Hasegawa 1/16 Sopwith Camel F.1

[Composite Guru]

Thought I would share a few pics of my current build.

I’ve always fancied building one of the 1/8 scale wooden versions but they are really expensive and quite huge so decided on taking a punt on the smaller plastic version.
So far I’ve enjoyed everything about the kit and really looking forward to finishing it.

I’ve learnt a lot about how to create wood effect from using oil paints over a base colour. I think it looks like wood in that scale.

The kit comes with all the rigging but unfortunately it isn’t that accurate as most relies on just tying the cord through loops in the structure.
I’ve decided to hand make all the turnbuckles as you can’t buy 1/16 turnbuckles off the shelf. It’s been fun making them though.

Here are a few pics of the build so far.

Edited by Composite Guru on Friday 2nd August 11:41

[Composite Guru]

Equus said:

Ooh! Lots of detail, please - this is a kit I've quite fancied myself!

I'm adding it where I can. The kit itself is pretty good. All I can see I need to add is the fuel lines from the various valves moulded in the kit.

The rigging is just shown as one continuous piece of wire which is threaded through loads small tabs on the structure. That not correct so I'm doing them all individually.

I'm using the Haynes Camel Manual for my reference and its really useful.

You should get this kit. Its been great fun so far.

[Composite Guru]

More progress.

Finally finished rigging the Wings. Just got the Fuselage to do now.
Rigging has really been quite enjoyable rather than a chore. Looks pretty realistic I think. The original kit asks to thread one piece of cotton throughout the whole wing. This is not very accurate hence doing what I’ve done.

Not too long until I can start assembling the whole thing.

[Composite Guru]

TR4man said:

Looks great, quite therapeutic to do I'd think.

Thanks. Yes once you get the hang of threading the cord through the brass tubes it is quite a nice little job.

[Composite Guru]

A bit more progress.

After rigging the tail area I decided to fit the cockpit floor with all the control cables installed.
Treading them all through the Fuselage was fun making sure they didn’t twist around each other.
Just need to temporarily fix the control stick in the centre some how so that I can tension the control cables.
Also installed the magazines and engine oil tank too and then finished off the dashboard.

Next thing to do is add all the fuel pipes from all the various system parts to make it look a bit more realistic.

[Composite Guru]

AshVX220 said:

Are the control surfaces movable with the stick then?

Yes they will move as the real one does.

[Composite Guru]

Ok so I have the Rudder and Elevator all rigged and tensioned. Made up some jigs out of lolly sticks to hold the column and rudder bar central.
Cockpit coming together slowly. Adding as much copper wire as I can to join up all the fuel system parts.

[Composite Guru]

kurt535 said:

That is beautiful. I suppose you don't fancy building a 1:1 for me??

Thanks. I fancy doing one for me first. Would be a hell of a lot easier to work on.

[Composite Guru]

Thanks for the comments. The rigging really is a labour of love. It's taking its time but will be worth it in the end.

[Composite Guru]

eccles said:

I remember these kits when they came out and always fancied one, but space and price put me off. Looks like it still holds up pretty well to modern standards.

I got this for £95 from Amazon a few years ago. Thought that was a pretty good price for size and the contents.

[Composite Guru]

eccles said:

That's a lot cheaper than I thought they were. I seem to recall they were that sort of price when they came out in the early 80's.

This is the 1/16 plastic version and not the 1/8 wood version. This kit only came out 2010 ish.

[Composite Guru]

eccles said:

Composite Guru said:

This is the 1/16 plastic version and not the 1/8 wood version. This kit only came out 2010 ish.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Still looks a great model, and you're doing it justice.

Thanks. I’m nearly finished rigging the Fuselage. It’s been an epic!!

[Composite Guru]

eccles said:

Rigging controls can be very satisfying when it goes right. I've done it quite a lot as part of my day job.

Me too. I’m an ex aircraft engineer.

[Composite Guru]

CanAm said:

eccles said:

Composite Guru said:

This is the 1/16 plastic version and not the 1/8 wood version. This kit only came out 2010 ish.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Still looks a great model, and you're doing it justice.

You can see why Eccles was confused. It LOOKS just like wood!

That’s a base coat of Deck Tan and Raw Sienna acrylic oil paint dragged over the surface. It does look like wood grain in that scale.

[Composite Guru]

spangle82 said:

Plastic? That's just destroyed it for me. The original was wood, keep it wood. So much nicer to work with.

I didn’t have room for the 1/8 scale wooden version.

[Composite Guru]

NoddyonNitrous said:

Are you going to cover the frame, or leave it skeletal?

It’s intended to be left as it is to show the inner workings.
Someone has covered one before and it looks quite good.

[Composite Guru]

Finally got the wings on. Getting the thing sat flat was the hardest bit.
Just the engine and a few other panels to go on and finish ringing it.

[Composite Guru]

dr_gn said:

Looks great. You're going to need an expensive display case...

Yes I've been thinking about that. Was considering a small glass coffee table type thing. Or maybe a wall mounted case.

[Composite Guru]

Nearly finished. Just the prop to go.

I’m not liking the plastic version supplied with the kit so I’m going to make one from wood.
Intension is to make it the same way as the originals and stack layers of template cut veneer and sculpt the prop by hand.
Going to be interesting.

[Composite Guru]

Voldemort said:

Composite Guru said:

Intension is to make it the same way as the originals and stack layers of template cut veneer and sculpt the prop by hand.

User name checks out.

Haha.

Thanks for the comments. I'm happy with the build.

Just need to look into making a case for it now.