Eduard 1/48 Flyboys Nieuport 17

Kit: 1125
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Eduard
Price: $22.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 62 parts, decals
Pros: Great decals; nice interior detail; accurate shapes
Cons: Interior detail hard to see on finished model

The movie "Flyboys" is roughly based on the story of the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of American pilots flying for the French before America entered World War I. With the Nieuport 17 as the featured aircraft, the movie is well worth seeing.

Eduard's well-done 1/48 scale Nieuport 17 kit, released a few years ago, has been rereleased as a "Weekend Edition" kit with the same plastic parts as the Flyboys version. The Flyboys kit comprises 62 well-molded tan plastic parts and a clear-plastic windscreen. No masks or photoetched-metal parts are included. The interior is detailed but difficult to see in the completed model.

The eight-page instruction folder is easy to follow but there is an error - the British telescopic gunsight (part No. B22) was not used on these aircraft. A separate full-color folder gives four views of each aircraft, representing the planes flown by the film's characters.

The decals are as good as any I have ever used! Two aircraft use the Seminole Indian head markings, the other two the Sioux Indian head markings.

The prop and motor shaft (part No. B3) needs a collar added before joining the fuselage halves to prevent wobbling. I glued the lower wing to the completed fuselage, then sprayed all the aluminum-colored parts with Hawkeye's Talon aluminum acrylic. This gave a nice finish to which decals could be directly applied. Then I oversprayed with Polly Scale satin clear.

I added the Vickers machine gun and adjoining parts as well as the windscreen to the fuselage before the cabane struts. The upper wing and interplane struts were then added and alignment checked; no jig was needed. The trickiest part of the whole model is adding the tiny control horns to the tail surfaces, then adding control wires to them. I used fine-gauge brass wire. I had to cut a diagonal hole in the stabilizer (marked on the part) for passage of the upper lines.

The rigging between the wings was planned ahead; I used Aeroclub silver elastic material from Roll Models. Where needed, anchors of twisted fine-gauge copper wire eyes were glued into predrilled holes. Then I passed the lines through the eyes and tied them with a hemostat. Steel wire was used for the X between the landing-gear legs.

The model is accurate in dimension and contour. Even the asymmetrical, elongated bulge on the port side of the front fuselage is accurately represented. The plane is a delight to build - even less-experienced biplane modelers can easily tackle this one. I spent about 25 hours on it, but you could cut some corners and do it in much less time. With these decals and any good aluminum paint, you can't help but turn out a very colorful model to remind you of your favorite flier in "Flyboys."

- Dr. Bill Funcke