Czech Master Resin's
1/72 Morane Saulnier A.I

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

History

Mention Morane-Saulnier to most people with any knowledge of French aircraft of the First World War and they will immediately think of the Morane-Saulnier Type 'N', the so-called 'Bullet'. However the Type 'N' was not the only monoplane fighter to come forth from the MoS factory. In fact MoS built many other monoplanes design and continued to do so after the end of the war. Their earliest designs were the flat-sided G/H with the wing mounted on the fuselage, This was modified into the Parasol L, which is famous as the mount in which FSL R Warneford destroyed a Zeppelin by dropping a bomb on it from above. Later MoS designs had the fuselage sides faired into a round shape. Examples of this are the N, I and V. . and the parasol P. By summer 1917 a new design was in the works which was to become the elegant little MoS A.I.

First flown in August 1917, the A.I was superior to the other designs built around the 150hp Gnome (Nieuport 28 and SPAD 15), and it was felt to be markedly better than the SPAD XIII with which the escadrilles de chasse were equipped. Delivery to the frontline escadrilles began in January 1918 with N.156, N.158 and N.161 renumbering as MS.156, MS.158 and MS.161. these were to be the only French units operating the type, by 20 May all three had converted to the SPAD XIII which was to have been replaced by the A.I. What had gone wrong? Accounts vary in their reasons, but those given include structural deficiencies and/or a tempermental engine.

Following its withdrawal from frontline service, the A.I was used as an advanced trainer, and many in this form were bought by the United States Air Service. Three others went to the Belgians and at least one to the Swiss and Japanese.

The Kit

The Morane Saulnier is a small plane, and therefore this is a small kit. But it is one of the nicest resin kits I've seen in a long time. The detailing is superb and the molding is very well done. I could find no traces of air bubbles anywhere. The kit provides a full interior that is very well done. The seat has the lightening holes hollowed out and the back is to scale thickness. In other words, it's very thin! This scaleness is seen throughout the kit, with the wing and tailplanes being very thin as well.

The interior is made up of a cockpit floor, the seat, and sidewall detailing in the form of tubular structures that makes up a box. An instrument panel is provided, as is a control stick and rudder pedals. Inside the fuselage are locating notches for the floor so you don't have to guess at where everything goes. The cockpit opening rests on top of the tubular structure and that fits into the upper fuselage. There will likely be some fiddling around in this area to get everything in there just right, but once in place it should fit very well.

The top deck of the forward fuselage is a separate piece, which will aid in fitting the completed cockpit into the fuselage. Once that's together this piece fits over the top and the two machine guns fit into grooves in this piece. The machine guns are some of the best I've seen in resin, as is the engine. The engine is nicely done and has a matching hole for the prop. The cowling is thin as well. In the case of the kit I got, it's too thin, as a portion of the cowl is missing. But all the various vents and openings are there and once the flash is removed will really show off the thinness.

The only weak point that I can see to the kit is the struts, in that they are very well done and to scale. This means that they are thin and flexible, and they may not be up to the challenge of supporting the one-piece parasol wing. There are a lot of struts, though, so I might be mistaken on this. The landing gear is also to scale, and once these parts are removed from their flash they will really look sharp. There are two different wing strut arrangements shown for the two different planes on the decal sheet. If you're planning on doing one that isn't either of those choices, you'd best do your research and figure out the strut arrangement for that particular one.

The decals are quite nice, being printed by MPD. You are given two choices. The first one is an A.I, MS 1591, flown by Sgt. Walter J. Shaffer of Escadrille MSP 156 in 1918. This one features two birds on an orange-yellow trapezoid and a red #11 on the rear fuselage. The second choice is an A.I, MS 1724, flown by Sgt. Rufus R. Rand, Jr. of Escadrille MSP 158 in March/April 1918. This one has a white #3 on the rear fuselage and a strange bird shape in black. Roundels are provided for the wings, and both choices are finished in the standard French 5-color camouflage pattern.

Conclusion

If you've done some WWI planes but have never tried a resin kit, this would be an excellent choice to start with. The parasol wing, minimal rigging, and beautifully engineered kit all make this an ideal introductory kit. For those of you who are experienced resin kit builders, this one will seem like an injection kit, and a better one at that. The subject matter is great, the molding is great, and the diminutive size of the finished plane will likely tempt you to get two or three.