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

[GAJouette]

  Chris,
Outstanding work my old friend. You know sometimes when life deals you lemons just whistle. "Always Look On The Brightside Of Life". I know it sounds too simple but take it from it surely does work.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
Shameless Monty Python Fan

[lcarroll]

Chris,
    Some modellers would have "binned it" or at least sent it to a holding area after some of those little stumbles, well done and I have to say your recoveries are 110% effective, and spectacular overall. Leaving that behind I think it's coming along beautifully; very colourful, unique, and beautifully finished, this is going to be a spectacular Model.
    BTW, the paint work is fantastic; I don't think I've ever seen masking and results as "pristine" as those tiny red & white fuselage stripes........Very nice work!
Cheers,
Lance

[Chris Johnson]

Thanks for your comments guys. I think the most important thing when you stumble, is to always try and get back up and carry on. I'll finish this project, warts and all, no matter how clumsy and careless I might get along the way. It's nothing to do with the kit. It's just me.

Cheers,

Chris

[rhwinter]

Love your project, Chris, simply beautiful!

[Chris Johnson]

I have a bit of progress to report in that aside from the rigging, I have the fuselage completed. I made the 'Leicester To Canada' decals on my black and white laser printer. This was a first for me and overall, I'm pleased with them. The black toner is fused into the decal paper so there's no potential issue of smearing such as there is with inkjet printers.



The only issue was that the toner seemed to chip off a bit when cutting the tight curved parts. Bearing in mind that the decals were only 7 mm long, this probably wouldn't be an issue in larger decals. I used a fine tipped black marker to touch up the offending areas as best as possible.







The war bonnet decals were sourced from the recent 1/32 scale Academy Nieuport 17 'First World War Centenary' kit #12121. It was only when I saw these decals in a review of this kit that I realized I could actually build this 'tribute' Snipe, so I picked one up for that purpose. 



I've got the wings well on the way also. The aileron cable in the notched in area on the leading edge of the top wing is easy to miss in the rigging diagram, and that illustration doesn't show the turnbuckle on it. I used ModelKasten stretchy line for this feature. I glued two lengths into blind holes at either end of the notch and made a brass tubing turnbuckle for it. This was my first experience with the ModelKasten line and I'm really impressed with it.



Thanks for dropping by!

Cheers,

Chris

[Des]

This is looking absolutely superb Chris, your painting of the fuselage and the decal application are faultless, this is really turning into a show piece.

Des.

[RAGIII]

Chris,
Brilliant work on all of the markings. Your scheme is turning out Beautifully! Also terrific work on the cables!
RAGIII

[Des]

I forgot to mention Chris, your rigging lines look great, I have used the ModelKasten line a few times now and like you I am very impressed with the product.

Des.

[coyotemagic]

Simply gorgeous, Chris!  I love those markings.  You've done a remarkable job on them.
Cheers,
Bud

[Pgtaylorart]

Awesome, Chris! Your decals and rigging look great!

George

[lcarroll]

Chris,
     My PC10 standard pattern old Snipe looks pretty ordinary beside this beauty! It's looking better with every update. As Des has stated, this is turning into a show piece. Great job, she's one of a kind and you are really doing a fine job on her!
Cheers,
Lance

[Chris Johnson]

Thanks guys for your kind words and support. Lance should get a big chunk of the credit for any success I'm having as I've been pestering him endlessly with questions.

My PC10 standard pattern old Snipe looks pretty ordinary beside this beauty!

I think not! I'm just trying to keep mine in the same ballpark as yours.

... I have used the ModelKasten line a few times now and like you I am very impressed with the product.

Yes indeed Des, this is great stuff but I wish the spool had a lot more on it for the price. I'll be rationing it out for things like aileron control lines where adding rigidity to the aircraft isn't an issue.

Cheers,

Chris

[Ernie]

Chris, my friend, you are doing an absolutely superb
job of the Snipe.  Your repair jobs along the way are
an indication of your considerable talents...really well
done!  The paint job is stunning and this is going to be
a jewel when complete!

Cheers,
Ernie

[radio]

Stunning work, Chris.
Cheers
Martin

[Chris Johnson]

Thanks for your continuing support Ernie and Martin. I have the tail fully rigged now and once you get looking at the control horns and the other parts, it's pretty straight forward. As the eyelets on the control horns are so delicate, I elected to use ModelKasten stretchy line for the lengths that butt end in the elevator. I fished the rest of the monofilament control lines through the fuselage and anchored them on the cockpit module. As you can see below, I cut 1mm and 2mm lengths of brass tubing to secure the various lines.





With that task completed, I dry fitted the bottom wing to the fuselage and it seemed to need too much pressure to obtain a proper fit. The culprit turned out to be this post that was interfering. No one else has mentioned this being an issue so it's obviously a failing on my part.



Whatever the case, I snipped it off and the wing slipped into place perfectly. I also have the glass covered aileron service ports (?) painted with their clear covers in place. All of the eyelets are in place also.



Next step is to install the interplane struts and the cabanes.

Thanks for looking in!

Cheers,

Chris