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In-Box Review
18
Clerget 9B Rotary Engine
France's Air-Cooled Rotary
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by: Damian Rigby [ AUSSIEREG ]

THE ENGINE

The Clerget 9B was a rotary engine developed by Pierre Clerget in World War 1. These engines were unusual in that the entire engine assembly rotated around a fixed crankshaft. At 175kg these engines were relatively light, but powerful and smooth in operation. Originally designed in France, the 9B was also manufactured under license in Great Britain by Gwynne Engineering. This engine was used to power Nieuport and Sopwith fighters as well as some Armstrong Whitworth, Avro, Bristol, Fairey and Cierva designs.

THE KIT
The kit comes in a sturdy top-opening box which is plain brown cardboard with black print. On the box top there are fully labelled views of the front, rear and side of the engine. The instructions are in A5 fold-out format with 9 assembly steps and once again very clear photographs of the front, rear and side of the complete engine to assist with assembly. Colour call-outs are for GSI Creos acrylics, with several mixed colours required.

The kit consists of;
100 Parts contained on 5 light grey sprues and 1 black sprue,
01 Bag of pre cut brass wire for the push-rods,
01 Printed brass name plate.
The instructions call for silk thread fixed with CA to be used for the ignition wires, but there are no references to diameter or colour.

Sprue A (x3). These are 3 identical grey sprues containing the parts for the 9 cylinders. There is noticeable flash, mainly on the sprues, but some of the parts have some very fine flash to deal with. There are no apparent sink marks, the ejector pin points are large, but hidden inside the cylinders, and wherever possible the sprue attachment points are located in areas that will not be visible once assembled. Each sprue contains 6 cylinder halves, and on one of these cylinder halves (the same one on each sprue) there is an area where the channel between the cooling fins is visibly shallower. This will be difficult to rectify and quite noticeable on the assembled cylinder, but it appears that this area will be concealed behind the intake manifold pipes.

Sprue B. This grey sprue holds the crank case components. There is some flash on the sprue, and some very fine flash on one of the parts. No sink marks are visible, the ejector pin marks are inside the casing, and once again the sprue attachment points are small and will be easily dealt with.

Sprue C. This grey sprue holds the parts for the crankshaft, oil and air pumps, and a few smaller components. There is some very fine flash on several of the parts. No sink marks are visible, the ejector pin marks are inside the assembled components, and once again the sprue attachment points are small and will be easily dealt with.

Sprue D. This black sprue holds the parts for the workstand and a display stand for the nameplate. There is some very fine flash on several of the parts. No sink marks are visible, the ejector pin marks are on the bottom or the rear of the assembled components, and once again the sprue attachment points are small and will be easily dealt with.

Overall, the parts look good. The details are crisp and fine, such as hex bolt heads and protruding thread ends, teeth on gear wheels, flanges and rocker arms. This will make an impressive display at about 160mm in length and height, and 125mm width.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.
SUMMARY
Highs: Fine, crisp detail on the parts and thoughtful sprue design. Comprehensive and clear instructions.
Lows: Fine flash to deal with on a few parts, likely due to ageing moulds.
Verdict: This is sure to build into an impressive display model with the workstand and nameplate being welcome additions. I will be displaying this alongside a Revell 1/28 Camel for extra interest. Watch out for a build review soon.
Percentage Rating
80%
  Scale: 1:8
  Mfg. ID: SP286
  PUBLISHED: Oct 08, 2011
  NATIONALITY: United Kingdom
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 89.83%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 85.84%

About Damian Rigby (AussieReg)
FROM: VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Born 1967. Bachelor of Applied Science, Chemistry and Aquatic Biology, currently working as Technical Sales in water treatment for heating and cooling systems and process water. 6 children, Jessica, Lola, Joshua, Liam, Darcy and Evie. Other hobbies are guitars, fishing and woodwork. Built model t...

Copyright ©2021 text by Damian Rigby [ AUSSIEREG ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



Comments

Wow, my first review. I am officially a contributor ! Thanks for putting this one up Rowan, I hope some of you guys find it useful. I am looking forward to building this one for the Great War Campaign starting November 11 this year. Cheer, D
OCT 11, 2011 - 02:15 AM
Nice review Damian Timely too, I was just thinking of buying this.. had my cursor hovering over it on the Hannants website last night. This is of course the engine from the old Hasegawa 1/8th Camel and I see the Le Rhone is scheduled for release too. They'd make a nice pair. Keith
OCT 11, 2011 - 06:09 AM
Nicely done Damian!
OCT 11, 2011 - 11:14 AM
Damian, Forgive the (probably, I've been away for 10 days) silly question. The Great War Build Campaign in November? Have I completely missed it or is it associated with the "other" site? Cheers, Lance
OCT 12, 2011 - 02:35 PM
Hi Lance. The Campaign Page is HERE , and it is associated with the "other" site as you said, but it encompasses all genres and should be very popular. Cheers, D
OCT 12, 2011 - 02:51 PM
Thanks for the positive feedback guys. Now comes the acid test, I just hope I can build just as well as I can write about it Cheers, D
OCT 12, 2011 - 02:54 PM
   
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