14/18 - "Esquadrille Lafayette"

[MaxHeadroom]

Here I am again!

The man who has built a jet-Stuka will take part at the GWGB with an airforce-scene without an airplane. 
I will try to hold my reputation on the same level as it is known (or higher).

First pics will follow soon, 'cause I had already started an adequate project some days in the past.

Norbert

[GTX_Admin]

Just remember that this GB doesn't start for another couple of days!

[MaxHeadroom]

Sure, I will wait until the official start.

Norbert

[MaxHeadroom]

Now let me start with an short introduction:

To make it easy at the beginning look there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Escadrille

My intention is to create a scene in front of the squadron's headquarter in the north of France in summer 1917.
So, I don't need an aeroplane, I need a wodden building, some figures and two automobiles.
My scale will be 1:48.

Here are my kits:






And this is my material to build the house/the squadrons' HQ:


To create my scene as realistic as possible, I'd asked my local book-shop to order this:


Choosing the french figures was easy, because the personal of the Esquadrille Lafayette was wearing french uniforms as volunteers until the squadron was taken over to the United States Army Air Service in january 1918.

Norbert

[Brian da Basher]

My hat's off to you for such an ambitious project, Max!

Are you going to include the famous mascots Whiskey & Soda?

This one's going to be a lot of fun to watch!

Brian da Basher

[MaxHeadroom]

Thank you Brian!
I must confess, it will be my first diorama, so I beg for pardon in advance AND ask you (and all the others) for mercyless critics (positve and negative).
Learning by doing and by your comments is the motto.
Related to this project, my jet-Stuka was sooo simple to built, I guess, because the jet-stuka was in a "car"-wash-condition and I didn't create a base with -for example- a concrete parking-box and earth and grass and dust and mud, and so on.

By the way: "My hat's off" is also a german phrase "Hut ab!", in our region we also use the french "chapeau!", 'cause in the napoleonic aera, we were a part of France (that's why we use a lot of french words in our every-day-talks).

Norbert

[GTX_Admin]

Looking forward to this.

[jcf]

Cool.  :)

A note on the Stutz, it's an old Renwal kit that Revell re-released and mounting the tires to the wheels
can be a pain. The tires are a very stiff 'vinyl' and it is easy to fracture the delicate styrene wheels
when pushing them into the tires. I recommend dry fitting and careful sanding of the tire interiors,
along with careful removal of the sprue mounts any flash on the wheels, a light sanding of the wheel
circumference also helps, then warm the tires in hot water prior to assembly. The old Renwal instructions
included a note about putting the wheels face down on a flat surface and pushing the tire onto the wheel
to lessen the chance for damage. I highly recommend following that suggestion.

 

[MaxHeadroom]

Thanks a lot, jcf, but mounting the tires on the wheels at MY kit was less of any difficulties.
(Later more to the assembly of the Stutz Bearcat parts.)

You like a little background of the Lafayette Esquadrille beside Wikipedia and the common knowing?

No refusal?
O.k.! 

One of the fighter-pilots of the L.E. was Eugene Jacques Bullard, an afro-american.
He was the first black U.S.-fighter pilot ever and was welcomed by the french aeronautique militaire with open arms, as like all the other volunteers.
But, when the L.E. was given over to the U.S. Army Air Service in january 1918, he was selected out and not granted to continue his service for his fatherland because of the still existing segregation/apartheid of races in the U.S armed services.
He survived WW one.
Staying in France after war because Europe was much more liberal to people of other races, especially France, he became an owner of a nightclub in Paris.
When WW two starts, E.-J. Bullard becomes a member of the french Resistance and also survived (wounded) the second great catastrophy of the 20th century.
After WW II he was honoured by the french government by making him a knight of the order of the french legion of honour for his voluntarily and dangerous service for the freedom of France in two wars.
He died -forgotten- in 1961 in New York City.
In 1994, 33 years after he'd died and 77 years after his rejection of being a pilot for the U.S. Army he posthum became a Second Lieutenant of the U.S. Airforce.
Nevertheless: shame to the United States!

Norbert

[GTX_Admin]

The man in question:  Eugene Jacques Bullard

[MaxHeadroom]

The case of the Stutz:
Once upon a time there was a series of Revell-kits in 1:48; the Stutz Bearcat, a Mercer Runabout, a Ford A and many more. I'd bought and build the most of the series in my late youth.
I did it simply oob.
Last year, I dug out the Stutz to restore and to pimp it up into a more realistic condition than the kit scheduled.
First of all was to remove the chromium from the coated parts because industrial chrome plating was first founded in the mid/late 1920ies short after the invention of an easy way to do this. The first (german) patent was accorded in 1920, the second (also german), and much more important one, was given 1924.
Before -and so at the Stutz- all bright metal-parts of automobiles were only made of or coated by brass!

I'd also gave a used look to the Stutz including some dust, a bit of dirt in the tire tread and so on.
Also I'd added some brake cables, gave a certain dynamic to the steering, detailed instruments and some other little upgrades.

Here is the result:







O.k., this little car is not a high quality kit and the result isn't too.

