In my generation of young Canadian boys there were two sources of undying hero worship: the great Ice Hockey players of the day and William Avery "Billy" Bishop who was credited with 72 enemy aircraft downed in the Great War of 1914 to 1918. His legendary exploits undoubtedly had a lot of influence on my determination to be a Fighter Pilot when I grew up, unchanged since it's beginnings when I was six years old and started building models. When I finally achieved my ambition I was tagged with the Callsign "Bishop" and carried it proudly throughout my service. Having a model of Bishop's Nieuport in which he scored over one half of his victories is a must for this Modeller!
The Hobby Craft Canada Kit is a very basic and simply presented version of the aircraft although the basics including generally accurate dimensions are all there. I used a lot of After market components on this build including the MasterCaster's resin cockpit and also their cowling and wheel set, a few bits from Tom's Model Works Brass PE Set, and Gaspatch Lewis Gun. There was also some Scratch Building required to bring the Kit up to an acceptable standard.
Following are a dozen or so photos of the finished product. I have the Model Cellar 54mm figure of Bishop kindly gifted by Paul, the Company owner and, never having done figures, will have to do some practicing before tackling that. Never fear, Paul, your gesture is appreciated and the Bishop Figure will get done!
An enjoyable Build, not without it's occasional setback, but overall the kit is worth building. I have several of the Hobby Craft Camels in my stash and , based on this Kit, will definitely build them some day in the future.
Cheers,
Lance
