Eduard 1/48 Sopwith triplane

[Never a Pro]

Hello,

 

I will start a build of this gem, a 1996 Eduard 1/48 Sopwith Triplane. Got it from a connection during the pandemic.

 

With my luck, Eduard will retool it and sell a Profipack version after I finish this one, on half the price I paid for this one (without shipping and custom fees). At least it will have some people interested in this amazing plane. 

 

I went to London in April, and I manage to visit the RAF museum and take a good look at the one of the only two surviving Triplanes, and document it a little. This will be a Collinshaw's "Black Maria", by the way.

 

The kit itself is very simple with two sprues, details are average, decals are impeccable. Comes with a photo etch, but not as detailed as the profipack version, so I bought a photo etch detail that is intimidatingly damn small. 

 

Now, this will be a very slow build, as I do not have much time left, and I want to make justice to this gem, so I do not want to rush things. 

 

Let's see how this will turn out, wish me luck.

[Never a Pro]

A lot of research was made, let me see what I kind of found out (as a reference for anyone who will want to do this airplane): 

 

- Triplanes come in PC12, not PC10

- They come with wither zero gun window inspection, one small silver gun window inspection, one large gun window inspection, or two (one for each side). In the case of one window inspection, it is on the starboard side. 

- Not clear if there is Triplanes with only one aileron cable inspection windows in the lower window. The one in the RAF museum has 2, so I will do that. Total of 7 windows: 3 in the upper wing, 4 in both lower wings.

 

I will do a generic triplane, and I will save Collinshaw's colors for the Sopwith Camel I got (the Eduard 82171 kit). Collinshaw's tripe needs 2 machine guns, this kit comes with one. I could scratchbuild one, plus adapt the fuselage, but I don't want to.  Also, Collinshaw's tripe does not have the Roterham fuel pump, and I want to add it. 

 

I can't give enough credit to Eduard and the amazing work they did with the Camel retooling. The Camel 82171 kit comes with parts for every Camel version, so I can "salvage" the Clerget engine, as the Camel BR.I uses the Bentley engine. I can also get some instrument panel decals and prop cubes from there, maybe an extra pair of wheels, as this 2021 kit has way better quality and details (as expected).

 

Also, I have one question: I want to try to do a "turned" engine, by coating it with white, then do the circle turns with a pencil, then coat it with AK extreme metal aluminium, as I found that metal color to be good for thin layers. Would that be a good approach? 

 

[rob Lyttle]

Lovely project 👍 SO MUCH better looking than the Fokker Dr1. 

I got hooked on the Sopwith due to my (near) namesake Robert Little, Australia's top scoring Ace in WW1. He moved on to Camels too, but most of his score was with a Tripe. 

Your question there is way beyond me and you're talking about details already that I know nothing about. 

I know that all the triplanes were RNAS Naval planes. I'm looking forward to seeing this one come together. 

Profipacks and extra brass etch....?? 

Careful what you wish for 😄🤓

[marvinneko]

I saw a replica recently at our national museum. Sadly I didn't pay it enough attention 🫤 as I was caught up with a bunch of other planes. 

 

https://ingeniumcanada.org/aviation/artifact/sopwith-triplane

 

[Quiet Mike]

Good choice sir! I have a couple of Sopwiths in the pipeline, but not a Tripe (yet)

Sopwith Triplane "DIXIE" by Mike, on Flickr

[Never a Pro]

Yeah, this will go slowly. I will take my time. 

 

I have marked the positions for the aileron cable inspections on the windows, I think I will just scrub, paint it wood, and cover with a thick coat of clear

 

 

 

I opened a big gun inspection window on the tarboard side. The plastic is quite thick, so it is easy to insert a transparent sprue square in it. 

 

 

 

 

the quality difference that 25 years do. The light gray wheels are from the Eduard 1996 triplane, the dark gray wheels are from the Eduard 2021 Camel. I will "borrow" them, as the Camel comes with 2 sets

 

 

 

Same with the engine, it is a huge leap in detail. The 2021 Camel detail is so good, that I think the plastic piece with the valve rods do a better job then the photo-etch (so it really look like pipes), and no need to make them from metal wire. 

