AMC DH.9a Ninak
The AMC DH.9a, said "Ninak", was born out of the necessity to replace the underperforming DH9 essentialy due to inferior performance of its engine (Puma).
The DH.9a was powered by the american Liberty engine (400hp). Shaken from isolationist lethargy by declaration of war in 1917, the USA decided to make up for their lack of aviation technology and production capacity. To do this , they consult french and english officers and technicians to brief them on aviation engine requirements. The Liberty (modularity : 4,6, 8 or 12 cylinders) engine was quickly born and it became a remarkable achievement engine that served ably and reliably around the world during the 1920's decade. The V-12 was placed in mass production, 20478 were built.
In the 1920's, the DH.9a was one of the key weapons used by Britain to manage the territories that were in its control following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following the Great War. Five squadrons of DH.9a served in the Middle East, occasionally carrying out bombing raids against rebellious tribesmen. An additional radiator was fitted under the fuselage to cope with the high temperatures, with additional water containers and spares (including spare wheels lashed to the fuselage) in case the aircraft were forced down in the desert. Despite this, the aircraft served successfully in such harsh conditions.
The joined vintage photo shows the typical Middle East serving Ninak 3510 in the 1920's, seen here over the River Tigris. It was based at Hinaidi, near Bagdad, marked "L" of the No°8 Sqdn.
The built was high pleasure thanks to Wingnut Wings kit conception, highly researched and designed. Enjoyable, each detail is well thought through, and nothing is left to chance. Thanks to this, the modeler's attention and energy may be preserved to focus on scratch details and rigging.
Why Ninak ? It comes from nine (9) and “ack” (a). In military phonetic alphabet for UK radio communications, the letter a was “ack” in 1918, as we say now “alpha”.
Wow, well Wingnut Wings has details and models excellent, but your work is incredible. The color aluminium doesn't help you, every tiny flaw is amplified, but you worked vey very vey well.
Great job!
This is truly amazing work, Christian. Simply amazing.
All the best!
Bloody awsome contraption and you made it look so good!
I am in awe. That is a beautiful build.
Nice big one!
OK, I know Wingnut are supposed to be GR8, and 1/32 is a large scale, but - WOW. Truly amazing build, the attention in detail and paint just blows my socks off! Well done.
That is absolutely stunning Christian. Job well done I really like it.
Wow, that is a very intricate and beautiful model, Christian. It definitely belongs in a museum as an educational tool for aircraft design. I am amazed at how biplane modellers paint so well when there are so many things to assemble in stages. I haven't yet risked the process with the biplanes in my stash.
Many thanks for those kind words, Colin. It's true, with biplanes, when the painting is finished, it only starts: gluing the wings (relatively easy with WnW) and rigging with wires, drills and cyano glue. Beware of collateral damage !
That's just stunning. The cutaway concept works perfectly. The surface painting is superb. There's nothing about this model that isn't fantastic. Everything is incredible.
"Policing the Empire" with bombs was about as successful then as it is now.
I'm delighted with these words coming from you, Tom.
Yes, another time, ongoing violence, right or wrong.
Outstanding job! I wish my WnW models looked that good.
Thank you all for kind comments. I wish you the best models !
After not seeing a post from you in quite a while, this is a real treat! Simply outstanding modeling, detailing and finishing.
Thank you very much Greg, happy to read you.
It took time ...! It is a very well designed kit, but nothing is ever entirely easy in model making. And then, when you love this hobby, you take the time to appreciate it and be careful.