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1/32 SPAD XIII Hobby Craft / Georges Guynemer

Started by Louis Gardner · 37 ≡ · ↻ 2 months ago

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Louis Gardner said 4 months, 3 weeks ago:

This is another older kit that has been sitting for many years. The plan for this one is quite simple. Build it up out of the box with the kit supplied decals as long as they behave...

This one will be in a natural linen finish with French Gray engine panels.

These are the markings this one will eventually have.

I will get going on these as soon as I clear the bench of a few current projects.

As always, comments are encouraged, and thanks for stopping by.
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 months, 3 weeks ago:

Great entry, my friend @lgardner! Looking forward to it!
George R Blair Jr said 4 months, 3 weeks ago:

I have this same kit gathering dust somewhere, Louis (@lgardner). I have a strict rule (more like a guideline) against doing anything with support wires, so I will be anxious to see how you tackle the flying wires. Looking forward to your photos as you go.
Paul Barber said 4 months, 3 weeks ago:

Again, a great choice. We will all enjoy watching you build something a little different, Louis!
John vd Biggelaar said 4 months, 3 weeks ago:

Nice choice on aircraft and markings, Louis @lgardner
Eric Berg said 4 months, 3 weeks ago:

Perfect scale size for rigging I would imagine, Louis @lgardner. Spads are always cool.
IAN Convey said 4 months, 2 weeks ago:

Looking forward to your Spad build Louis, Have one in the stash and hope to learn more about it before I have at it.
David Mills said 4 months, 2 weeks ago:

Nice choice Louis @lgardner!
Jim Harley said 4 months, 2 weeks ago:

Seeing this hanging in the Le Bourget Museum really makes you stop in your tracks. Amazing this machine survived…even more amazing, the history it saw. Great choice for an entry. I’m wrapping my head around doing a biplane 😬…probably a Camel.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Kevin M. Batterman said 4 months, 2 weeks ago:

Louis it is a great choice for a 1/32 WWI kit as it is simple and goes together nicely. I believe it is a copy of the Dragon kit. Currently I have one that I need to finish painting and will be in 103rd Aero Squadron markings. One suggestion is since you are doing Guynemer's bird I believe it was an early model Spad XIII with the rounded wing tips. I think Eduard did the same markings in their 1/48 early Spad XIII so you may want to look at the kit instructions as a guide. Finally when I was in Paris in 2017 I went to the military museum there. On display they have Guynemer's uniform and it is amazing how tiny he was.
David Mills said 4 months ago:

Hi Louis, Great to see a Spad on the list @lgarder.
Thanks for the encouragement - I think I will keep you company!
Louis Gardner said 4 months ago:

Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
Thank you !

George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
My friend, we do indeed have similar tastes in models... I will be posting a lot of pictures as this build progresses. I have an idea I want to experiment with for the rigging. I have been doing some online research and found something I like. Hopefully it works out. Time will tell. Thanks !

Paul Barber (@yellow10)
Thank you ! I agree, it is a change of pace. I am really enjoying it too. Please stay tuned...

John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
Thank you. I have always wanted to make a Guynemer SPAD.

Eric Berg (@eb801)
Thank you, and I agree the SPAD is a cool plane. I would not want to try and rig a biplane in a smaller scale. My eyesight wouldn't allow that to happen.. When I was younger it was a different story. At one time I had 20/15 vision, better than perfect. Life changes things though.

IAN Convey (@firelockg) I have had this kit in the stash forever it seems. It was way past due to get built. It looks fairly simple in the box. I will be posting the good and the bad, along with any problems I encounter. Please stay tuned. Thanks

David Mills (@davem)
Thank you ! I am also very happy to see that you have joined in with another SPAD. You picked a great kit to build. I will be following yours closely as well. I will be posting a lot of pictures as I go. Hopefully we can help each other out with this. I'm not too familiar with the type, and will have to do some studying to keep it accurate. Take care my friend.

