Toko 124 Nieuport 16 C.1 WWI Fighter — 1:72 Plastic model aircraft kit

Manufacturer: Toko
Kit number: 124 / TOK124
Aircraft: Nieuport 16 C.1
Scale: 1:72
Barcode: 4820015440334
Kit type: Injection-moulded plastic aircraft kit
Release: 1999
Origin: Ukraine
Status: Discontinued/vintage
Manufacturer and kit background

Toko was a Ukrainian model manufacturer whose 1990s catalogue became particularly well known for unusual WWI and interwar aircraft. Many of its kits were later reissued by companies including Eastern Express, but original Toko boxings are now collectible examples of early Ukrainian plastic modelling.

Kit 124 represents the Nieuport 16 C.1, an improved development of the earlier Nieuport 11. It is particularly useful for collectors because the Nieuport 16 is noticeably less commonly represented in 1:72 than the famous Nieuport 11.

The kit dates from 1999, making it a later Toko release than the Nieuport 11 kit discussed previously.
Kit contents

The kit is a relatively small, straightforward 1:72 WWI aircraft kit, using Toko's characteristic tooling of the period.

The principal components include:

Injection-moulded plastic parts

Fuselage

Upper and lower wings

Interplane and cabane struts

Tailplane and rudder

Rotary engine

Cowling

Propeller

Undercarriage

Cockpit components

Pilot's position

Machine-gun installation

Windscreen

Decals

Assembly instructions

The kit provides the characteristic sesquiplane wing arrangement, with the large upper wing and much smaller lower wing.

As with many Toko WWI kits, the rigging is left to the modeller rather than being represented by separate supplied material. A careful build will therefore benefit from fine thread or stretched sprue for the interplane and control bracing.
Decal options

The documented kit offers three aircraft schemes, covering different operators:

French Aéronautique Militaire, 1916

Imperial Russian Air Service, including the Emperor's Flying Guard

Royal Flying Corps No. 11 Squadron, including an aircraft associated with Albert Ball.

This gives the kit considerably more historical variety than a single-marking boxing.

The Russian option is particularly interesting because Nieuport 16s were used extensively by the Imperial Russian air arm.
Moulding and vintage-kit considerations

This is a 1990s tooling, so expectations should be adjusted compared with modern 1:72 kits.

A collector buying an opened example should check:

All wing struts are present

The delicate undercarriage is intact

The propeller and engine parts are present

Clear windscreen is included

Decals have not deteriorated

Instructions are present

No significant warping or damaged struts

For a completed model, the fine WWI rigging is one of the most important details visually.
The full-size Nieuport 16

The Nieuport 16 C.1 was developed by French designer Gustave Delage as an improved version of the Nieuport 11.

The principal change was the installation of a more powerful 110 hp Le Rhône 9J rotary engine, replacing the roughly 80 hp engine of the Nieuport 11. The extra power was required as the aircraft gained weight through equipment and armament improvements.

Externally, it retained the characteristic Nieuport sesquiplane configuration.

The aircraft entered service during 1916, at a time when fighter development was moving extremely rapidly. It was used by the French, British and Russian air services.
Armament

The Nieuport 16 initially retained the characteristic upper-wing-mounted machine gun arrangement of the Nieuport 11.

Some aircraft were fitted with a Lewis or Hotchkiss machine gun, while later aircraft could carry a synchronised Vickers gun.

The type also became particularly associated with the experimental use of Le Prieur incendiary rockets against German observation balloons. The Nieuport 16's ability to carry these rockets made it one of the better-known aircraft associated with early air-to-air rockets.
Service life

The Nieuport 16 was an important transitional fighter rather than a long-lived design.

Its more powerful engine improved performance, but the aircraft had become relatively heavy and the increased power could not completely overcome the limitations of the basic Nieuport 11-derived structure.

It was therefore progressively replaced by the much more capable Nieuport 17, which retained the basic sesquiplane concept but offered a more refined design.
Aircraft specifications

Approximate figures for the Nieuport 16 include:

Crew: 1

Engine: Le Rhône 9J rotary

Power: approximately 110 hp

Maximum speed: approximately 160 km/h

Role: single-seat fighter

Armament: usually one machine gun, with variations

Configuration: single-engine sesquiplane

At 1:72 scale, the aircraft produces a model only around 8 cm long, with a wingspan of approximately 10.5 cm.

That small size makes the rigging particularly important to the finished appearance.