1/48 Sopwith Schneider (Special Hobby)

[Jim]

Hello All - Since joining this forum in April 2012, this will be is my first ever build post. In fact, after a few false starts, this will be my first attempt at a building a kit of any type in over five years.

I chose this kit as my first subject for a few reasons. The first is that, apart from my previously mentioned false starts, I haven't built a model kit since I was a kid some thirty years ago. Accordingly, I'd rather start with something I can live with ruining, instead of one of those WNW kits I've squirrelled away...yes, I am one of those WNW kit hoarders collectors (though instead of funding my retirement off the eBay proceeds, I intend to build mine one day!).  The second reason is I had previously nominated to do this kit for the flying boat group build on this forum, but only ended up posting a photo of the box art. Hopefully, this attempt will be a bit better than my last effort, so here goes...

First, the obligatory stuff.

Box art:


Sprues:




Decals/PE:


Resin:


I also intend to replace the kit's engine with the excellent Gnome monosoupape 9B-2 engine offered by Small stuff, which I've previously built:

[Des]

Excellent to see you making a start with this kit Jim, I'm sure you are going to do a great job building this kit, the engine is looking superb.

Des.

[Juan]

Go Jim, go.  Love the subject you've chosen.  Great start with that awesome looking engine.  Looking forward to your progress.

[lcarroll]

   Thirty years!!
   This is indeed an occasion! Take your time Jim, and above all enjoy, you'll be comfortable in no time! Welcome back to the active part of the hobby, it will be a pleasure to follow this one.
Cheers,
Lance

[lone modeller]

I too had a tirty year break - you wil find that the old skills will return with practice and patience. If you do make a mistake, just remember so do the resy of us!

Stephen.

[Bughunter]

Jim, thanks for posting your build report!
You mounted your engine successfully, but you made it harder for you then necessary for painting.
Small Stuff created such small parts individually to allow painting prior mounting, e.g. the push rod sockets. This is a much easier way.

Please note the following link (it is also on every kit manual) with very useful tips:
http://www.smallstuffmodels.com/p/buildinganengine.html

And another warning, the engine is in scale but the kit has thick plastic walls, so the fit will be a problem and need some special attention.

Cheers,
Frank

[bobs_buckles]

Jim,
 I'm keeping two eyes on your progress. Who knows..... It may even inspire me to crack open the glue bottle and build something... Now, there's a dream ;-)

vB

[Manni]

Nice engine, Jim.
Looking forward to see your progress on this nice plane.
Manni

[Jim]

...You mounted your engine successfully, but you made it harder for you then necessary for painting.
Small Stuff created such small parts individually to allow painting prior mounting, e.g. the push rod sockets. This is a much easier way...

Yes, it was a bit of a rookie mistake, but I am the kind of guy that only refers to instructions when all else fails!

[skeeterbuck]

You mounted your engine successfully, but you made it harder for you then necessary for painting.

Frank, I think he still may be OK as the copper colored manifolds have yet to be installed and their the main color difference.

Please note the following link (it is also on every kit manual) with very useful tips:
http://www.smallstuffmodels.com/p/buildinganengine.html

And another warning, the engine is in scale but the kit has thick plastic walls, so the fit will be a problem and need some special attention.

Exactly, that why many "scale" engines don't fit correctly, because of the cowls NOT being in "scale".

Cheers,
Frank

Chuck

[RAGIII]

Excellent start Jim! After 30 years I am sure you will run into a few questions and issues. Feel free to ask as there are some awesome modelers here that are more than willing to share!
RAGIII

[Jim]

So, just a small update before I hopefully get stuck into it over the weekend...

floats:


Upon gluing the floats together, I noticed a very small seam line existed in each one which I proceeded to fill with Tamiya putty, but I was a bit overzealous in its application and ended up sanding most of it off. Hoping the scratches won't be noticeable after hitting it with an undercoat...

cockpit/instrument panel:




After reading the great build log of the Lebed VII that Frank is doing (see link http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8864.msg162069#msg162069) and the inaccuracies in the kit (e.g. high location of floor, wheel rather than stick, etc),  I've decided to bin the kit cockpit and knock up a new interior, though won't even try putting as much detail into it as Frank has done (I'd only end up embarrassing myself!). As Frank also mentioned, the instrument panel has a lot of resin stuck to it, so rather than try to remove it, I'll make a new one using plastic card stock and some instrument bezels I got stashed from Aeroclub.

Engine/bay:



Finally, I've taken a few photos of the engine adjacent the engine bay to show what I'm up against re: fitting. I'm not sure whether even cutting out the panels from each fuselage side the engine will fit without placing a wedge between the two sides of the fuselage but will cross my fingers and hope for the best.

[Jim]

So, after a slight mishap dropping the fuselage onto the engine while photographing them adjacent each other, I noticed two of the pushrods have broken off. While i've repaired the pushrods, they are still a bit wonky. Oh well, at least the cowl will hide the damage  .

[IanB]

Nice start Jim!
 At east you have the advantage of a fully cowled engine on this one. I would thin the cowl sides as much as possible, then clip off a couple of the rocker assemblies if necessary so it fits. The only parts that will be visible are the bottom two or three cylinders....

Ian

[Jim]

I haven't gotten as much done over the labour day long weekend as I was hoping due to watching both grand final footy games (currently watching the NRL game), but here is the progress so far...

I've removed the interior struts and as much of the plastic from the engine bay as I dared, though it was still not enough for the engine to fit. So, rather than putting a wedge between the two fuselage, I'm gonna run with Ian's suggestion and knock off a couple of rockers from the engine and make it a static fit.




The plastic in the first pic looks a bit wet as I tried to smooth over the area that was carved out by melting it with thin cement, but it didn't wok very well.