instrument dials that require
removing from their sizeable
sprue gates and the resultant
indentations cleaned of. These
tiny, rounded items proved to have
minds of their own, and a couple
of them went lying of into the
distant recesses of my studio, never
to be seen again. Replacements
were therefore sought from my
spares box. That not unexpected
issue aside, the thirty cockpit
components looked very efective
once painted and assembled.
I feel the superb engineering of
this kit needs a mention, as in my
experience many of Eduard’s earlier
World War One kits, although
wonderfully detailed, sufered
from poorly itting components.
This sturdy little sesquiplane is
not amongst them, and a lot of
thought has gone into its creation.
Unfortunately, this does mean
that some of the modeller’s hard
work will eventually go unnoticed,
as some very nice details are all
but invisible once the fuselage is
closed up. This includes a nicely-
detailed, two-piece fuel tank that
was painstakingly inished in
brass Alclad lacquers with petrol
staining. It transpired that this
was hidden behind a suspended
ammunition drum located below
the engine top cover, and was
totally invisible in the darkened
depths of the enclosed fuselage.
So complete is the cockpit
that the only addition I felt
compelled to make was to run
some wiring from the various dials
and instruments located on the
sidewalls (dial faces are provided
on the decal sheet). Belatedly I
also decided to add a resin seat,
from the Barracudacast range, as
I was not overly happy with the
appearance of the kit options.
Two seats are actually supplied
within the kit, one moulded in
plastic and another with a colour-
etch back rest, but neither of them
looked particularly convincing. The
resin alternative came complete
with an integrally moulded
harness, which to my mind is
always a more appealing option
than having to pose awkward metal
items like those that come with the
kit, with the inevitable problem
of the printed surface detaching
from the parts when they are bent
to shape. (Not on more recent
kits, this has been resolved. Ed.)
Once the cockpit was varnished
the chubby little fuselage was
cemented shut without any fuss.
The lower wings itted perfectly
and needed just a smear of iller to
hide the subtle seam. The triangular
tailplane proved to be a much
poorer it (the only poorly itting
part in the entire kit) and Milliput
was required to ill the resultant and
prominent gaping joint, both above
and below the horizontal surfaces.IN A SPIN ABOUT THE
ENGINE
One item that I felt needed
upgrading was the engine.
The highly visible engines and
characteristic wooden propellers
of vintage aircraft inevitably
become a focal point on any replica,
and to improve the detail in this
area I decided to add Eduard’s
Brassin engine set #648166. This
little gem of a set contains three
resin components: a one-piece
crankcase, cylinder block, and
cylinder assembly; a separate
exhaust manifold block; and the
centre section and prop shaft.
A small photo-etch fret
featuring twenty-
two individual
rocker feed pipes
and eleven
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