A little absent and Nieuport 28 (new project) - November 13, 2025
Hello everyone. It's me Antony, back with another Blog in 2025. We are now on November 13 - past the half of 2025.
I know. I've been absent without writing anything new here. Updating the computer that I use, back to work after my vacation, studies, playing video-games, watching some YouTube videos, listening to some musics and doing my chores at some moments decreased my spare-time dedicated to Blogs. Still, I'm moving some things from Windows to Fedora Linux. Fortunately my brother and I managed to solve the issue with the HDD. What we did was saving all the content to another computer, cleaning it until nothing is left and prepare it before copying all the files back. At least I can continue my Blender projects and access it on the HDD without downloading it from Drive to the Documents folder and work on the SSD. Same thing to my Unity projects and GIMP. For Easy Paint Tool SAI, I've to use Bottle in order to run it in Linux. I'm not sure about HitFilms. Probably I'll do the same like SAI or other software (run with Bottle or other virtual machine).
Still, it's a new scenario that I still need to learn if I'm going to rely less on Microsoft Windows - or simply leave.
Alright, let's get down to business. I'm going to share you the images of a new project I started these days. I know. I wanted to conclude most of my projects this year. But the desire to start new projects is always complicated. (lol)
The project in question is the French Nieuport 28 biplane from the Great War. As always, I'll share its story here.
In 1917, the aircraft manufacturer Nieuport started working on the successor for the Nieuport 17 and 24 in response to the arrival of the German Albatros D.V, as well the SPAD VII equipped with Hispano-Suiza in-line engine. Several prototypes were built with different designs and engines, with the powerful Gnome Monosoupape 9N rotary engine being selected for the final model. The Nieuport 28 counted with a wooden monocoque fuselage and a metal engine cowling, two wings featuring elliptical tips instead of the angular raked tips common to Nieuport's earlier designs, two wing spar struts instead of a V-strut from early sesquiplanes. In addition, it was armed with two .303 Vickers machine guns - one located on top of the fuselage, next to the cabane struts; and one on the left side of the plane. This armament setting was due to the fuselage's design being narrow. The first units built came out from the factories in early 1918. At the same time, the SPAD S.XIII was already firmly established as the standard French fighter, and the Nieuport 28 was deemed “surplus” from the French point of view. Still, the United States Army Air Service was desperate for aircraft to equip their air squadrons, with Nieuport supplying the Americans since the S.XIII was unavailable due to engine shortages, with 27th, 94th, 95th and 147th Aero Squadrons being equipped with the biplane between March and August 1918. Some Nieuport 28 had to be equipped with a single Vickers MG due to shortages while a majority of planes came with no gun - being used as training planes. American pilots like Alan Winslow, Douglas Campbell and Eddie Rickenbacker scored downed planes - all aboard the Nieuport 28, while some casualties were reported, with Quentin Roosevelt (the son of former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt) was shot down and killed flying the type. Despite the success, the French biplane presented a series of structural issues: the landing gear often broke on landing - with solution of the installation of heavy bracing wires; the Gnome 9N and fuel tanks were prone to fire - with ground teams and pilots avoiding filling up the reserve tanks at maximum. This solution reduced the necessary range, but it prevented the engine reliability issues. But the most severe issue is the wing construction breaking away during sharp pull out from steep dives. Although the Americans saw the Nieuport 28 as a good fighter thanks to its maneuverability and good handling, a majority of them were troubled due to its integrity. With the SPAD S.XIII being sent to all Aero Squadrons on June 2nd, 1918, the Nieuport 28 was relegated to secondary roles, mainly to the U.S. Navy. One last attempt was the Nieuport 28A - with the majority of flaws being corrected and armed with twin M1917/M1918 Marlin guns - as an alternative after some issues related to the SPAD S.XIII. Still, the war finally ended in November 1918. Postwar Nieuport 28A units were shipped to Switzerland and Argentina, with 15 to the Swiss Air Force and 2 to the Argentine Air Force. In addition, the remaining planes were used for aerial races and Hollywood movies like The Dawn Patrol (1930), as well as its remake in 1938, Ace of Aces (1933), Men with Wings (1938) and Lafayette Escadrille (1958). About 300 units were built until 1918. In modern days, some enthusiasts built their replicas based on the original design, with the Rotec R3600 nine-cylinder radial in place of the old Gnome 9N rotary engines.
Here are the images of the Nieuport 28:
The Nieuport 28 looks interesting. As usual, I imported the wooden propeller blades and the wheels from the SPAD S.XIII. The engine is from the Fokker Dr.I and the Vickers MG are from the Sopwith Camel project files. At least I can speed up its development. The struts and undercarriage were made from scratch along the fuselage and rudder.
After that, I started making the wings.
The wings were a bit of a pain. The drawing for its airfoil counted with 24 vertices and I struggled in making the tips. Round tips are my pain in the back (in a matter of speaking). After making the lower wings and the ailerons, I met the Edge Flow issue when I was going to subdivide the object. Then I had to remake the airfoil with 8 to 16 vertices. The issue was solved - allowing me to make the wings.
Interesting to know: The Nieuport 28 is one of the few biplanes to have ailerons on the lower wings instead of the upper wings or both (like in most Sopwith planes).
In addition to the wings, I made the elevator and the base for the undercarriage. The texture for the wheels is from the SPAD S.XIII in the USAAS (United States Army Air Service). The idea for this biplane - once it is complete, is making the American texture to honor Eddie Rickenbacker - the famous ace of the 94th Aero Squadron and racing pilot.
Next components are: the strings and cables, the cockpit components, more external components and a nice texture.
Well, that's it for now my friends. I hope you like this Blog. Let us hope this year bring us new content and something different from the usual. In case I have some spare time to enjoy, I'll be working on other things aside from Blender projects and my personal things. Until the time comes, you will be surprised to see them. See you next time.
My DeviantArt:
My second Youtube channel:
My other Blogspot places:
My Facebook page:
My Instagram:
My ArtStation:
My Pixiv:
My Sketchfab:
My Twitter / X (now restricted to followers):
My Bluesky:
Note: Don't you dare to download these images and re-share it without my permission. If you do, please, leave the original author name.
Comments
Post a Comment