1:72 Lioré & Olivier LeO 451

[CATCH 22]

I wish I had my LeO files handy, I might be able to help nail down why the cowl bulges existed on some types.

I checked my books (among them the Docavia #23 in French and French Wings #4 in English) and there is a very detailed information about all different engines and their production, but I couldn't find any connection with the cowlings.

And here is a small addition to my previous post # 126 WINGS:
LADDER
Some of my earlier posts include photos of LeO 451 with a ladder extended from the right wing root, used by the crew to enter the plane:

There is a small cutout in the flap and in stored position the ladder goes into the wing. In a bigger detail one can see that the cutout is not only in the flap but in the wing root as well. Below is a photo showing the difference between the left and the right wing roots :

And the next photo clearly shows the cutout in the flap (top surface only). Part of the bottom of the flap opens down - note the dark area behind (BTW this is a crashed a/c and the hanging panel is bigger, including more from the skin of the flap. Compare with the next photo):

Here's the openable part of the flap (the light coloured trapezoid piece above the ladder) seen from the front:

Unfortunately the plastic model doesn't deal with this detail in any form. So I simply modified the wing root to match the reality:
Top side:

Bottom side:

I started doing this mod with the idea to show the ladder extended, with the small flap down. I'll leave it closed for now.
Cheers!

 

[GrauGeist]

Really enjoying the detail (and research) going into this build!

 

[Crimea_River]

Me too. There are some innovative features on that plane for sure.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Capt. Vick]

Damn and I thought I knew this plane! Lol

 

[Gnomey]

Nice work so far!

 

[CATCH 22]

Back again!
Because of some unexpected changes of my usual daily life here in Ottawa, I don't really have the peace of mind to work on the model with my initial tempo. Frankly I already started thinking of the high level of challenge for me to finish the model in the next 2 1/2 weeks, before the end of this GB.
A full week (since my last post) I'm playing around the non-existent interior resp. trying to scratch-build or modify everything visible or partially visible through the clear parts.
Speaking of clear parts: they are so thick and deformed that I had to heavily sand and polish them before use:
Before:

After:

Installed:

Very little to nothing will be seen after the glazing is installed, but so it be.
And here a look at the interior (still work in progress).
The interior should be painted in midnight blue (bleu de nuit) and even less will be visible because of the dark tone. I intend to use a lighter shade of blue and give it some wash and dry brush effects to show some of the details as seen below:

There are 4 areas I'm working on (from left to right):
1. Rear gunner area - cannon, seat, armor plate and instruments are missing.
To the right of the rear gunner, the big white box is the bomb bay and the corridor in front of it, connecting the front with the back - this area is not visible and will remain as above, only painted.
2. Radioman's working area - to the right of the bomb bay, under the round window; the hanging foldable seat is there but all radios and instruments are missing.
3. Pilot's seat and instruments - the strange looking platform with the seat on top; main and auxiliary instrument panels are missing.
4. Bombardier/Navigator's area in the nose - the seat is there, but all instruments and details are missing.
I can't show everything in the moment and forgot to make WIP-photos, but I'll show every single area in detail, compared with historical photos later.
Cheers everybody!

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

Such a great project and not to be rushed. Blaring horns keeping you up at night?

 

[CATCH 22]

Such a great project and not to be rushed. Blaring horns keeping you up at night?

No, I live near the Green Belt - what you hear during the winter are only crows cawing and ravens croaking.
What keeps me up at night are my intrusive thoughts about the future.
And my hands are shaking heavier than ever before. Today I tried to scribe some panel lines around the nose gun port - all went wrong.

 

[Crimea_River]

Oh my, that doesn't sound good. Hope all is OK.

 

[CATCH 22]

A bit too late for a new post (past midnight here). I'll be brief.
This is the finalized nose gun and the surrounding paneling, after several attempts and mistakes. My intervention is based on this photo of the particular area:

There are 4 different panels: the rectangular bulbous one at the back, the square one with the opening for the shells, the trapezoid one and the front one with the muzzle opening.
And this is the gun without the covers:

The plastic model comes like this:

Not too bad at all. And here is my addition to it:

The colour of the fuselage is the same in both photos (grey primer by ModelMaster) but because of the different background and the natural/artificial light, looks very different. No I don't build 2 models at once, trust me.
P.S. The correct position of the nose gun should be much lower, near to the mid-line (compare with photos of real plane above). I decided not to touch it and live with the wrong detail.
Cheers!

 

[GrauGeist]

The research and attention to detail is fantastic, I'm really enjoying this.

 

[Wayne Little]

Some real good work going on here...

 

[Wurger]

 

[rochie]

very nicely done indeed

 

[T Bolt]

Fantastic work

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[CATCH 22]

Hi Guys!
Thank you for the nice words. I really appreciate your inputs and at that moment they are the only factor, still encouraging me to finish this model. Honestly, what happens around me gives me absolutely no desire for modelling or hobbies...
This post of mine is only because of you!

To easy the process of finishing a model, I divide it in assemblies and (if possible) work on each of them separately. As you have seen I've finished the undercarriage with paint and weathering and it's ready to be glued to the rest of the model at any moment.
Another assembly I have finished is the empennage - check my previous posts for more details. It's now painted, decaled and slightly weathered (if you look carefully you'll see how the edges of the different hatch-covers are scratched):

Now's the time for some more information:
I'm modeling an a/c used during the Syrian campaign, known to the Allies as Operation Exporter, between June and July 1941. This particular Leo 451 was from the first squadron of GB I/31. The latter left France (Istres) on June 8, 1941 with 13 bombers and flew to Alep (Alepo) in Syria. The group has made stops in Brindisi (Italy) and Athens (Greece). At this time Germany requested from Vichy France to use high-viz (in modern language) markings for better recognition.
We all know this colour photo:

It's from Eleusis-airfield, Athens and shows D.520 from GC. III/6 en route to the Levant.
But on photos from Brindisi, before Athens the yellow tails are visible as well:

In the background a Farman 223 used as a transport has the same markings. Here again:

I couldn't find a source stating the exact place where the Syrian campaign a/c have been repainted. I guess it was Brindisi, but that's an educated guess based on the time of arrival and departure.
P.S. I did find that source a year later (or so) with the information the French a/c received their yellow markings in Brindisi.
And here are the interesting details. Leo 451-bombers have been produced in plants of the 2 manufacturers S.N.C.A.S.E. and S.N.C.A.O. As a standard the manufacturer's name, type of airplane and serial number were clearly stenciled on the tails:

Please note that the SNCASE-serials start with 1 and the SNCAO-serials start with 3001.
These markings were painted on BOTH sides of the fins:

The decal sheet supplied with the model gives you the fin flashes with the stenciling for both types of rudders - old and new (check my older post showing the two types):

Here is a nice photo of GB. I/31 at Eleusis-airfield, Athens - this photo is from June 9. 1941 or 3 days after leaving France.
AFAIK from the 3 bomb. groups equipped with LeO 451 in Syria only this one received the very distinctive yellow noses, cowlings and tails:

The LeOs on the photo DO NOT HAVE the stencils at all. There is another photo of the tail of the nearest a/c White 5 after it crashed:

No stencils over the flash (tricolore in French). And here's "my" a/c White 3 from the same group:

It is evident that not only the whole empennage was repainted in yellow (appearing very dark on this type of b&w photos), but the French fin flash was renewed as well. The serial number was painted over the yellow fin. In my case it is 142:

Using some numbers from the spare decals I recreated the serial and painted the fin flash without using the decal (which had a rather dark blue colour as well):

This is all for now.
Cheers!

 

[Wurger]