1:72 Dolphin - Just dabbling!

[Bluesfan]

I know, it's a bit of a cheek to show a model which most would regard as unfinished, but I'm leaving this as is. I was simply playing around with the cute little KP kit (yes! forum reviews can and do give us a nudge to buy sometimes!  ), and wanted to get an idea of what the 79 Squadron experiment with guns on the lower wings looked like. I could only find a couple of photos - the ones in the Datafile and the Osprey book are the same - and the way the lower wing guns were fitted isn't very clear. Anyway, this is what I came up with.

I'd be curious to know if the squadron considered it a success; at any rate, I don't think anyone else copied the idea. In fact, although top wing mountings were common, I'm not aware of anyone else on either side making a serious go of guns mounted like this. There's an obvious problem: the pilot can't reach the guns, either to clear a jam, or to change the magazine. Fwiw I scavenged Lewis guns from Roden kits, they're a little better moulded than the KP ones.

Cheers
Mark

[lone modeller]

That was an interesting experiment. Very nice model too - and certainly different!

Stephen.

[DaveB]

Very nice work, Mark

I have this kit in my stash so interested to know if the kit has any issues to be aware of?

Regards

Dave

[Bluesfan]

Thanks for looking 
Dave, I would say not, except for what you'd expect for a short run kit. To my eyes it's accurate; slight wonder about the gap between upper wing and fuselage, but the whole thing fits well so no complaints from me. The area I expected could be awkward, the way the various pieces fit around the nose, actually no problem at all.
If I was doing a serious build of the Dolphin in 1:72, I'd certainly be happy with the KP kit. Amongst a few improvements, I'd want to snip off the very vestigial-looking control horns and pitot tube, and substitute some neater pieces. And probably get a nice resin wicker seat etc etc

Mark

[Tim Mixon]

Thanks for sharing this Mark. The KP kit seems promising. This certainly is an interesting armament. 

[Stuart Malone]

Looks good Mark.  I don't think I've ever seen one done with the wing guns.

I slammed one of these together in a day and a half this past weekend for a group 'Turkey Shoot' build.  It looked like the top wing sits too high as compared to photos and the drawings in the Windsock Datafile.  I need to measure/compare before I do another one.

Stuart

[Bluesfan]

Yes Stuart, seems you had a similar impression, that the top wing could be a bit lower, going by photos.
I guess it could be corrected, with some very careful trimming of the struts 

Mark

[Stuart Malone]

Mark,

Comparing my Dolphin to the drawings in the Windsock Datafile, my top wing sits 2mm higher.  That works out to 144mm/5.67in real life.

I want to point out that these struts have the gates along the length.  There was no ambiguity where the struts end and the gates begin.

Stuart 

[Bluesfan]

Thanks Stuart
Yes, that's definitely too much, isn't it, given that the whole point was to put the pilot's head in the optimum position for all round visibility. If one included a pilot figure in the model he'd be sitting far too low.

Mark

[macsporran]

Looks good Mark, why not finish it with markings and rigging.

Like you I was fascinated by the four-gun layout wayback when I made the very heavy Waldo Resins 1/48 Dolphin back in the 90s with extra Aeroclub lewis guns. Haven't started my WNW one yet - wonder if the outboard armament will call me again!
Sandy

[RAGIII]

Looks like a nice little kit and you have done a proper job of building and painting!
RAGIII

[Bluesfan]

Many thanks Rick

You too Sandy, great to see the wing mounted guns in a larger scale. Lovely work on that kit! Someone must have done the same conversion on the WNW kit, but just haven't spotted it.

Erm... I'll try and quickly explain why I'm leaving it at that. No problem with rigging in 1:72, in fact I'm most pleased this year with fully rigging a Camel in the scale, including the acorn.
However I can't help this quirk, that I want any models in a given display to be done consistently. And in this old IKEA cabinet I have a number of old models I'm never retiring (including my first ever biplane, the Airfix Hannover, 50 years old I believe!), which I happened to make in this simple style. The Dolphin is going in there because I'm fascinated by all the various ways in which plane makers 1914-18 contrived a way of firing forwards without interrupter gear, so it joins a group with the Morane L, the SPAD SA2, etc. I'll inflict a post on the forum when I've done the 5/6 variations I'm thinking of...
Cheers
Mark