1:48 Clerget 9BF

A more powerful variant at the close of the war

When the standard Clerget was ceasing to be enough in 1918, the French factory reached for an increase in displacement. The result carried a suffix in its designation setting this more powerful series apart and delivered approximately one hundred forty horsepower, that is about a tenth more than the previous type, while keeping the same installation dimensions. For units in the field it was a tempting prospect: it was enough to change the powerplant and the airframe stayed unaltered. It appeared, however, at a time when the design offices were already reckoning with quite different engines.

The mechanics' worry

French-built rotary engines demanded attention that a technician today would not allow. The sealing of the piston was handled by a special ring which seized if maintenance was careless, lubricant was consumed in liters in a single flight, and the hours to an overhaul were counted in tens, not hundreds. The strengthened version increased this bill further, because it drew more out of the same basis. It was the last step on a road that fixed radials replaced after 1918.

Working with resin in 1:48

The set is intended for exchanging the engine from the kit for a more faithful casting. The procedure is simple but allows no improvisation: cut the parts off the casting blocks, level the mating surface on glass with sandpaper, wash the whole in lukewarm soapy water and let it dry out completely. Only then come the primer and the paint. Resin responds only to cyanoacrylate glue; ordinary modeling glue will not dissolve it.