Nieuport 17
Weekend Edition

Eduard, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

Eduard's 1/72 scale Nieuport 17 Weekend Edition is available online from Squadron.com
 

Eduard’s latest addition to their range of “Weekend Edition” kits is the popular Nieuport 17.

These packages are to allow the modeller a quick and easy build at an affordable price. As such, there are none of the additional photo-etched parts found in earlier releases and the decal sheet is limited to a single subject.

Inside the box we find 42 tan coloured plastic parts and a single clear item for the windscreen.

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Thumbnail panels:

To check the contents for accuracy, Ian Stair’s general arrangement drawings were used. These can be found in the Windsock Datafile Special on “Nieuport Fighters”. Once cleaned up, the parts were found to be an excellent match.

Relatively speaking, there was not a lot in the cockpit of these aircraft and this is reflected in the kit. Some detail is moulded to the inside of the fuselage halves and here we add the supplied seat, control column, floor and rear screen.

The single piece wings greatly ease the assembly process.  Two different types are catered for so one can be resigned to the spares box. For the option presented in this offering we use the example that features a transparent Cellon centre panel. The trailing edges of the flying surfaces are exceptionally thin and the rib representation is some of the subtlest you will see.

With the fuselage halves together it isn’t long before one is at the painting stage. Everything fits with precision and the kit really does live up to its “Weekend Edition” status. The engine is a single piece affair and the sprues provide a choice of two sets of induction pipes.

Make sure you choose part A8 for the 110hp rotary, not A12 as per the instructions; otherwise the tubes will be attached to the cylinders from the wrong side. The latter is to replicate the 80hp Le Rhone engine which had the pipes connected to the front and was used on earlier Nieuport fighters.

Also note that photos suggest the two part cowling labeled A11 on the sprue is more appropriate than the indicated A8.

Thanks to the positive location points of the struts, the top wing lines up perfectly. All other details fall easily into place and in no time at all it’s time to decal.

A single option is provided and this is for the mount of Georges Guynemer. He flew many similarly adorned aircraft, the subject here being S.1530.

The markings were found to be in perfect register and also exhibited the necessary thin carrier film.
The chosen colour shades on my example were spot-on and the density also looked good. Controversy is never far away when it comes to WWI aircraft colours and this machine is no exception.

Some sources suggest a black pennant for the rear deck and a combination of colours for Escadrille N.3’s stork emblem. In this case Eduard has chosen to use the all-red interpretation on both accounts.

Guynemer scored a total of 53 victories with another 35 listed as probables. He was lost in action on September 11, 1917.

This small scale Nieuport 17 is one of Eduard’s best.

It successfully captures the finesse of the original and does so with a minimum of parts. Assembly is straight forward and the excellent fit of parts allows the kit to live up to it’s calling of a “Weekend Edition” release.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text Copyright © 2009 by Rob Baumgartner
Page Created 15 November, 2009
Last updated 15 November, 2009

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