 

 

 

Now, for the cowling, I like the rivet ring that the Camel cowlings have, but their vents are a little different. So, on top, we have the Camel and the Triplane cowlings. On the bottom, the combination between those two. I am using that mix of glue and sprue as putty. It works great, but it shrinks a little, so it needs some reinforcement to keep the shape. 

 

The challenge is to file it and smoothen the cowl without damaging the rivet ring. My idea is to use my thumb fingernail as a "mask" to protect while sanding the cowl. It was an ambitious idea, but I may pull it off. 

 

 

 

Now, I have to spend some time re-drilling all holes for all pieces, and future rigging. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Never a Pro

[Never a Pro]

I finally got some time and courage to do the extra cowling vent with a dremel, it is okay-ish.

 

 

I am also marking the aileron cable inspection windows. The dark grey sprue is from the Sopwith Camel, which is amazingly detailed (we can see the pulley and the cables). 

 

 

 

The window frames will come from this photo etch. I am using it as a template.

 

 

I am gluing the fabric stitches to the starboard side of the airplane. 

 

 

I hate using super-glue, it is just too fast for me and I like to take time to adjust, so I am instead trying a different approach: a bigger hole filled with sprue glue. 

I am very happy with the results, and the bonding is quite strong.

 

 

 

Also spent a lot of time drilling the necessary holes for all the required rigging, wiring, lanfing gear structures, engin air intakes, etc.

 

 

 

[Work In Progress]

I have been looking out for one of these kits at an affordable price for a while. Like you I hope they retool it soon, or at least re-issue it! It is a big gap in my WW1 collection. Meanwhile I admire the work you are doing. Adding the control horns with your sprue glue is a great idea

[Never a Pro]

 

Hi,

 

I am still fixing everything before painting. I was curious if I can make this gunsight with sprue glue:

 

 

The god thing is that I do not have to glue the film to the metal part, I let the sprue glue to do the bond.

 

 

 

the landing gear requires a lot of work. The main bar does not fit the structs gap, also, it needed to be trimmed a lot so it has that skewed look.

 

 

Since I had to make the holes and the whole thing is kind of fragile, nothing better than using the fuselage for alignment.

 

 

I am now improving the cockpit, next step is to try and make a believable wood pattern in all wood parts. 

[Never a Pro]

I am now done with wood painting. I found out that a base of wooden deck, plus paintbrushing clear orange makes up for a believable wood color. 

The clear orange is very interesting, it is glossy and quite different from the XF colors. I really like how the prop looks like. 

The wing stucts will be yellow, so I can see what that color does with a yellow base. I will thin it, though. 

 

 

 

the original prop cube was ok, but it could be better. Since the Eduard Camel photo etch comes with two, I will use the left one (painted with Aluminum Metal) 

 

 

I messed up the film, so I will now use some Camel decals. The instrument panel looks pretty decent live, but this phone pictures are not that great.

 

 

 

I am trying to fix the landing gear, as the OOB one is not really accurate. I am adding some stubs so I can wrap some "wire" (stretched sprue) to mimic the elastic used as shock absorber.

 

 

Here is a pump, and the pilot seat (X-1 Black, plus some weathering), with a cushion that it is actually not bad. 

 

 

 

This is how the shock absorber ended to be. It worked OK.

 

I am still struggling with finishing the cockpit, I really want to close the fuselage soon, but there is still a lot of prep work around. I know this is a long project. 

[Never a Pro]

Hi guys, 

 

I am finally done with the cockpit. I followed the great Wingnuts Wings instructions as a template for cable wiring. 

 

I used black and grey stretched sprue for the cables. They don't look that tight and aligned, but they will be hidden. I would definitely do it better if they would be visible.

