1:48 MERIT FRENCH NIEUPORT (4725)
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THE ROCKETEER!
THIS is Merit's 1956 Nieuport 11 a pirate copy of Aurora's original Bebe and contains 35 parts moulded in a deep beige. Several parts-wings and fuselage-are slightly overscale whilst most others are true 1:48 just like the American original. Equipped with eight strut-mounted Le Prieur rockets, the kit builds into a presentable miniature as most all major outlines are accurate and only needs minor adjustment. Apart from the careworn box, our example is in very good condition and everything is enclosed in the original paper/cellophane sheath with a replacement central Vee strut to replace the severed part. This, and other loose parts, have been bagged up to prevent loss. Decals are the same as Aurora's-N1354 of the Lafayette Escadrille and well past their sell-by date. Extras include: Aurora black-moulded prop shaft; Lewis gun; engine and a pair of wheels that will prove useful replacements since Merit have embossed trademarks on theirs!
J & L Randall was a British toy manufacturer based in Cranbourne Road, Potters Bar when It was still in Middlesex,mainly producing stationary steam engines during the 1950s and 1960s.Under the trademark Merit it produced a variety of plastic kits among them pirated copies of Aurora's first six Series B WWI aircraft marketing them in 1956 when the original US models were already being sold in the UK under the Playcraft/ Aurora banner! One of these was the Nieuport Scout, a close duplicate of Aurora's version with a few subtle changes and deletion of ground base, mechanic and name plate, with black accessories being incorporated into re-dedesiged moulds. Embossed markings' positions were retained which naturally dictated the decal design being the same as Aurora's. The geneic Merit box contained 33 parts all moulded in a soft pale beige overall-although it looks grey in our photos- and the minor issues of the original remained: over-span mainplane; under-span lower; thick cowling section and eight over-sized Le Prier rockets. Yet scale outlines were some of the best in the series-the tailplane is exact-and with a little time and effort this Bebe can look surprisingly convincing.
Merit's superior instruction sheets were much appreciated back in the day and include a concise history of the type with expanded construction notes and clear exploded assembly sketches along with rigging diagrams.Our shop's example is in tip-top condition with virtually every one of its smaller parts still attached to their singular runner and encapsulated within Merit's trademark paper/cellophane sleeve. All remaining loose items have been sealed up in polythene bags as has the decal sheet although we can't vouch for its eficacy after nearly seven decades...
EXTRAS! From a spare Aurora kit come black Lewis gun; Le Rhone rotary and a pair of clean wheels to replace the Merit ones with their embossed trademarked inner faces!
*NB: The central 'V' strut has lost one of its arms and replacement material is supplied-from an Aurora SPAD: the thinnest equivalent we could summon up.
