Sopwith Camel F.1 - (Wood and Metal kit)

mtrappett

Well-Known Member
Hi everybody ;)

I have decided to have a go at building something a little different. It's the Model Airways Sopwith Camel F.1 I chose this model because it looks like it will be challenging. It's made from wood and metal, which will be different from what I am used to which is paper and card. I have always been fascinated by the old WWI biplanes and I guess the Camel is pretty famous to say the least. The instructions state that the model is like holding the real thing in your hand, and has pretty much the same materials and construction as the full size airplane.:yesyes:

Its a static model and is meant for display only, so no wing covering is required. It will likely need a glass case to keep it safe after it is complete.

MODEL SPECIFICATIONS
Scale 1:16 = (3/4" = 1")
Wingspan - 21"
Fuselage - 14-1/16"

NOTE: If you need to buy the tools and additional items to finish the kit, it will be a substantial amount of cash.

Tools Required:

X-Acto knife or equivalent with # 11 blade(s)
T-Pins
Mapping Pins
5 minute Epoxy
CA Glue
Building board
Razor saw
Glue Looper
Universal Vise
Dremel Drill Tool
1/16" twist drill bit
3/16" twist drill bit
small angled bur
Round Burr
Brass Brushes for Dremel
Small hand brush with brass bristles
Wire cutters
Miniature clothes pins
Cocktail sticks
Blue putty
Multiple pairs of tweezers (needle nose, round nose and so on)
Brass paint
Gunmetal paint
Flat black paint
Silver gray paint
Copper paint
Turpentine Substitute
#200 Grade Silicon Carbide Sandpaper
Windex (or similar)

(I will add to this list(s) as I get going with the model)

Stage 1 - Engine

016.JPG



020.JPG

The Britannia castings of which there are many, are sorted into small plastic bags in the kit.

006.JPG

Here's a view of some of the engine components.

007.JPG

This is the engine's crankcase with pistons, igniter ring, and end plates. It was powered by a Clerget engine amongst others. The propellor was fixed to the engine's driven crankshaft meaning that the engine spun around with the propellor :eek: Yep, there was some pretty crazy stuff back then that was going on. This is how rotary engines worked, which I found VERY interesting.

008.JPG

The clear box with all the castings is quite heavy. The total weight of the kit is 5LB thereabouts.

011.JPG

These are the 9 cylinders. The castings are pretty rough, and need a lot of cleanup with my #11 knife, brass brushes with the Dremel, diamond needle-files, nail files, and so on. The engine is comprised of over 130 parts.

012.JPG

These are the spark plug holes. There are 2 per cylinder. All the holes in the casings need to be checked and drilled out if required. All the holes on the left side need to be re-drilled to allow the fit of the spark plugs.

013.JPG

This is how the box is presented upon first opening. There are 5 plans in total which are super-nice. The wooden parts are made from Basswood, and are as thin as paper/card in some instances.

017.JPG

It's a lot of fun going through and checking of all the parts of the kit. This is a general bag of stuff. There is quite a lot of rigging involved and threading the control wires.

018.JPG

Here's the basswood strips. They are quite thin at 1/16" X 1/16" and 1/32" on the smaller side.

019.JPG

The Crankshaft was the first thing on the list. It's cut from a 12" piece of 3/16" brass tube. I used a cutoff wheel in the Dremel for the job.

021.JPG
 
Last edited:

mtrappett

Well-Known Member
The castings have to be all cleaned up in Windex or other glass cleaner that has ammonia. I have the Windex on the left, and the fresh rinse water on the right. A soft toothbrush works nice to help remove the release agent. Step 1 is building the engine and propellor.


001.JPG

The engine cylinders all drying off nicely.

002.JPG

Epoxy works nice for attaching the castings to one another. The first step is to glue the crankcase covers to the crankcase.

003.JPG

... then the second side is glued and they are aligned with the small notches that can be seen in the photo below.

004.JPG

Here's a picture of the Clerget rotary engine that powered the Camel:

Clerget_9B.jpg
 
Last edited:

Awry_Chaos

OKB-4155
This should be an interesting watch! The website says "No Modeling Experience Required." To me this looks like a fairly advanced kit.
 

Chuffy70

Well-Known Member
Oh that looks really good, nice amount of gubbins in the box to keep anyone happy.

One thing is - the box states it's the plane which shot down the Red Baron, in a book I have he was shot down by four different people, one of them a Canadian rifleman!

I urge anyone who may ponder this to check it out, even if you have no interest in WW1 its a great read - 'The Red Baron's Last flight' by Norman franks & Alan Bennett

Watching with interest abound... more!
 

mtrappett

Well-Known Member
Oh that looks really good, nice amount of gubbins in the box to keep anyone happy.

One thing is - the box states it's the plane which shot down the Red Baron, in a book I have he was shot down by four different people, one of them a Canadian rifleman!

I urge anyone who may ponder this to check it out, even if you have no interest in WW1 its a great read - 'The Red Baron's Last flight' by Norman franks & Alan Bennett

Watching with interest abound... more!
I believe you are correct. I saw mention that it was actually ground fire that brought the Baron's plane down. I want that book you mentioned for sure as I plan on building the Red Baron's Fokker DR1 in the future.:toast:
 

Chuffy70

Well-Known Member
I believe you are correct. I saw mention that it was actually ground fire that brought the Baron's plane down. I want that book you mentioned for sure as I plan on building the Red Baron's Fokker DR1 in the future.:toast:
I had a look at the website for these models and I think they are very reasonably priced for what you get in the box - The Fokker will be a lovely companion piece to this, looking forward to seeing you build that one too...I'd love to, but no-where to put it! So if anyone out there who wants one built, consider me please...;)

The book was made into a documentary in the UK, but cannot find any link to it, but it's a great read.
PICTURE FOR REFERENCE
20230124_103158.jpg

20230124_103210.jpg
 

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
I would consider making a detailed paper model for the engine, and have the metal engine onn a display stand, so you can spin it. I am hoping you will make it a non static enginee model. This is a beauty of a kit. I know you will do it justice, and even more. ;)
 

Chuffy70

Well-Known Member
I would consider making a detailed paper model for the engine, and have the metal engine onn a display stand, so you can spin it. I am hoping you will make it a non static enginee model. This is a beauty of a kit. I know you will do it justice, and even more. ;)
I think this company make the engines as separate kits? I'd say buy another and keep commerce alive ;)
 

mtrappett

Well-Known Member
I had a look at the website for these models and I think they are very reasonably priced for what you get in the box - The Fokker will be a lovely companion piece to this, looking forward to seeing you build that one too...I'd love to, but no-where to put it! So if anyone out there who wants one built, consider me please...;)

The book was made into a documentary in the UK, but cannot find any link to it, but it's a great read.
PICTURE FOR REFERENCE
View attachment 209694

View attachment 209695

I did a search online and came up with this Red Baron
 

mtrappett

Well-Known Member
I would consider making a detailed paper model for the engine, and have the metal engine onn a display stand, so you can spin it. I am hoping you will make it a non static enginee model. This is a beauty of a kit. I know you will do it justice, and even more. ;)
That's a great idea! I wish I was more experienced with Pepakura or some other software that could be used to design the engine. I guess I could scratch build it from paper cylinders, cocktail sticks, and the like? It seems like in the Camel it, the propellor and engine is fixed but that seems a pity. Having the propellor spin would be very nice. Thank you again Zathros for the nice feedback!
 
Top