SNCASE/Liore et Olivier LeO 451

Jan Voorbij Author
Can somebody please help me out on this one? I'm a newbie when it comes to French WWII planes. I've been looking in vain to which unit or squadron ("Groupe de Bombardement"😢 this bomber with the marking "11" or "23" belong and where its base was in 1940. Any information is appreciated.

Lionel Marco
Hi!

So, for a short history of these planes...
n°47:
entered in service tn 1/12/39
flown by GB I/12 until damaged in May 1940 and then abandonned
10/05/40 operating from Soissons-Saconin

n°210
entered in service: 31/03/40
flown by GB I/11 from Mondésir (delivered to this unit on the29/05/40) in 1940
Damaged after a night landing after a mission near Poix (08/05/40)

n°252
entered in service: 07/05/40
Flown during the campaign of France by GB I/31( crashed in Lezignan on 25/06/40)
declared impossible to be repaired ont he 25/06/40 but flown with GB I/38 in 1942 from Istres ( Vichy Air Force)

Except if you want to model the 252 when used by GB I/38 in 1942, you should use the 2 2 vertical fines on the little sprue

HTH

Lionel
(and Docavia n°23 by Jean Cuny and Raymond Danel "Leo 45, Amiot 350 et autres B4"😢

Jan Voorbij Author
Thank you very much, Lionel. I continuid my research today, esp. on the two versions this kit offers. Ik have chosen to build the numer "11", which belonged to GdB I/25, 1e Escadrille. In early 1940 it was based at Tunis-El Aouïna, then traqnsferred to France during the Battle of France in May and made bombing sorties on Italy on 13/14 June, and was then transferred back again to Tunisia. This specific plane was still operational in early 1942. After Operation Torch, GdB I/25 specialised in transporting fuel and ammunition for the Americans. I don't know if this specific plane was involved in these transport duties. Source: Aircraft Profile 173: The Lioré et Olivier LeO 451 (1967).

Jan Voorbij Author
Just finished my LeO 451.

Martien Lourens
That's a nice little model , Jan. I like it.

Stefan Schneider
A rarely seen subject. Nice job!

Jan Voorbij Author
Thank you guys. I applied a (for me) new weathering technique. I painted the whole model Humbrol 27001, then applied the camouflage scheme and with a panel scriber I scraped the paint off, so that the aluminium popped up again. (These French planes were very heavy weathered.) The I applied the gloss varnish, put on the decals and sealed them with matt varnish. I used a grey conté crayon to make the blotches a tad bigger.

Jan Voorbij Author
Still don't know what kind of blue I should have used for the interior. Please advise me. Thanks!

Lionel Marco
Sad it's too late... The french interior blue is a dark blue.
Humbrol H25 is to light
Humbrol H190 ( Blue Angel blue) and H198 (Lufthansa blue) are too dark.
The easiest way will be to use the WEM paint, or the Lifecolor (version (if it still exist...)

HTH

Lionel

PS: nice work on the LeO 45. You may even be a little light ont the weathering, as on some pictures the paint is missing in very large patches