Roden's 1/48th Nieuport 28C-1 By Ken Schmitt

History

"When the United States entered WWI in 1917 she desperately needed some fighter aircraft.

The French meanwhile had just put the new Spad 13 C.1 into production and was not going to adopt the newly developed Nieuport 28 C.1, which they saw as an inferior machine. This was an opportunity America couldn't refuse so they a purchased 297 of the aircraft.

The 95th Aero Squadron was the first to receive the new fighter and this occurred in late February 1918. The 94th followed a few weeks later but as there were no guns available at the time the first patrols were made with the aircraft unarmed.

Various problems plagued the fighter, not least was its tendency to shed the upper wing fabric when coming out of a high-speed dive. It was only the fact that the ailerons were on the lower wing that some pilots were able to bring their aircraft down safely.

Another problem was that engine vibration would crack the fuel lines. This was due to improper annealing and the rigidity of the copper tube that was used.

When these problems were ironed out, the Nieuport 28 was seen as a pleasant aircraft to fly, testimony being the US Army's order of an additional 600 at the war's end."

- Review excerpt Copyright © 2004 by Robert Baumgartner

Here you can see a line-up photo of the 95th Aero.

Construction

This kit is very straightforward in the build. Roden has also done a superb job with it.
Their present standards of manufacture include wonderful trailing edge thinness, excellent guns, engine and cockpit and all in plastic. Part fit is so snug that adding thickness of paint renders them slightly tighter and may require some adjustment. This cites not as fault but rather suggestion for those of you considering this build. Anticipate a bit.

What a fun change: you build the cockpit almost next to last! Departing from instructions into made sense to me, given the plan/layout of these parts. The fuselage halves facilitate a cone shape with the big end open towards engine. The cockpit structure is such that you may build it independent of else and slide it in either before the top wing or earlier, if preferred.
I chose to do so last as it helped the paint shop sequence. Cockpit was second to last and engine, cowl and prop and u/c very last. The photo shows how you may build this, if you choose. I found it helpful to plan out the brushing of the five-color camo this aircraft carried. All in one shot with cowl and top wing off to the side with the remaining pieces still on sprue. The peach basket seat is a detail missed, but given the cockpit opening, you may be able to paint a fairly convincing representation. Hopefully the photo shows this.
The cockpit pieces are very tiny - those familiar with DML's & Roden's Fokker kits may know what's meant here. I painted mine before assembly, but if done a second time, painting after assembly may be the better idea. Harder to paint but easier to assemble.

A few things to consider in an otherwise self-evident build:
The tail drag has no real effective method of secure inside the fuselage. The underside of the stab is the indicated target, but insufficient. Others have easily rectified this with various bits - I fashioned a device by carving one of the caps provided for "turning the wheels" which I chose not to do. Shaved down, it made a nice little base for the drag to adhere.

The engine may be a snug fit in the cowl.
Two choices - scrape out the cowl to thin the inner walls - which worked just fine
Or
Gently sand off a very small amount of detail from the rocker arm on each cylinder, including the pushrods.
Or both.
Truth is, it's out of view except for the cooling ports on the lower starboard quadrant of cowl. But it will get your engine spinning again.

The "metal" struts extending up from the cockpit assembly are both slightly tall and deep.
Clipping them a bit ensures that the cockpit assembly slides right it to stop at the molded ring inside the fuselage. The longerons also extend slightly past the ply fuselage and a clip here is needed as well when fitting the firewall.

The struts are excellent. One exception: the strength bands on the interplanes are a tad over-stated. A quick buff and they're where you'd like them. The cabanes are fine, though some may want to thin the inboard cabane bracing running counter diagonal. I did not.

You can eyeball in the cabanes and secure them prior to top wing final. It is also a good opportunity to slip in cross brace rigging as the top wing sets low and forward, pretty much blocking easy access. The molded recesses that accept the cabanes were very slightly deepened and lengthened to ensure a good, tight fit. All 12 strut points benefit from some deepening of the holes. Take care, as each wing is quite thin. Test fit for flush and you're good.

The control surfaces are easily posed. I trimmed the side and scored with a blade to deflect the plastic on mine and ran some glue along the length of each to reset the line. Paint finished the hinges. This includes the stab, though care is needed here due to the thin connecting rod.

