WGF Verdun 1915-16 - 1/144 Skytrex Nieuport N.11 'Bebe'
I finished off my Skytrex Nieuport N.11 'Bebe' today, the first new 'paint-your-own' WGF aircraft I've done for more than two years. The catalyst was the WW1 campaign I have started with my son, who wanted something better than a Morane to tackle Fokker Eindeckers. We started our campaign in the Verdun area, so it was natural I chose a suitable aircraft colour scheme from a Verdun based escadrille. In this case it is Nieuport N.11 serial 872 flown by Adjutant Jean Navarre of Escadrille N.67 in early 1916. Navarre was supposed to have painted the fuselage of his aircraft bright red to taunt the Boche, daring them to face him in combat - a full year before a famous German flier did the same thing.
Navarre was the first French ace. Assigned to MS12, he began the war by shooting at enemy aircraft with a rifle from his Morane-Saulnier L. On April 1, 1915, he scored his first victory in the Fismes sector, bringing down an Aviatik with three well placed shots. With his transfer to N67, Navarre began flying the Nieuport 11 and on February 25, 1916, he became the first French pilot to shoot down two enemy aircraft in a single day. He was also the first French pilot to be cited in orders. A solitary hunter, he would attack from behind and below his opponent's aircraft, standing in the cockpit to fire his wing mounted machine gun. Shot down over the Argonne on June 17, 1916, Navarre suffered a head wound from which he never fully recovered. Following two years at an asylum in Paris, he returned to the front but never flew another combat mission. In 1919, having been selected to fly a Morane-Saulnier through the Arc de Triumphe during a post-war celebration, Sous Lieutenant Navarre was killed in a crash while preparing for the event.
Légion d'Honneur citation
"Adjudant pilot of Escadrille MS12, remarkably adroit and devoted, he has had several aerial combats, one of which permitted the capture of two enemy officers and an enemy plane. He volunteers for all the delicate missions, and has executed special and particularly perilous missions with complete success."
The Skytrex 'Bebe' is a delicate thing. Not all that difficult but just fiddly like most Skytrex models.
I used the struts provided, and they were not too bad with this model. I had to fill the 'strut' holes in the wings with putty before painting.
I painted the wing struts with white highlights instead of the lighter brown so they stand out. They could have been white, right? A 3mm x 1.5mm rare earth magnet fixed to the underside of the fuselage fixes to another glued to a flight peg.
The accompanying waterslide decals are sturdy and went on easily. I used a couple of small black Microscale Railroad Gothic 'N' transfers for the tail.
An attractive and useful addition to my early war Aviation Militaire Francais order of battle, and a good way to reactivate the work bench after six weeks of inactivity.
Given our next WGF campaign battle is a patrol over No Mans' Land I have no doubt I'll be facing off against the 'Bebe' in the near future.
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Originally Posted by Lloydthegamer
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