Category: French aircraft
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Caudron C-445 – Part Four – Hi Yo Silver?
We have a problem, Kimo-sabe. Which silver? There are more choices in my paint rack than I care to admit. I see several super-lacquer from GSI Creos that claim to replicate stainless steel, iron, super silver, and titanium. The regular line has fine silver, silver, and shine silver. I have mixed a custom silver-grey. Some…
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Caudron C-445 – Part Three – The Jig Is Up
And as Lou Gosset might have it – ” and running…”. This was the first time that then new Slovakian jigs got their real trial. The Caudron was a perfect size for the WW2 pattern – though there were more adjustments to make on the rack than you’d think. The wing clamps were a little…
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Caudron C-445 – Part Two – The Expensive Seats
Well, that decided it. The interior of the Caudron C-445 shows it to be an officer’s toy – not a hospital transport. There are six seats in it – two for the pilots, one for the radio operator in the front. One for the secretary and one for the aide de camp in the back.…
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Caudron C-445 – Part One – The Metro Trawl
I don’t know whether Metro Hobbies in Melbourne lie in wait for me or if it’s the other way round. As the flow of money goes east and the flow of plastic comes west, it doesn’t really matter. I tend to shop in three modes: Cheap, Curious, and Canadian. Some say that this is tautology,…
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Nieuport 28 – Part One – The French Connection
The discovery of yet another neglected old Revell WW1 kit for a very small price led to the the determination to build ’em all. That led to the internet search to find out how many of them there were…and Revell was very prolific in the 70’s with these little models. I have a couple more…
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SPAD XIII – Part Four – Rickenbacker’s Ride
The historic enthusiasts of WW1 can make of Eddy Rickenbacker what they will. His 22 aerial victories and 4 balloons downed are not the numbers that rival other aces, but he survived till the 1970’s and that was a definite win for him. The SPAD appears from other accounts not to have had quite the…
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Curtiss SBC-4 – Part Three – The Bad Bargains
The French paid through the nose for the Curtiss SBC-4 Helldivers. They were compelled to pay in gold bullion hauled to the USA by the aircraft carrier BÉARN, then forced to load them in Nova Scotia after they were towed over the international border, then forced to abandon them in the West Indies when metropolitan…
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Curtiss SBC-4 – Part Two – In Praise Of Heller
It is unfashionable in the British Commonwealth to speak well of the French. The old prejudices born of war and ambition stretch back as far as William the Conqueror and have been topped up and re-aligned every century since then. It goes the other way, of course – the French despise the English nearly as…
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North American F-100 – Part Four – When NATO Meant France As Well
And the French needed American aircraft to fulfil their own defence needs. A long time ago… Long enough to be before the Area Rule in aircraft design – allowing the designers of the Super Sabre a big fuselage space in the mid-rear for the engine. A contemporary of Soviet fighters and interceptors of similar bulk.…
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Morane-Saulnier MS 500 – Part Four – Jiminy!
The Triumph Of The Modest yet again! A vintage Airfix kit – and not even a re-issue at that – and it’s turned out beautifully. I haven’t built a Fieseler-based plane before so I have none of the other makes to compare this to. Nevertheless, I am very pleased with the result. If I can…
The Little World 