Sopwith Pup - RNAS : WNW's 1/32

[Andi Little]

Well lads, I've been really patient with the Morane build - very grown-up and waited till it was finished before starting my next project.
I have though been giving great thought to my next one - it would be so easy to get carried away and jump into a project that was going to provide too many opportunities for a disastrous stall [so nearly last time].
No, I kept a weather eye on the board and it seemed that the little Pup was regularly praised as a kit and a build. I was also taken with a couple of pic's I'd seen of a diorama setting: Upon a launch platform [page 21 of the instructions] and also of the RNAS pilot officer in jacket and boots. I hadn't coped that well with photo-etch in the Morane kit {Special Hobby} but have been tempted by a couple of upgrade sets ... I'll see how I manage this time, and whether I think they're worth the expense and effort???



Here's a pic' of the necessary in question ... and if you know anything of me now? You'll know this is a declaration of intent and that I'm committed to this project till the bitter end - although I'm hoping for a much pleasanter time of it?


As soon as I have pic's of a worthwhile update - they'll appear somewhere hereabouts!!

Cheers all........................

[FokkerFodder]

Hi Andi

My RNAS Pup nearly hit the bin a couple of times. Aside from my own lack of skills, the main cause of my intense frustration was the difficulty I had in trying to close her up. The issue, as I kind of worked out and found confirmed on this forum, is some of the PE - essentially the brackets for the internal bracing wires, must not be glued on the outside of the frame!!!!!!  The WNM tolerances are so low that it is close to impossible to close the beast if one does so.....

After much use of glue, filing, scapping etc I through the whole mess in a box and went on to soemthing else... I later dug it out and realised that there's essentially 2 planes in the kit, so I started again building 'Betty' (I was doing the Beardmore ship base done initially), stripping out the PE brackets and trying to tidy up the mess I'm made to the cockpit (little of which can be seen to be honest........and I'm in the process of buckling her up.

I really like the figure you chose - i was just looking at it now on the MDC site - very dashing....

cheers

FF

[Andi Little]

Thanks, that right there is a fantastic piece of "forewarned forearmed"! Really VERY many thanks, I'd noticed on the HGW blurb that they expected you to position these on the outside of the frame ... and I must admit I'd experienced a certain degree of "pucker" though this probably because I was shallow enough to be miffed that after shelling out for them you were going to hide them away. I know that's not the right or puritanical way, but in this instance it might of saved me a lot of frustration. Thanks FF for jumping in with the "heads up" [did I say that right]?

And Yes, it is the HMS Furious/HMS Repulse: beardmore built aircraft - Option F in the destructions

Here's a thought! ............... just so you know who's making all this noise and fuss, and so's you can put a face to a name.......

How do you do all.............




Cheers all.................

[rhallinger]

Good choice Andi.  I built mine OOB and followed the build log Des has posted on the main sight, and had few problems. It was much easier than the SH Morane you just completed.  Just make sure you keep the outside of the cockpit frame clear of paint and other obstructions so that it will fit inside the cockpit.  I sanded the outsides lightly, along with the contact areas between the fuselage and the bottom wing.  The other thing to be careful of are the elevators--on the sprue the bottom of the elevators faces up like the top of the wing on the sprue, which can be a little confusing to those of us who Inge ahead without carefully identifying the actual part numbers in the directions, ahem.    I glued mine on upside down (sides reversed) which made installing the elevator horns far more difficult.  If you follow the directions carefully you will be fine. Just make sure you can see the little slots for the horns facing upwards.  Enjoy!

Regards,

Bob

[LindsayT]

Great choice on the build, Andi. You're really going to enjoy it.

Oh, and thanks for posting the pic. Nice to put a face to the name.

Good luck,

Lindsay

[Ernie]

I will enjoy following your build, Andi.  The Pup is near the top of my to-do
list and it will be great to watch how it's done.  Nice to see you, by the way!

Cheers,
Ernie

[Des]

Very good choice of subject Andi, the Pup is a lovely little aeroplane and the kit is very good, not perfect but good. If you have a look at my build log on my website you will see that I have made note of the fit issue with the bottom wing to the fuselage, I don't know if Wingnuts corrected this problem since I have built my kit but it may be worth looking at.  http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com/page13.html
As with all the early WnW kits tolerances are very tight, keep all paint off mating surfaces and be sure to dry fit before adding any glue, doing this will ensure a trouble free build. I'm sure you are going to enjoy your latest build, it is a great kit with plenty of detail and with the accessories you have purchased it will make it a very special Pup.

Des.

Thanks for the mug shot Andi, nice to see you 

[lcarroll]

Andi,
   Everything Des said as cautions and more. It's a wonderful Kit but the tolerances are unmerciful. Take your time and read the sequence of the instructions carefully, and above all else, ENJOY!
Cheers,
Lance

[mgunns]

Hello Andi:

Yes, ditto to all that has been written.  I enjoyed my build of it and hope to do another one.  Nice photo, thanks for sending it along.  I alos refer to the "Featured Modeler" site to scope out the photo's of the modelers as well.  Makes it more personal.

Best wishes and best of luck with this kit.  You will enjoy it.

Mark

[Andi Little]

First update then...............

I've been having a bit of a play, started by religiously following the destructions ... and folk are right, you do have to pay particular attention, although every bit of information that you need is there.
I'm sure you've seen these processes pass across these hallowed pages so many times before by now ... but never the less here's my tentative version. Everything in this pic' is of a standard nature, no innovative techniques or anything of a revolutionary nature.
A pretty basic coat of an acrylic base colour followed by an oil wash teased into looking like grain (sort of)!



I felt I could of made a better job of the dashboard and the seat, I had a couple of disasters on both these so what you see is a pretty messy recovery. I chose to call a halt to trying to make it better and decided to "never" make those mistakes again - (we'll see)? Having said that the mistakes that I made on the Morane Saulnier have stood me in good stead, and I think this build looks to be that touch better at this same stage?


Now then ........ that there photo' etch!! I'm not so sure I'll be rushing out to buy a fortunes worth of upgrade sets for a while. I sort of kind of don't get on with it to large degree, and I'm not so sure (in this instance) it makes so much of an amazing difference. I'm reserving judgement on the seat belts as yet but some of the other stuff seems a bit too fiddly and not all that necessary ... but then of course I barely know what I'm doing.

 Cheers all.........

[RAGIII]

Andi,
Your interior looks great to me! Thanks for sharing your update. I am looking forward to your progress!!
RAGIII

[rhallinger]

Looks splendid Andi!    Excellent work so far.  I agree on much of the photo-etch.  I just don't get along well with much of it.  As for seatbelts, I really prefer the HGW stuff.  I think it drapes and lays much more naturally than the metal.  I've even taken to slicing up masking tape and adding the etched buckles in some cases, which looks just fine to me.

Keep up the fine work!

Regards,

Bob
 

[FokkerFodder]

I think it looks excellent as well. 

Watch out for the paint on those parts of the frame that join together.... I think even layers of oil paint can throw out the width of the cockpit somewhat, making it a very tight fit when closing up the fuslage.

cheers
FF

[guitarlute101]

That is some sweet work Andi. I'm looking forward to see how well the HGW PE set works out. I have the Pup too and I've been on the fence about buying the PE. What're your thoughts on it?

Mark

[Nigel Jackson]

Bravo Andi! It looks a great start to me.

Best wishes
Nigel