Maquettes 1/48 scale
1912 Deperdussin
Monocoque Racing Monoplane

By Bob Swift

Background

In late 1911, Deperdussin's designer, Louis Bechereau, designed a small, single seat racing monoplane incorporating the concepts of Swedish engineer Ruchonnet with regard to a molded plywood fuselage shell; this and other refinements culminated in a very streamlined aircraft for its time, and an overall shape that was also very pleasing to the eye. Directional control still relied on the older concept of wing-warping, and the wings themselves featured an inverse taper on the inboard trailing edge. Choosing a suitable engine - the bane of all early aircraft designs - led to the mounting of a twin Gnome rotary of 100 hp in a semi-cowled enclosure. Wing span was 7.0 meters; overall length was 6.25 meters. International speed records began to fall immediately. Refinements to the undercarriage, and upgrading of the engine to a 140 hp Gnome led to Chicago in September, 1912, and the Gordon Bennett Trophy; turning an average speed of 108.18 mph.

In September, 1913 the little Deperdussin, now powered by a 160 hp Gnome rotary, and sporting a tight fitting, full cowl and large prop spinner, successfully defended its Bennett Trophy tenure at Rheims, turning an amazing average speed of 124.6 mph. Further success followed in the quest for speed, but sadly, the little Deperdussin was to suffer the fate of so many innovative aviation designs that were to follow in the ensuing years; viz., true success was measured by orders for planes, not by accolades, awards and records established. Armand Deperdussin became embroiled in a scandal involving misappropriated funds and eventually the company was taken over by Bleriot who retained Bechereau as head designer; the company evolved over time, and won renown in the 1914-1918 conflict with its fighter designs bearing the name 'Spad'. The little monoplane and its accomplishments faded into history, but it was in the spotlight long enough, those many years ago, not to be forgotten for what it achieved.

The Kit (click on thumbnails for full image)

The diminutive box containing the kit has a nicely rendered and understated bit of artwork on the top done in pastels. The effect created is very much in keeping with the era depicted. Inside, the first object to fix your attention is the fuselage; this piece is totally unique in today's world of injection molding of model kits; it is a piece of pre-shaped wood that has been hollowed-out on the front end, and nicely tapered aft to the tail; shades of Strombecker, but with far more finesse than those old blocks of wood ever had. A slot for the tail assembly has been cut in, and holes for mounting the wings, undercarriage, and rigging have been drilled so there will be no mistakes placing things where they belong when assembly begins. The cockpit opening has been let-in to the bored out cavity, and the cockpit interior is built as a subassembly then inserted through the open front end. Very clever approach. Close examination of the wall thickness in this area indicates that care will be required in handling and finishing to avoid splitting the wood. The grain on this piece of wood is very distinctive, and while out of scale, it would be sinful to finish it in any way other than natural wood. Only omission I notice is that no holes were drilled for the wing warping wires, which is not a major concern.

A small ziplock poly bag contains the cast metal parts; cowl, spinner, prop, two rotary engine pieces, wheels; two wire segments in different gauges for axle and undercarriage; a wood fairing for the headrest; a brass machine screw; and a piece of extra heavy gauge aluminum foil for the top decking just behind the cowl. The cowl and spinner are nicely cast; the prop is problematic, since an attempt was made to cast in a wood grain effect, and it didn't really work too well. The wheels are adequate, and useable; the engine parts are sparse on detail, but they will be almost totally hidden by the cowl and spinner. Achieving a secure attachment of cowl, spinner and prop to the thin wood up front will be a challenge, but a secure way will be found to do this.

The photoetched brass fret is very well done; the brass itself is a bit heavier than the metal of this type I have worked with in the past, but should not be a problem. Larger parts that require forming and bending are scored at the appropriate places so mistakes should be avoided in these operations. Annealing of the fret may be necessary, as it seems to have considerable spring to it. Time will tell on this point. The number of parts is considerable, and size on some of the fittings can best be described as minute; keeping them all on the work bench as they are detached will be the real challenge. The scale of the wing and tail ribs and braces seems a bit heavy, but can only be confirmed by comparing to scale drawings which I don't have, as yet. Even so, it should not detract from the kit once these are covered. The wings of this plane were very flat; some camber is evident in photos; so, it may be necessary to add a bit of camber by bending over a large, round surface. Included are two large pieces of tissue paper for covering wings and tail planes; an operation to be done before mounting to the fuselage. I haven't done this since I was twelve years old, and if I remember correctly, I wasn't very good at it back then. I can only assume that this skill has not improved just because I got older.

No decals are included, but the only decoration I have seen on photos is a small blue pennant on the tail that should be easy enough to reproduce. Directions and a brief history are printed in French; the assembly is covered by line drawings that appear to be adequate. These documents were put on the scanner, and a text document created with OCR software. These were then run through an on-line translator. Unless you are just seeking to be amused, I don't recommend this approach to anyone; find someone who is fluent in French, or just follow the line drawings. A classy touch is the inclusion of a 4x5 inch color photo of a completed model.

Conclusion

This is a very impressive little kit that appears to be well designed and executed; I'm really looking forward to building it. Maquettes offers an extensive line of early aviation aircraft which are completely photoetched renderings; pictures I have seen are impressive, if not a bit daunting for the average modeler. The cost of these kits is also somewhat daunting after the importation fee and mark-up are added. Since interest in this era is not that great here in the US, I doubt we will see these kits lining the shelves of our favorite hobby shop in the future, and that is a shame because these kits are really well done. For now, it is 'special order', or a good friend closer to the source.

My thanks to my good friend in Germany, Mr. Olaf Menze of Dortmund, who kindly sent me the kit as a gift. Another friend, Barry at Rosemont Hobby, enlightened my ignorance with good historical reference material on this aircraft from 'Pioneer Aircraft 1903-14' by Kenneth Munson - 1969.