That's about it. Not much of a fight and none too cranky. The challenge is painting the thing.

Painting and Decals

Will Hendricks and I compared notes. Will has sensibly noted that discussion of French five color camouflage colors perhaps beyond the scope of these articles. I think he makes a good point. Here are the colors I used, if anyone likes them and wants to know. Entirely acrylics, as follows:
Tan is mixed from two years ago on a trio of SPAD 13s and I do not recall what I used.
But I sure remember fiddling with it for days! "A tan that is darker than the CDL, but lighter than the other colors" is what I wanted. The other colors are straightforward:
Pollyscale Israeli Khaki for lighter green, Pollyscale Fokker Green Dark for the darker green and Citadel Black. The underside is MisterKit French CDL with a darker glaze of MK French Beige over the middle of the lower wing and the stabs to indicate more than translucent - similar to what we see on SPAD finishes. The cowl basecoats in Citadel Burnished Gold with Citadel Red for the banding. It is best to work from light to dark.
A word for the brush painters on five color camo brush jobs:
Multiple coats. Two? Three? In most cases, three cover coats were used. It is good to work slightly dilute from straight out of the bottle and I dip the brush in water as it goes - lightly, keeping the heel of the brush loaded with some moisture. Keep a wet edge as you paint your patterns and so avoid hard lines or other paint ridges. Have a game plan. See in your mind the pattern you want before you wet a brush. Practice on scrap as need. On first coats, feather off your edges as you finish each color so that layers of paint do not show through.
Be patient with coverage. Thin coats are better. This finish is thicker than an airbrush but has every reason to look as smooth. Have a sequence of brush pattern and stick with it as you work consistently across each color and surface. Don't retouch until the paint coat has cured. Sorry to be pedantic, but it works….

Roden's decals have drawn criticism. It's somewhat earned, but manageable. However, the scheme for this aircraft, 'B' flight, 95th Aero "Kicking Mules" are not included in the kit.
The only decals used were the roundels. All else was painted with a brush. The nosepiece was masked using thin painter's blue tape, trimmed to an eyeballed width using trial & error. Practice on a spare cowl and then the real thing. One coat of red covered the gold. Some very few touch ups in each color. The banding along the rear of the cowl was masked; the banding at the turn and to the nose was freehand. Nerve wracking but fun. One go.
The number derives from two period photos, one of which leads on to believe the foreground aircraft is wearing a "7". That is the one here. The Kicking Mule existed in an old Glencoe Nieuport 28 kit, but like a dummy, I forgot to varnish the cal before I wet it and it shattered the moment it touched the fuselage. No matter - I really prefer these colors slightly more anyway.

Rigging

Ceramic wire was used throughout. White glue to secure. It really works very nice and is a pleasure to do and in one evening. Pair of dividers, cutting matt and some white glue and you're on your way. Ceramic wire wants to be "guillotined" with a #11 blade rather than sliced or cut or crimped with clippers. Nieuport 28s seem to have an odd banding or wrapping around the double wires. I didn't want to do that, as am not all that proficient with rigging. Went to the hobby store and found some Evergreen .010 x .030 strip stock and used that. The simulation of double wires is painted on. I think it convinces though some may prefer the real method. It is beyond my skill level, so elected to solve it with paint.

Conclusion

This is a real honey of a kit. Very easy and Roden has done all that's necessary to make your build pleasurable. This particular Nieuport is fairly rare to find kitted. Glencoe and Blue Max are the last manufacturers am aware of. This kit gallops past those and really brushes up a treat. Their decals need improvement but they are apparently aware of that and seeing to it. Thank you, Roden.

Thanks as well to Matt Bittner for providing this kit, Will Hendricks for being a fellow builder and providing early online reference. Special thanks to anyone else who listened to my whining about Raoul Lufbery (abandoned) and hand-painted markings. Bob Pearson has provided us with wonderful looks at French camouflage pattern and color reference.

References and Further Reading

For a relatively thorough look at Nieuport 28 period photography, online:
https://www.airminded.net/n28/n28.html

For a look at the relevant dates of First Pursuit Group History - 1917, online:
https://www.1stfighter.org/history/1917.html

The World War One Modeling Page

The Aerodrome

American Aces of World War One
Nieuport Aces of World War One
Each by Norman Franks
Osprey Publications