Leicester/Canada Tribute Sopwith 1a Snipe - Airframe E 8213

[Chris Johnson]

I'm baaack again! This time I'm tackling the Wingnut Wings 'Late' Snipe kit. If you've been keeping up with Lance's build log you're already aware that we're having a bit of a mini GB on our Snipes. His will be the build log to follow if rivet counting, attention to detail, and overall accuracy is what floats your boat. Mine . . . not so much. I just build 'em for the fun of it and I try not to be a slave to absolute accuracy. When you don't know much about aircraft, and in particular WWI aircraft, it's pretty much the only course of action a guy can follow!



Back in September 2014, I started a thread on the markings and colour scheme for this aircraft.

http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=4134.msg71028#msg71028

At the time, this was the only image I had for reference.



Luckily for me, Bo was particularly helpful in supplying several more views that I wasn't aware of, as follow.









So, armed with all of the above I'm going to make a stab at this project, even though it appears that the aircraft went through an evolution in markings prior to its unfortunate demise on 25Aug19 prior to the Toronto-New York air race. Aside from cleaning up all of the big parts in the kit,I really don't have much to report yet, but I do have the instrument panel finished.



You might know, right off the bat I fouled up the decal for the tachometer. Somehow, and I WAS paying attention, the darned thing rotated a bit off-centre. I never realized the error until seeing it in the photo and by then it was too late as I'd already sealed it with Future.    Oh well, like I said at the beginning, attention to detail isn't one of my strong suits.

I wish I had removed the Feed Tank glass and copper gauge system as Lance did, but it didn't occur to me at the time. All I did was stretch a bit of clear sprue, paint it with Tamiya clear yellow, and glue it to the existing moulding. It's hard to see but if you look closely below, you can just pick it out.



I went ahead and used the kit supplied cane seat and that's ready for the installation of the seatbelts. All in all, it's a good seat but after seeing Lance's Barracuda replacement, I'm kicking myself for not buying one of those myself. It's in a league of its own.



On to the rest of the cockpit.

Thanks for dropping by!

Cheers,

Chris

[radio]

Very fine beginning.
Martin

[lcarroll]

Nice start Chris! You've done a beautiful job on that instrument panel and really picked out the tiny details well. Wish I'd thought of the Clear Yellow thing on the sight gauge, I may try to add that before I close mine up. We're off to the races, good Buddy!
Cheers,
Lance

[Des]

Great to see you back at your bench again Chris, you have made an excellent start with a very convincing instrument panel, well done, and the seat is looking looking really good also.

Des.

[RAGIII]

Nice start Chris! That panel is excellent, much better and cleaner than the one I did I am looking forward to this one as I still have a late Snipe to do in the stash!
RAGIII

[coyotemagic]

Brilliant start, Chris!  So good to see you back where you belong.
Cheers,
Bud

[Nigel Jackson]

Great to see you back, Chris, and that's a super start you've made to your Snipe.

Best wishes
Nigel

[LindsayT]

That'll be a great looking scheme, Chris, can't wait to see the finished product. What are you going to do for decals for that one?

Lindsay

[stefanbuss]

I think the "standard" seat provided is absolutely sufficient (at least it would be for me), as there will be the belts posed upon.

How are you going to do the indian head?

Stefan

[Ernie]

Terrific start, Chris!  The woodgrain on the instrument panel is
really well done and the sightglass effect is superb.  I am looking
forward to seeing your next progress reports, my friend.

Cheers,
Ernie

[Pgtaylorart]

This is looking great, Chris! It's so cool to see two Snipes being built as a sort of mini-mini group build. I'll be following both with great interest!

George

[GAJouette]

  Chris,
Beautiful beginnings my old friend. Looking forward to following this thread.

Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[Michael Scarborough]

Looking good, Chris!

[Chris Johnson]

Thanks for all your comments fellows! The support shown on this forum is second to none and I sure appreciate it.

I've managed to get the cockpit assembled, even though it's summer here in Canada and time at the bench suffers in favour of spending time lounging on the deck. Here are some images of where the project stands now. The woodwork is a base coat of Tamiya Deck Tan over-coated with Burnt Sienna oil paint. Instead of using straight black where called for, I decided to try Tamiya NATO Black instead. The jury is still out on that substitution. All wire bracing and control lines are made from .008 (0.20mm) guitar string, super glued in place. The seatbelts are the PE ones from the kit. They were annealed and painted Tamiya Deck Tan with filters of Raw Umber oil paint. The tubing that's supposed to be painted copper was done with Vallejo's Copper but it just doesn't show up very well in my opinion. I doubt that I'll use it again and will look for something better. I'm open to suggestions!



















I see that I've forgotten to add some dirt and grime to the hand-grip on the stick. I'll take care of that now.

Thanks for stopping by for a look.

Cheers,

Chris

[coyotemagic]

Sweet looking interior, Chris!  Looking forward to more.
Cheers,
Bud