Belgian
Farman F.40bis by Roseplane 1/72 Vacuform.
Toward the end of 1915, Henri & Maurice Farman produced a joint design incorporating the better features of the earlier, separate designs. This came at the request of the French Air Force to produce a replacement for the aging MF.11 aircraft. The result was the F.40, a two-seat pusher biplane with the crew nacelle mounted mid-way between the unequal-span wings.
Powered by the 135 hp Renault in June, 1915, complaints arose by the squadrons of poor maneuverability and performance. The decision to stop production was overruled by the need of aircraft and 10 squadrons were equipped with the type.
The Farmans entered service early in 1916 and were used widely for reconnaissance and bombing, even though only a small bomb load could be carried. The type was virtually outclassed from the time it entered service, but it was not declared obsolete until early 1917. Even then the type was used for night bombing until the arrival of the Breguet 14 . All Farmans were withdrawn from service in 1918 and sent to training establishments. In a effort to over-come the poor performance problems the F-40 was re-engined with a 160 hp Renault engine. Unfortunately only a minimal addition of the types performance was achieved.
The F40bis was an attempt to increase the performance of the Farman F40.
The F-40bis were operated by the French, Belgium and British (RNAS). Some French records list the F-40bis as a Type 56. Color scheme is of a Farman at the Houthem Airfield August 1916.
This is a basic vacuform kit but the attention to detail is excellent. The plastic is thick enough that the wing is single thickness and looks correct. There are no metal parts or decals. The Belgian colors on the rudder were painted to match the Americal Belgian decals. The decals on the nose of the plane is hand painted. All pusher type planes with booms present more of a challenge to rig. The kit took under 15 hours to build.
Hanriot HD1 by Pegasus Models, 1/72 short run injection mold.
Designed by Rene Hanriot, the HD1 entered service 1917. It was powered by a 110hp LeRhone 9J rotary, it had good performance and was exceptionally manoeuvrable and light on the controls. Approximately 1000 were built, although exact numbers of productions are not known.
The HD1 depicted in this kit was flown by Belgian Air Ace Willy Coppens when he served in the 1st escadrille de Chasse at Les Moeres, 1917.