WNW Sopwith Triplane N533 Naval 10 Sqn. - Raymond Collishaw

[lcarroll]

    I wasn't quite sure what my next Build would be however having recently read Raymond Collishaw's Biography, "The Black Flight", "Collishaw and Company, Canadians in the Royal Naval Air Service", and going back through Mike Westrops' "History of No. 10 Sqn, RNAS" I decided it had to be Collishaw's twin gunned N533, "Black Maria".
   An anecdotal Reference and highly recommended book:



    Raymond Collishaw was not only the highest scoring Tripe Ace, he also ranked in the top several aces of WWI surviving the War with a tally of 60 victories of which 34 were acquired on the aircraft. He went on to serve as Commander of the Desert Air Force in 1940-41 retiring from the RAF in 1943 as an Air Vice-Marshal. His 37th and 38th kills in July 1918, both Albatros DV's, were scored in N533, one of the 6 Clayton Shuttleworth built twin gunned Tripes to see service at the Front.
   It is not a well known fact that an inordinate number of the RNAS's aviators were from Canada, some 931 having served in the conflict. In fact the combined Canadian contribution of Pilots to the RNAS, RFC, and finally amalgamated RAF totalled almost 20% of the Flying Personnel, astounding given the tiny population of Canada back then. As a proud Canadian I always lean towards a "Canadian Connection" in my modelling subjects. Enough of my blatant political editorialising!
   Here's the opened Kit along with one of the nicest books I have on my shelf:



...and the excellent Pheon Decals I'll be using. (I can always count on Rowan for Canadian content ) The lower left profile illustrates N533.



   References for this Build are shown below along with some of the books mentioned. I'll also be referring back to (a lot!) the several excellent Builds published here to hopefully keep ahead of the pitfalls overcome by several of our members. Having compared the various sources I'll be going with my own conclusions on a few specific details and will discuss my logic as they are highlighted later.



Last, from my "Tickle Trunk", some of the basic After Market supplies I'll be using. I had bought the HGW Seat Belt Sets for the Kit some time ago however the laser version tempted me later. The "Three Point" design installed in several replicas is supplied  however the wide Lap Belt parts used in the actual aircraft in service is what I'll install.



    I have only two ambitions for this Build; first to improve a little bit on results and second, to complete it in far less time calendar wise then the last!

Cheers all,
Lance

[Gisbod]

Cor! 

Lovely Lance!

Good luck..

Guy

[rhallinger]

Excellent background Lance, and an outstanding subject!  Thanks for leading the way with a detailed build log; I will be watching closely, as I am planning to do Collishaw's Black Maria also within the next year.  I will be following the trail you blaze.

Regards,

Bob
     

[PrzemoL]

This one will be a pleasure to watch, no doubt about it. Enjoy the WNW Tripe - it is a fun to build. And especially the twin-Vickers version!

[bobs_buckles]

I will be keeping a close eye on you with this one, Lance I laid my sweaty hands on  the WNW tripe today and will need all the expert advice I can get.

Cheers,
Bob   

[Des]

I have pulled up my chair, made myself comfortable, have a cup of coffee on hand all in readiness for your build Lance. I built the Roden Triplane some time ago but have yet to build the Wingnuts kit, so like the others, I will be keeping a very close eye on this one. By the looks of things you are well prepared for the build, good luck Lance and I'm sure that this will be as good or better than your Bristol.

Des.

[coyotemagic]

Really looking forward to watching you work your magic on this lovely kit, Lance.  I foresee another masterpiece in your collection.
Cheers,
Bud

[Trackpad]

Good luck with this one, Lance. I'm sure that it will be a first rate job! I, on the other hand, will be continuing with my Biff...once I return from Telford, that is! 

"...and the excellent Pheon Decals I'll be using. (I can always count on Rowan for Canadian content )" Now, I wonder what Rowan will make of this comment. I can just hear him now: "OmiGod, those d---ned Canucks are after me again!!" 

[RAGIII]

Lance,
Like all of the others I am looking forward to you working your usual Magic on this one!
RAGIII

[lcarroll]

Good luck with this one, Lance. I'm sure that it will be a first rate job! I, on the other hand, will be continuing with my Biff...once I return from Telford, that is! 

"...and the excellent Pheon Decals I'll be using. (I can always count on Rowan for Canadian content )" Now, I wonder what Rowan will make of this comment. I can just hear him now: "OmiGod, those d---ned Canucks are after me again!!" 

  Well a Bishop Sheet would be a nice touch in future.....you know Ni 17 1566, his SE5a, etc! Then again we'll be playing catch up for a couple of more years at least with the Tripes, Snipes, and Fokkers and then there's the Captured Birds.
Cheers,
Lance

[lcarroll]

Thanks to you all for checking in, I'm started on the Clerget and will get some photos out soon.
Cheers,
Lance

[LindsayT]

All right, Lance! I'm excited! I feel lucky that I get to watch such a great modeller do subjects that are personally interesting to me. Works for me!

Oh, and I'd never thought about a dedicated Pheon Bishop sheet, but I'm pretty sure now I won't stop. You could even include Bishop and Barker Jenny's when WnW puts those out.

Lindsay

[Ernie]

I'm happy to see your choice of next project, Lance.  I figure on
building the Black Maria tripe eventually and will be able to lean on
your build for guidance and inspiration.  Your assortment of extra
goodies are impressive as well . Onward and upward, my friend!

Cheers,
Ernie

[IFF1418]

Hi Lance,

Good luck with your build of the triplane. I'm sure it will be another beauty! I think you will be rapidly passing me by as I'm going rather slow. So I will be able to learn from your build as I am with Rick, Chris and Przemol. A bit scary to be compared to all these great modellers.

Kind regards
Patrick

[lcarroll]

   Thanks for looking in, Lindsay, Ernie, and Patrick. I'll try to provide a few initial photos as I completed the engine today.
   N533 had the 130 HP Clerget 9b engine which was provided as one of two choices in the Kit. The engine proved to be a model in itself, incredibly crisp molding and details and a very easy assembly. I used Alclad II throughout and was very happy with the results. Colours used were a mix of Dull Aluminum, Gunmetal and Steel in about equal amounts for the cylinder banks, Duraluminum for the casing, and steel for the exhaust ring. I used a very thin pin-wash of Modelmaster Semi Gloss Black on the cylinders to accentuate the fins and diluted Tamiya Smoke for a small amount of oil staining on the front of the case.



   The plug wires were done with copper wire, perhaps slightly over scale however anything smaller I tried lost it's shape immediately.



   I liked the overall results however the spark plug/ignition wire connections are not the best. I'm hoping to locate some stainless steel wire like the stuff that came in the old Dragon 1:48 Kits, that would go a long way to solving the "blob" problem!  Any leads anyone?
   Here's a few more shots of the finished product.







   So there's the first update complete, now it's on to the cockpit which will take a bit more time then this tiny module! So far this is a beautiful Kit, I'm really looking forward to getting further along.
Cheers,
Lance