Jim Harley (@jimh)
I bet that was a sight to see in person. This has to be one of the most historical planes to survive the war. Thanks for the picture. By chance do you have any more of it ? If so, and you don't mind sharing them, would you be able to send them to me by a PM ? If not I completely understand.

I say go for it with the Camel. You can do it.

Thanks !

Kevin M. Batterman (@chenango55)
Thanks for the information about how the wing tips were rounded on the early SPAD XIII's. I was not aware of this. I don't know if I want to make the changes to the wing tips or not. So I might have to change up the markings and pick another plane that was a later model with the more familiar square wing tips.

I recently ordered a SPAD VIIc1 and it's currently on the way to my house. I am fairly certain it has Guynemer markings included. If so, I just might make the change, and pick out a later SPAD with the 5 color camouflage, so as not to be the same look in overall linen color / tan. If I do this, then I will build the Roden 1/32 scale SPAD VIIc1 here in place of the Hobbycraft kit. I will still build the Hobbycraft kit here at the same time. It would be a side by side comparison build.

The kit also has markings for Italian Ace, Major Baracca. Do you know if his SPAD XIII was also an early model, or would it work as is straight from the box ? I don't have any built Italian models, and this would be a great one to start with.

Another option I was thinking about doing was Reed Chambers "Flag Bus" SPAD from the 94th Aero Squadron after the war. It's a highly colorful machine. I would have to locate a spare set of "Hat in the Ring" markings for it to make this one. One other option I have been thinking about was building a Frank Luke SPAD... But here again I don't have decals to do it.

I can imagine how small his uniform was. Initially he was not allowed to join the military because he was too small.

I have some news to follow. So please stay tuned.

Thanks again.
Louis Gardner said 4 months ago:

As mentioned above in my reply to Kevin M. Batterman (@chenango55)
I was not aware of the difference with the earlier SPAD XIII having rounded wing tips. So there might be a change of mission here, adapt and overcome if you will.

I recently ordered a 1/32 scale Roden SPAD VIIc1 kit. It should be arriving in about a week. It has a set of markings for Guynemer included in the kit. It is also a very simple paint scheme with the clear doped linen and light tan / gray metal panels.

Here are the pictures from the listing on Evilbay. It is still sealed in the shrink wrap, and I got a good deal on it. So I couldn't pass it up. Plus I don't have a SPAD VII.

If indeed this is what I think it is, I might just build the Roden kit with the Guynemer markings. Then I will continue to build the Hobbycraft kit at the same time, sort of like a side by side comparison build.

But there's a problem... possibly.

The kit supplied decals for the HC kit include a set of markings for the top Italian Ace, Major F. Baracca. It looks really cool with the Black stallion on the side of the fuselage that eventually became the Ferrari symbol. It is also a 5 color camouflage, so I would not have two SPADs looking nearly identical.

So far so good... but,
I'm not sure if Major Baracca's plane was also an early SPAD XIII with the rounded wing tips. If so I should pick out another scheme.

The ones I had in mind as a substitute would be a Frank Luke plane, #26,

or possibly Reed Chambers 94th Aero Squadron "Flag Bus" wearing the Red, White, and Blue on the majority of the aircraft.

However there is yet another problem... the lack of decals to do them. I don't have a spare set of "Hat in the Ring" squadron markings. Otherwise I could probably mask the plane and paint it. It would be a LOT of work, but I believe it could be done.

As always, comments are encouraged.

Thanks for stopping by.
John vd Biggelaar said 4 months ago:

That's a lot of difficult decisions you have to make, Louis @lgardner
This Roden kit looks like a very interesting one, never build anything of Roden myself.
The scheme of the Frank Luke plane is really amazing.
IAN Convey said 4 months ago:

Louis, I have a set of hat in the ring decals PM me an address and they are yours. My Spad will be in Rene Fonck colours.

Viewing 1 - 15 of 37 posts

The Great War: a Tribute to those who served.

1/32 SPAD XIII Hobby Craft / Georges Guynemer