Nieuport Ni-11 Bebe "Italian Aces"

Published on
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.05
Product / Stock #
KPM0450
Company: KP Models
Provided by: KP Models

When the Nieuport 11 arrived at the front in 1916, it signaled the end of the Fokker Eindecker’s dominance. This was mainly due to the overwhelming numbers of Ni 11 produced. The Italians built these aircraft under license and a number of Italian pilots became aces in them. This boxing provides decals for three; Francesco Baracca (34 victories), Fulco Ruffo di Calabria (20 victories), and Alvaro Leonardi (8 victories).

The kit is packaged in an end-open box with artwork depicting Leonardi’s Nieuport. A color finishing guide on the back of the box gives paint color references and decal placement. The kit parts are molded in gray plastic with a single sheet instruction guide and a small decal sheet. Surface details are a bit heavy for the scale, especially the fabric effect on the flying surfaces. Two machine gun options are also included.

Construction starts with the cockpit, which includes a seat, control stick, floor, and instrument panel. The lower wing is one piece, as are all the flying surfaces. It’s been a while since I’ve tackled a 1/72 scale biplane, so I decided to pre-assemble the airframe and paint it afterward. I pre-drilled some holes to accept E Z line rigging later and then started fitting things together. The outer spars were set first and l realized that the cabane struts were not going to properly align the wings if used. Stretched sprue was used to replace them.

Once the basic airframe was built, I sprayed it with Aqueous Silver. All the colors used were acrylic paints because I wanted to oil wash the plane later. The red, green, and linen colors were mixed and brush painted on the wing undersides. Once the airframe was painted, the struts and other details were picked out with a brush. The aircraft was given a wash of burnt umber mixed with mineral spirits. The two remaining parts both needed adjustments. The prop hole was not centered on the hub, so I glued some plastic rod into it and re-drilled it. The machine gun mount was not correct for the Italian Nieuport, so it was also made from stretched sprue.

Only two decals were needed for the serial numbers on this aircraft. Check the sheet before you use it. My sample had the image printed half off the backing film. I coated it with Microscale Liquid Decal Film, and it worked out fine. The rigging was accomplished with E Z Line. The box art and a diagram in the instructions made it easy to figure out where the rigging needed to go.

KP models have always required a bit of effort to finish, and that was the case with this kit. That said, it’s been my experience that biplanes in this scale are not easy builds to begin with. You will need some modeling experience to make this one fit the way it should. Overall, this kit builds up into a nice model.

Thanks to KP for the review sample and to the IPMS Review Corps for sharing it with me.

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