This house is the model for my house and the Stutz will find it's place under the roof at the side of the house:

In MY version of the Esquadrille Lafayette the Stutz is the private car of the squadron leader, like many officers in the past took private properties into the war: a golf-set, a pocket-watch, the private horse, for example. So, why not the private car?

Norbert

P.S.: I see -to my shame- the photographes are really bad, and I'd forgotten to add the brake-cables (they must be still in the box). I promise to present some better pics coming soon.
The car's body ist painted by a brush and the (dry summer) dust was applied by my very new airbrush, a while after, I' finished the Stutz-restauration.

Btw. @ Brian...: I suppose, I don't show Whiskey and Soda at my diorama, because I don't have two (female?) lions in 1:48.
BUT: If someone of YOU have two lions, I can use, please PM me and we can make a deal, perhaps. 

N.

[Brian da Basher]

The Stutz Bearcat is one of my favorite cars. I used to have the 1931 Matchbox version many years ago.

Best I can do as far as lion cubs would be the 1/77-ish sled dogs from the vintage Revell Ford Trimotor.

I like your weathering. You used just the right touch and it looks very realistic!

Brian da Basher

[MaxHeadroom]

Thx. Brian, the weathering was intentionally only a bit, because the scene is located in summer 1917 with only a bit of dust from the dry rough paths.

Norbert

[MaxHeadroom]

Step two; the Ford T ambulance (Part 1/2):

Let the pictures talk for themself about assembling the parts:












This RPM-kit (of polish origin) is a real fine kit, having a lot of tiny, thin and sensitive and therefore difficult parts.
Some were brocken by extracting from the sprues, but I was able to save them.

[MaxHeadroom]

Step two (Part 2/2):

Now painting (my first ever model painted by airbrush) and weathering like the Stutz:














BTW: the shining glue above the rear window at pic 2 is eliminated now.

The next steps will be building the house and preparing the personal.
Then the ground/the base must be created and the emvironment needs a realistic view.

A historic background:
As volunteer pilots serving in the french Aéronautique Militaire, there were a number of US-american volunteers serving as doctors and paramedics for the french army, including american equippement (and so including US-automobiles) before the United States declares war to the "Mittelmächte" (the German and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria and the Osman Empire [Turkey] - just to name the important ones).
After joining the war, one of the first parts of the US-forces, landing in France, were medical-units. So, while the Esquadrille Lafayette were still under french command it's supporting units were official american; so this ambulance c-o-u-l-d have parked once in front of the squadron's headquarter.
Now; the Ford T was only for a few weeks in service. That's the reason, why it isn't rusty or in an other way extremely weathered or was maked older/used. Remember: it's summer 1917.

Norbert

[Brian da Basher]

The detail painting on the ambulance is especially nice!

Once again, you really nailed the weathering!

Brian da Basher

[MaxHeadroom]

Now for something completely different. The wodden HQ.

One of the gables:

and from inside:


Starting to build a part of the front:


The front and the right gable with door and windows:

The window left from the door will be of the room of the squadron leader, so I've made some shutter for.
But -before you ask- no, I don't made an interior.
and the backside with the left gable:


All is made by ice-sticks and on the backside of each part I'd used skewers as "holder".
Every stick got a groove along it's middleline to give the look of two planks to it, so the scale is o.k.

I hope you like.


Ooops, I forgot to show this to you:

This guy will mutate to the Ford's driver.

Norbert

[Old Wombat]

Looking good, Norbert! :)

[Brian da Basher]

I really like projects with mixed media like this, Norbert!

What kind of wood are you using?

Brian da Basher

[MaxHeadroom]

I don't know what kind of wood ice-sticks and skewers are made of.
Sorry, Brian.

Norbert

[Brian da Basher]

I don't know what kind of wood ice-sticks and skewers are made of.
Sorry, Brian.

Norbert

Ahh popsicle sticks! Amazing! You made it look like some kind of specialty modeling product.

Brian da Basher

[MaxHeadroom]

It's going on, if only peu à peu.

Finally I'd found my 1000-sandpaper.
What for?
Look there:

Some french soldiers of the engineering corps hat made the house habitable for the use as the Esquadrille Lafayette's HQ by working as roofers.
They had used rolls of roofing felt of one by ten meters, each divided into 5-m-parts for a better handle.
By covering the roof by the roofing felt, they overlapped it horizontal and vertical for 25 cm.
I will hope, the photograph will show this properly.
To make it more realistic, I crumpled the sandpaper a little bit.

To give a comparisation to you, I will show you our garden shed:

O.k., I'd made some folds by roofing the hut, but I think, you can see the similarity of both of the roofs by using sandpaper as roofing felt.
(Btw.: we call it "Teerpappe" = "tar-cardboard".)

I hope, you like.
(Will be continued.)

Norbert

[Old Wombat]

That looks very good! Like the hut has been extended & the roofing-felt/tar-paper (I assume it's some kind of bitumised paper/felt) has been put on to cover a mismatched roof.

:)

[MaxHeadroom]

Yes Old wombat it is bitumised paper (thick paper, so we call it "Pappe" = cardboard), strewed by tiny little stones, so the sandpaper has nearly the correct structure in 1:48 scale.
Maybe I better had used not the extra-fine 1000-sandpaper. Maybe a fine 800-sandpaper would be better and the 1000 will used at 1:72.

