Eduard 1/48 Sopwith Pup.....FINISHED....

[Allan31]

I know some of you laugh at me for spending any time doing these old kits from the 50's and 60's when much better kits of the same aircraft are available.
I know many have said how good the Eduard kits are so deciding to give myself a break, I pulled an Eduard kit from the stash.
Wanting to keep a somewhat even axis/allied balance of power on the shelf, I grabbed the little Pup.



At first glance it seemed a bit flashy but nothing we haven't cleaned up before, the PE cockpit looks promising and the cast metal engine might come out nice.
Closer examination revealed almost no surface detail whatsoever. Most notably on the fuselage.



No panel lines. No rivets. No lacing. No filler caps. Seriously? And this is Eduards?....
So about a week of cleaning up, sanding, looking at reference pics has got me here.



I added missing panel lines and rivets. I added the wing joints in the upper and lower wings. Rescribed the movable control surfaces.





I have the missing 3D printed lacing. I have yet to add the little step from the turtle-back to the horizontal stabilizer, the triangle shaped exhaust behind the engine, the open space in the tail and the third cooling opening in the front of the cowling.

This is kit 8011. The very first ever Eduard WW1 in 1/48 by them is 8001, the SS D.III that I have and should be on the shelf if only because it was their first kit. I'm almost afraid to open THAT up. I will find out what kits 8002-8010 are so I don't buy them.

I will be using the kits decals with some added blue paint.





More soon....

[DaddyO]

Sound like a man after my own heart Alan (Why build an up to date, dead accurate Tamiyahasa kit when there's a lovely old one that just needs a bit of care and attention) 

Lovely work so far. I know this stage seems to take ages (at least i my case) without any apparent progress, but you'll soon have yourself a cracking little Pup with a spiffing colour scheme all ready for the shelf 

Paul

[Vickers]

That Pup was indeed one of Eduard's first forays into kit manufacturing along with the Sopwith Triplane, MS Type N, and Fokker E-III. There's no comparison of that first generation with the kits Eduard is producing of late. I have one of these in the stash as well and built their Triplane back around '94. In my experience it was less hassle and more enjoyable than the Blue Max SPAD VII. For their age, they build up just fine and as you said they do benefit from a bit of extra detailing. Nice subject choice, so enjoy the build!

[Borsos]

I am not sure at the moment ? is there a newer kit of the Pup in 1:48 out there?
Your first steps look like you?ll manage that old kit anyway.

[hrcoleman66]

Nice.

I recall building this kit many years ago.  It certainly looked the part once finished.

Eduard 8002 - Fokker Eiii Eindekker
Eduard 8003 - Fokker Dviii
Eduard 8004 - Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
Eduard 8005 - Pfalz D.III
Eduard 8006 - Sopwith Baby (I built this one. Difficult build)
Eduard 8007 - Morane-Saulnier Type L
Eduard 8008 - Hannover CL.IIIa (I have this one part build and still sitting in the box.  The injection moudlings are horibble)
Eduard 8009 - Albatros C.III (a difficult but ultimately rewarding build.  My first 2 bay rigging attempt many years ago.  I have another new in box)
Eduard 8010 - Morane-Saulnier Type N

Cheers,

Hugh

[NigelR]

I know some of you laugh at me for spending any time doing these old kits from the 50's and 60's when much better kits of the same aircraft are available.

Ha ha!  (as a certain Simpsons character would say.... )

But great to see these early Eduard kits being built. They were the holy grail back in the late 90s. I remember finding the Pfalz DIII in a local hobby shop when I was living in the US and it really was like finding the precious....

These are worth building IMO. They need a bit of work but you are the guy to do it. Nice start.

[Flamingo]

Nice to see you work on the Pup.
There are only 3 alternatives in 48:
Flashback, the Eduard kit with some resin 
Aeroclub vacform or....
converting a Triplane from Aurora!

Greetings Joachim

[macsporran]

Hey Allan - that's a blast from the past.

It was one of the first Eduard kits, way back when they were short run with all the (rough) bits sticking out off a thick central sprue and a reiiance on PE for any detail work.
I'm sure the SS D.III was first, with the Star-Strutter, Baby, DVIII, etc and probably this Pup - but before the excellent Sopwith Triplane, Pfalz and Albatros were released in much more professional pressings.

I built the Pup as soon as it came out and Blue Rider released a very cool decal sheet for a training aircraft, C242, which I just had to have. Quite thick decals and difficult to get them to lie down on complex curves, but I think the result was well worth the effort.
Unfortunately the model is long gone - but I still have a picture. (I wish someone would do this decal set for the Wingnuts Pup!)
Sandy

[Borsos]

Nice to see you work on the Pup.
There are only 3 alternatives in 48:
Flashback, the Eduard kit with some resin 
Aeroclub vacform or....
converting a Triplane from Aurora!

Greetings Joachim

So obviously you chose the best 1:48 pup!  The parts don?t look bad at all?

[Flamingo]

"the excellent Sopwith Triplane, Pfalz"


and the Hanriot, worst of all, had terribly overdone rib detail, much worse than the early short run kits.
The Albatros D types were much better though.

Joachim

[Allan31]

Thanks all,
Glacial progress on this with the holidays interrupting important build time.
All the rigging holes are drilled, all the control line holes drilled, everything re-scored and awaiting primer.



The cockpit is assembled and awaiting primer and wood effects. When that is done, I can finish the missing exhaust panel and create the missing step for the horizontal stabilizer.



Once the fuselage is closed up, I can apply these nifty 3D printed rivets and lacing.



I need to get some quality time in at the desk, more soon.

[macsporran]

I'd completely forgotten that the cockpit internals of these early Eduards were folded brass. I now remember struggling with this on the Pup, the SS D.III etc.

Yours are folded beautifully - very straight and four-square.

And the rough-hewn parts - great to see real modelling again rather than shake-the-box click-snap kits
Great progress, Sir.
Sandy

[NigelR]

Great start, those early Eduard kits are quite a joy. All that brass.......!

[Monty]

Wow! This is a great start to a kit that needs lots of tender attention! But your progress looks great, and it really needs to join any 1/48th collection! Thank you for posting! Marc

[Allan31]

OMG......

I can't believe I have finally closed up the fuselage. More to do in there but at least we're closed up. Eduard supplied some very nice PE belts but since they are hardly seen I am saving those for a DH2 or something. These belts are just yogurt foil.







I can now start on the outside with missing rivets and stiching. I still have to add the V shaped thingy behind the engine and step in front of the horizontal stabilizer.



Jeezzz......