1/48 Sopwith Camel (Eduard)

[markleecarter]

I recently finished building a Sopwith Camel for my son and he managed to keep it for a good month or so before accidentally destroying it which is a record for hime I think! I enjoyed the build so much that I am going to do one for me with a few little upgrades here and there.

Here is an in-progress shot of the one I made for my son.



It was pretty much OOB, I just replaced the rather large push-rods with wire:

[markleecarter]

So for the new build I began with the instrument panel which was sort of ok:



But then I really started looking around and wasn't at all happy with the representation of the compass so the whole thing was sanded down to start again.

Eduard provide a photoetch fret for this kit which includes a seat. It's quite nice but getting the seat back to match the upper plastic part is very very difficult. looking at the pictures I think I will replace the plastic part with some wire.





And here it is with the fuselage side with its added bracing:



Prop is also done (I think)


I have some lap belts and Instruments on order from Hannants as well as a small stuff Clerget which I am excited about but a little anxious about too! No idea which marking it will be yet but recently finished 'Winged Victory' so might see if I can do Yeats' machine if any decals exist for it.

[TobyCoulson]

A very nice start.  I've got a couple of Eduard Camels so will a close eye on this build.

[uncletony]

nice!

[RAGIII]

Very nice start! Your bracing wires and seat are excellent! Looking forward to more!
RAGIII

[lcarroll]

   I think that seat is excellent, especially for 1:48 Scale. I'm not sure I understand it's construction, is it PE Mesh on a plastic frame?
Cheers,
Lance

[markleecarter]

Thank you all!

Lance, yes it is a mesh back and seat pan that fit around and on plastic kit parts. The kit also contains a solid seat and a decal that is supposed to represent the wicker but I don't think it is very good. I think this is a good compromise as it allows some thickness from the plastic as well as the delicacy of the etch. Hopefully this detail from the instructions will make it clearer how it works:

[lcarroll]

Thanks for that, it produces an excellent result.
Cheers,
Lance

[TobyCoulson]

Thank you all!

Lance, yes it is a mesh back and seat pan that fit around and on plastic kit parts. The kit also contains a solid seat and a decal that is supposed to represent the wicker but I don't think it is very good. I think this is a good compromise as it allows some thickness from the plastic as well as the delicacy of the etch. Hopefully this detail from the instructions will make it clearer how it works:

Oddly enough I've just purchased some seats by Barracuda from Hannants so it'll be interesting to compare the two

[Juan]

Very nice beginning, but no fair that Lego 3CPO is helping  , looking forward to your progress.

[lone modeller]

I can assure you that the Small Stuff engine will be a little gem but you will need to take care with assembly. Take your time but it will be very worthwhile. The rest of this model looks super too - don't let your son near this one until he is considerably older!

Stephen.

[steveb]

I think everything looks nice, including the wicker decal on the seat bottom. I am not familiar with the details of this plane, but, wouldn't it have a cushion like this?


Steve

[markleecarter]

That's an excellent picture, Steve - I'll be using that! Normally I would put a cushion in but it is just so dark inside once the sides are together and the top wing is on that I am trying to make things as light as possible to increase visibility. If I get a chance tonight I'm going to work a bit on it and see how a cushion looks.
Thanks as always for comments and suggestions.

[steveb]

I found that photo here, you may want to check out the site for other reference:
http://www.johnsshawaviation.co.uk/wordpress/

Steve

[markleecarter]

Thanks Steve, that is an excellent resource!

I redid the top part of the seat using 5 amp fuse wire wrapped around 15 amp fuse wire and I think it looks a bit more interesting than the plastic.



And here it is painted up with HGW belts. It is the first time I have used them and they are very very fiddly. I'm not sure if it was worth the effort to be honest as I think they look too thick but I think the edge won't be seen once in place so I might be able to get away with it.



Today I also received the 1/48 wwi instruments by Eduard. They are quite nice but I'm a bit unsure. Here is the airspeed indicator and compass just resting on the dashboard. What do you think? I think the compass looks a little over-sized and the printing on the air speed indicator is a little out of register.