But in one thing you've failed: the hut's extension was part of the original woodden 1:1 kit (No, it's NOT one of the Revell's Leonardo da Vinci wood-kits! ). I only had scratch-built the woodden wall of the extension.
So there wasn't a mismatched roof. The tarpaper is necessary to keep the rain outside of the room inside, because the hut's roof of the kit was only made by planks.

Norbert

[MaxHeadroom]

This is not an abandoned thread!

I'd continued during the last months, but I was also busy by (too much) other things so I missed the final date of this GB. Sorry!
But I will finish the project and show to you.

Now about my progress.
I'd sculptured the driver's figure. But first a look backwards to the basic figure:


But how to change this relaxing guy into someone who's fighting to climb out of the Ford's driver's compartement?
I mean, this old vintage car is far from today's convenience and ergonomics, so I think, to leave it wasn't simply open the door and step out.
This was the result:

O.k., the photograph is not really close up to see any details.

But before I show you the details, let me report about the details:
- By the belt, I had to cut out a wedge to bow the body a bit more foreward and insert the wedge in the now new slit of the back.
- Cutting a slit into the backside of the right knee to widen it's angle a bit.
- Bowing the right shoe by the toes, because the driver is busy with placing the shoe to the step-board outside.
- The right arm must have an other angle to the shoulder, the elbow needs a little angle and the fingers must be bowed also to simulate he's grabbing at the sidewall of the seat.

Take a closer look at:

and:



Next time, I will show you how to transform 2 sled-dogs into 2 teenage-lions!
"Whiskey" and "Soda" -that's their names- were the mascots of the Lafayette Esquadrille [maybe you remember the post of our friend Brian da Basher, who first has given a hint to the pets (reply #4)].
This is the preview:


Norbert

[MaxHeadroom]

After the preview follows the "movie".
Many, many thanks to Brian da Basher, who has sent me the sled-dogs some months ago.
Without them the Lafayette Esquadrille could not have been complete!
I must confess, I wasn't sure, if and HOW I could use the dogs and transform them into teenage-lions, but once I've heard a silent "click" in my head and...

... an overview:

Many things have must been done.
First of all, what had have been done to both of the puppy-lions:
- The integrated harness must be removed.
- The fur must be smoothed.
- The bushy tails are needs a shave and an extension. (Honi soit qui mal y pense! I DON'T mean a Porsche as an "extension"  )
- The ears were integrated and I wanted to "set them free".
- And the snout was too long.
The plastic, the dogs are made of, is very soft, that's means a disadvantage, but also an advantage. The disadvantage was in my opinion the looong time, the glue and the plastic needs to dry. Waiting was necessary to prevent a rupture/pulling apart of the unified parts, while working at an other site of the animal. But the advantage was the ability to sculpturing the soften plastic very easy.
Many thanks to our own dogs (4 - 3 male and 1 female) and cats (2 - 1 male and 1 female) for the many opportunities to study their postures! Otherwise I would have been forced to search the net... 

Now the first lion:

and:

The individual tasks were:
- To saw across the body below it's thorax and two thin slices from each part. To the now lying rear part, I glued the slices; the first in 30°, the second in 60° and at last the front in 90°. Now I could sculpture the soften plastic with a scalpell to create a relaxing animal in the correct posture.
- The frontlegs, I'd carved out of the shoulders, in addition some tiny parts of plastic and after this I reunioned all to the result, you can see above.

The sleeping lion (...the lion sleeps tonight... la, la, la... ):

and:

Looks much more easier. Am I right, pals?
Trust me; it wasn't:
- To create a realistic posture, I was forced to carve all FOUR legs out and put them in again. Giving to the legs a new position was really very difficult. O.k., not difficult (in an anatomically way)..., better: it was really fine work. You know, what I mean?
- I had to decapitate the dog! Why? Ever seen an animal sleeping with the snout parallel to the ground? Never ever! So the head must been sawed off, turned a bit and glued again in the right position.
Sorry, on the macro-pic, I have seen, the join between head and neck isn't good..., I will make it better - sorry.

I hope you have enjoyed this report.

So long,

Norbert

[andonio64]

Hallo Norbert,
I love your idea and will follow the WIP closely.
Eugene Jacques Bullard is one of my favourite pilots of the LE also because of his motto:
"Tout sang qui coule est rouge" (All the blood that is spread is red)

You can see it painted on his SPAD



He had also a monkey as a pet (Jimmy), you can see it in Wikipedia.

Here is a further link to a page talking about him.

Good luck with this build!

Antonio

[MaxHeadroom]

Thank you andonio, and many thanks for the pic of Eugene Bullard's plane.
I love his motto - so simple, so true!

Norbert

[Brian da Basher]

I'm really enjoying your updates, Norbert! It's always a treat to see a master at work!

I'm utterly amazed at how you've been able to transform those dogs into lion cubs!

You've made nice progress on the figure and I really like that truck! Totally looks the part!

Brian da Basher