Nieuport 28 cabane strut fairings...

JCVink · 10 March 2011, 01:36 PM

..were these wood or metal? Was there any systematic approach as to having them painted/leaving them unpainted? I'm a bit confused by pics such as these:
1. Lufbery in front of an N28 with cabane struts painted with non-aluminium dope as if they were metal.
2. Rickenbacker in an N28 with unpainted cabane struts, looking like they're made of wood.
Basically i'm trying to decide whether EVR's "white 12" had painted or unpainted cabane struts...
Thanks for any hints!

Dan_San_Abbott · 11 March 2011, 06:29 PM

Hi JCVink:
When I visited Alan Toelle, he had a Nieuport 28 cabane strut fairing. It was aluminum, I would guess about .015" thick. it was pale green in color. The Cabane strut is channel about 2" wide and a half inch deep. I thinkthey were aluminum Both upper and lower wing panels were attached to them.
Blue skies JCVink,
Dan-San

AROTH · 11 March 2011, 07:17 PM

Close-up picture.

Sreiko · 12 March 2011, 01:24 AM

This topic come just in right moment as well I work on the old Revell kit in 1/72 (kit is from 1965, so one year older then me)

Cheers

JCVink · 12 March 2011, 02:05 PM

Thanks for your replies, gentlemen! Dan San Abbott makes a rather convincing case for painted aluminium, so that's what it'll be. And that close-up picture is helpful in several ways.

The airminded-website has some pics of original machine n6531, which has ALL FOUR cabane struts painted pale green. If this was sometimes the case, it might explain the tonal difference with the brown part of the fuselage in some photos. Oddly, n6531 does not have a side gun mounting.

Sreiko, i'm also building the Revell kit. If you're using the kit decals, beware -the white is VERY translucent...

Sreiko · 12 March 2011, 02:16 PM

Thank you for attention, I will take care. Also I am wonder how will 45 years old decals work at all.

Cheers

JCVink · 12 March 2011, 05:41 PM

Ah, if you have the original 1965 boxing i cannot say anything about the decals - i have the 2008 reissue, with Rickenbacker decals. This kit has come a long way!

RAF56_Ball · 23 March 2011, 08:17 AM

There is a gentleman named Robert Rust , from the southeast area, well know for being THE Chipmunk refinisher and maintenance guru. He and his dad had two of them that they were working on (sadly I cannot recall if they were total originals, just some parts and they were fabricating the rest or if it was being scratch-built rom original plans), with as complete a set of plans that may have ever existed in civilian hands.
He would know if anyone would.

PM me if you wqant his e-mail addy, and I will check with him.

JCVink · 24 March 2011, 09:34 AM

Hi Glenn, thanks for the offer but as i have settled for metal fairings and the kit in question is almost finished there's no need to bother anymore. I noticed the most recent book on the N28 (America's First Fighter) shows wooden fairings on the cover art, maybe it's just a matter of taste...