Sopwith 2F1 Ship's Camel - Eduard 1/48

[OwenEldridge]

Sopwith 2F1 Camel, Tondern Raid 1918 - Eduard 1/48

I bought this kit last March, and it sat on the shelf until September when I decided to assemble the Bentley engine. After I assembled the engine I put the contents back in the box and the kit sat on the shelf for another 4 months while I worked on the Meng M2A3. This January I pulled the kit out again and decided to finish it. This was my first biplane so I wasn't quite sure what to expect...it ended up being one of the most challenging modeling projects I've ever undertaken.

The kit is well detailed and the most accurate of the 1/48 Camels, but there are some major fit issues with the cowl and struts. The decals included with the kit provide some beautiful marking options...albeit the checkers of Captain Bernard Arthur Smart's aircraft are tricky to apply to say the least. There is lots of photo etch and a few resin parts included in the kit so no aftermarket should be required.

I started by assembling the cockpit. There is a nice photo etch seat and seat belts. The decals for the gauges on the panel went down nicely with some Micro Sol. If you desire, you can add some rigging in the cockpit. Unfortunately, almost all cockpit detail will be hidden once you seal it up and secure the top wing. After cementing the fuselage halves and filling the seams, I painted, decaled, and futured the cowl. The wooden part of the fuselage was created with enamel Model Master Burnt Sienna over Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan. Burnt sienna was applied by streaking it with a brush to make it look like the red brown wood described in the Windock Sopwith 2F1 Datafile. This was sealed in Tamiya Clear Orange to impart a varnished look.

Then the tedious part began: drilling holes for rigging. I studied the Windsock datafile for a few weeks and the brought out the #80 drill bit. I then broke the #80 drill bit...and broke another #80 drill bit. Three drill bits later I had drilled all of the holes. The upped wing surfaces and fuselage were painted in Mr. Color Lacquer 121 thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner. The paint went down smoothly but I wouldn't use lacquers again...the fumes made me a little high. The lower surfaces were painted in Mr. Hobby H-85 Sail Color (I'm more of a Tamiya acrylic person but these paints were the the right mix out of the bottle)

The most difficult problem was aligning the top wing...the stage of the build where many modeler's Camels have ended up in the trash can. Thankfully I had read some reviews and knew about the reversed cabane strut instruction error. But this knowledge still didn't spare me the pain of trying to do a job that would give an octopus trouble.

After the top was secured and was strait enough to be passable, I started the rigging. I used some Americana quilting thread that I "found" in a cabinet. Once the wing rigging was done I smoothed out the entry and exit holes and touched up on the paint. The areas that would be decaled were were sprayed with future to prevent silvering and the decals went down without a fuss...although I did use quite a bit of micro sol on the rudder and elevator decals. The tail surfaces were rigged, (no stretched sprue for me) and I began work on the bomb rack. The bombs are resin and photo etch and each fin had to be glued individually. The bombs were painted Tamiya Dark Yellow and Model Master flat black. The wheel rims were painted using the Eduard express mask included and weathered with oil paints. After the final control surface rigging was secure the model was finished.

Overall its a good kit and I'm pleased with how it turned out...but I think I'm done with biplanes for a while.

[cngaero]

What a lovely little Camel.

You've done a really nice job with the rigging.

It certainly shows off the fragility of the real thing.

[Darby]

An excellent way to commemorate the 107th anniversary year of Royal Naval aviation

[Ozzy]

Nice job.

[stevej60]

superb work Owen,well worth the time and effort involved,very impressed with all that rigging!

[Calum]

Great work Owen. what did use for the rigging

[Grey Beema]

Great build and great finishing - I especially like the rigging.

Far off in the future I aim to do a couple of RNAS examples to add to my collection..

[Viking]

A real little gem!

Cheers

John

[Brandy]

Very nicely done! You've conquered the hard part...figuring out the upper wing and rigging...it gets easier from now on...

Ian

[OwenEldridge]

Thanks everyone.

[Epeeman]

You may have had problems with getting the top wing on, but it doesn't show in your model.

Brilliant result with nice colourful markings.

Regards

Dave

[Darwinism]

I made this kit a while ago and agree with your comments on the fit of some parts being problematic. You've done a great job overcoming these challenges - good work!