavy, but it makes painting the body a bit harder. I think my least favorite part so far has been how thick the molding lines were, especially on the wings. Did you add any supports to the elevators? They seem like they will struggle to hold up without some brass rod inserts.
13 May, 13:55
cecil
Yes…the wings are very heavy and the moulding lines problematic. Mine have had to be reattached a few times, so I'll be interested to see how you fix them to the fuselage… the elevators are also fragile and the styrene is quite soft, so a brass insert is highly recommended! I didn't do it on mine and the elevators droop slightly 😕. Anyway…keep me posted on your build!
Yes…the wings are very heavy and the moulding lines problematic. Mine have had to be reattached a few times, so I'll be interested to see how you fix them to the fuselage… the elevators are also fragile and the styrene is quite soft, so a brass insert is highly recommended! I didn't do it on mine and the elevators droop slightly 😕. Anyway…keep me posted on your build!
14 May, 11:02
megagnome
I finished cleaning up most of the pieces, there are only 50 pieces or so in this kit but every single one requires major cleanup and test fitting. The wings don't/shouldnt sit flush with the fuselage at the rear, so I will probably add a brass rod at the front and in the middle. I think it might also work if I use a mix of plastic cement and CA glue without brass rods, but I'd be worried about the CA glue snapping under the weight.
I finished cleaning up most of the pieces, there are only 50 pieces or so in this kit but every single one requires major cleanup and test fitting. The wings don't/shouldnt sit flush with the fuselage at the rear, so I will probably add a brass rod at the front and in the middle. I think it might also work if I use a mix of plastic cement and CA glue without brass rods, but I'd be worried about the CA glue snapping under the weight.
25 May, 10:53
megagnome
I've had big issues with this machine gun as I broke the barrel and the machine gun lacks detail including the iron sights for some reason. Looking at pictures it seems like Hotchkiss M 1909 (GasPatch Models 13-32057, 1:32) might work as a replacement, it seems to come with both a clip and a drum.
I've had big issues with this machine gun as I broke the barrel and the machine gun lacks detail including the iron sights for some reason. Looking at pictures it seems like Hotchkiss M 1909 (GasPatch Models 13-32057, 1:32) might work as a replacement, it seems to come with both a clip and a drum.
25 May, 13:40
megagnome
I had to take a break due to moving house, I can probably start painting the fuselage soon, I just need to mask off the cockpit and engine areas and attach the wings.
I had to take a break due to moving house, I can probably start painting the fuselage soon, I just need to mask off the cockpit and engine areas and attach the wings.
4 June, 15:55