*(101-100) NIEUPORT 11, 1967
-2322-p.jpg?v=CD9627BA-6D5E-4490-871D-474BBA165E9A)
-2322-p.jpg?v=32F1D7F4-36F5-4A25-8E87-D670C96F97A7)
-2322-p.jpg?v=F5B96279-9EAA-46FB-A6F2-141EF51ACB34)
AURORA KIT NO.101-69-FRENCH NIEUPORT 11
Accurate in outline but with a few scale anomalies across its 37 parts, this mint example of an early issue Aurora Nieuport 11 is moulded in olive and black. Many smaller items remain on their respective runners and all are bagged for extra protection. As befits most plastic WWI aeroplane kits of this vintage, certain parts benefit from refinement, whilst embossed roundels and rudder stripes are a constant reminder of an arcane practice. These aircraft were often used for the noble art of 'Balloon Busting' employing electrically-fired Le Prieur rockets from their interplane 'Vee' struts. Aurora provide eight of these weapons, albeit somewhat over-scale, that nevertheless provide a dramatic final touch. Spare cowling, rotary engine and airscrew from another example are included.
*CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS!
THIS mint boxed example of Aurora's Nieuport 11,the first French subject in their WWI series, was one of the more accurate of the earliest releases. Comparison with more recently available scale drawings reveals basically accurate outlines that will require minimal attention. Wing and tail-plane under-surfaces lack rib detail-a common trait with these early kits-and feature typical heavily-embossed transfer positions that need dealing with. Aurora were not alone in perpetuating this feature: Artiplast; Hawk; Marusan; Merit,and later Testors, were equally guilty of leaving their marks.Our kit is moulded in olive and black with all original 37 parts accounted for.Some of these are heavily-moulded and will benefit from refinements viz: reducing cockpit padding and deletion of 'solid' windscreen, plus thinning of the cowling lip,wings and tail-plane surfaces. Cockpit detail comprises a floor,seat,control column and instrument panel for the pilot figure, whilst the customary mechanic with ground panel is always welcome. Among the black parts are the upper wing Lewis gun on a simple mounting and eight somewhat over-scale Le Prieur rockets. The instructions show them in perfectly-aligned stacks,whereas in reality they followed the sloped angle of the leading 'Vee' strut although it's simple enough to reposition them. The modest transfer sheet presents six French cocarde with full rudder stripes bearing serial N1354 and an Indian head fuselage emblem representative of the Lafayette Escadrille.
*EXTRAS! Our Bebe contains a small number of duplicate parts from Aurora's re-issued 754: spare rotary; airscrew and a cowling helpfully moulded for you in silver plastic! These sealed in separate polythene bags as are all other parts,some of which remain on their runners...
Nieuport notes: Nieuport Fighters-A WINDSOCK DATAFILE Special by JM Bruce, published by Albatros in October 1993 contains many photos of the Types 11 and 16 along with 1:48 scale drawings and half a dozen colour profiles. See also Nieuport Flyers of the Lafayette by Jon Guttman published by Albatros in 2023 which carries multiple colour profiles and photos of many 'Baby' Nieuports flown by American volunteer pilots. Both titles are available from this store in very limited numbers-please see links below.