 

 

 

I get that they do not make pictures nicer. Also, this is almost too tiny for me. I had a lot of problems fitting the seat on the cage, and I struggle to get steady hands for this kind of detail. I like the challenge, but it is quite time consuming.

 

 

I added only 4 cable wires on the floor, and I am finally relieved in seeing that it's done and I can close the fuselage. 

 

 

 

I am really loving sprue glue, it is now my go-to product for seam filling, and also to glue photo-etch parts. I really hate seams, but luckily, this kit is very small. Fitting is not terrible, but it has its age.

 

 

I am adding two pieces of sprue to the end of the middle wings, so that the fuselage struct is not visible. Also, the leading edge holes for the wing cables are now closed with sprue glue.

 

Now I will work on the tail section, I will have to cut it out so I can scratch build a stabilizer elevator. 

 

 

Edited February 9 by Never a Pro

[Quiet Mike]

Following with interest! I have a few early Sopwiths in the stash, picking up a lot of hints and tips here.

[Brandy]

I'm not sure how I missed this earlier, but it's looking very good so far!

The Rotherham pump, by the way, is not a fuel pump. It's to pressurise the fuel tank to ensure positive pressure and fuel flow.

 

Ian

[Never a Pro]

Thanks for the kind words.

 

I added a pair of double hooks on each side so I have a place to attach the double wing cables. I used sprue glue to attach it.

 

 

I also added a hole for the ammo rounds.

 

 

I filed the tail end so I could scratch build a tailplane adjustment mechanism. 

 

 

I made the cilynder out of some rods I have. I glued to the fuselage so it has a strong bond, I need it for the tail skid. there is a belt I made with metal part, but I don't think that would work.  

 

 

The idea was better than the execution. There is also a lot of space, I will try to trim it a little. Execution was not great, but better than before.

 

 

Now for masking for a layer of white, then some pre-shading.

 

[Never a Pro]

Yeah, that tailplane adjustment was not great. I redid it, much better now

 

 

[Never a Pro]

Hello. 

 

I haven't done much work on the Triplane, actually working more on upcoming projects that I think I will begin now to help flush the Triplane work that I am trying to avoid. 

 

I am scratch-building the Roterham pump, using stretched sprue and threading the smallest hole ever. I am amazed how it worked. I will paint it in metal tones and attach a black wire and braces when I am done. 

 

 

 

I was not happy with the propeller hub, so I decided to borrow the Camel one, and user a steel tube to get a prober hub center

 

 

 

Now, for some reasons I didn't quite understand, while brushing clear orange thinned with X-20A on top of a wooden deck base (also Tamiya acrylic), I removed the wooden deck, and all went mixed into a slush that I just tried to control. Now, in the end it still looks wood-ish (I will try some grains with oil paint), but I am not happy as I didn't know what happened.

 

I want to do the same with the wing structures, but now I am afraid I need to coat it before, but unsure if it will make a similar paint salad. Anyone has a better understanding about tamiya clear paints and how they work, I would appreciate.

 

 

 

 

 

[Never a Pro]

Hi, 

 

I lost count on how many times I painted these struts. I know that they will determine how good the model will look like in the end. 

 

The hardest part is to hold them, so I tried with some needles with handlers. It didn't work that great

 

 

I really like the clear orange from Tamiya, but brushing it requires some learning, as the paint behaves quite uniquely. Combining that to the fact that I have to do both sides at the same time, and I have to do a lot of tries until the paint has the right consistency to make wood grains, and 10 seconds after, it starts to solidify and pull the paint underneath. 

 

So yeah, really interesting paint. I am curious to hear your experiences with it. 

 

 

I also am trying to simulate turning, by pre-shading the engine cowl. the rest of the steel body will follow through, but that reqires more time that I am struggling with. 

 

[Brandy]

I always spray the clear orange, it's only the thinned "leather" colour that I brush. I'm afraid that doesn't really help but the issues you're having are one of the main reasons I always spray it!

 

Ian