Pheon Decals #32072 1/32 scale Sopwith Camel Aces of the RFC and RAF Vol. 1

[Dave W]

Pheon Decals – #32072 1/32 scale Sopwith Camel Aces of the RFC & RAF Vol 1



Reviewed by David Wilson
Scale: 1/32nd
Price £15.50 plus postage in France, £22.50 untracked outside France. Full details on the Pheon website.
Stockist: Pheon Decals at https://www.pheondecals.com/#
Contents: Decals with 7 marking options.

Comment:
Although Wingnut Wings has now closed down the company gave the hobby world multiple boxings of the Sopwith Camel, which in turn has encouraged modellers to opt for alternative schemes to those offered by Wingnuts.
Pheon Decals, whose global reputation puts them as market leaders in the aftermarket decal world, has offered an appealing range of options with a set of 7 schemes designed for the Wingnuts Clerget Camel.
The decal set features explanatory notes on each option, three A4 sized pages of full colour side profiles on high quality art stock, general colouring notes, a references list and an especially useful guide to decal application.


The decals for this set are produced, as usual by Fantasy Printshop and continue the world class standard we have come to expect from this decal maker. However the set does not include the upper and lower wing roundels so kit or other aftermarket wing roundels will be needed for these options.
The decals are, as expected, in perfect register and colour tones seem spot on. The sheet includes necessary serial numbers, code letters and white stripes etc.


Marking options:
The decal set covers seven aircraft ( one aircraft featuring two variations based on specific periods of use).
1a: Markings for D6402, Capt. H.W. Woollett, 43 Squadron. This aircraft wore white ‘clouds’ painted over the upper surface and tailplane for a time, and scheme 1a depicts this scheme. Woollett survived the war as a 35 victory ace.
1b: D6402 after March 22, 1918. The same aircraft as Woollett’s 1a, but with changes to the individual markings. A dinosaur motif which featured on his Camel is included.
2: B6344 of Capt. James Hart Mitchell, 28 Squadron, November 1917. Mitchell achieved 11 victories and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and Italian Medal of Military Valour. This Camel is finished overall in PC10. Mitchell survived the war but vanished from history afterwards.
3: F2153 of Lt. George Raby Riley, 3 Squadron, Valheureux, September 1918. Little is known about the pilot, whose aerial victories were achieved between March and September 1918.
4: B7296 of Lt. G.S. Hodson, B Flight, 73 Squadron, February, 1918. Hodson was credited with 10 aerial victories and his Camel features an overall PC10 over CDL scheme. The aircraft featured a white ‘L’ identification letter in several locations on the fuselage and upper and lower wings.
5: D8101 of Lt. Gerald A Birks, 66 Squadron, San Pietro in Gu, June 1918. Birks was a Canadian and a compatriot of famed Canadian ace William Barker. He claimed 12 victories including Hungarian ace Josef Kiss. Birks survived the wear and died in 1991, aged 96.
6: B2430 of Lt. Earl McNabb Hand, A Flight, 45 Squadron, Grossa, April 1918. A Canadian ace, Hand had five confirmed victories with two more unconfirmed. His war ended when he was shot down by Austro-Hungarian ace Frank Linke-Crawford. He survived the crash with burns injuries and spent the remainder of the war as a POW. His Camel is  overall PC10 over CDL and features a stylized B identification identifier on the fuselage plus on top of the wing in white and under the lower wing in black.
7: D8118 of Capt. John Gilmour, 65 Squadron, Bertangles, July 1918. The supporting information does not explain Gilmour’s air war but he was awarded the DSO and MC with two bars. He survived the war but died in 1928.



This is a very welcome decal release and is one of two Camel sets just released by Pheon. The other- featuring the aircraft of Australian ace Harry Cobby – is next in the review line. Stay tuned!
Conclusion:
Highly recommended.
Our thanks to Rowan & Sabine at Pheon for the review sample. Please support the businesses that support our Forum.