HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS - Page 225

JohnReid · 17 July 2007, 02:07 PM

In order to keep my flagging interest up and to take advantage of the nice weather while I can here in the GWN,I am going to change direction for awhile.
I have begun the research for the winter 08 project,the Camel/Truck build and I may even tackle the engine/prop group at this time.
The above pic is of course the 1/16th Camel by Model Airways.For fun I may modify it into a Sea Camel ,if I can confirm this type was send to Canada for aeronautical research at one of our universities around this time.
Like I do with all my builds I will gather as much info as I can on the Camel and especially the engine.The internet is usually the best resource for this and although the plans in the kit look pretty good I always like to have more than just one source of info.

JohnReid · 17 July 2007, 03:29 PM

JohnReid · 17 July 2007, 04:26 PM

For model reference:
Ken Foran : Sopwith Camel F1

For engine color reference:
Mark Miller's 3-D Nieuport

JohnReid · 18 July 2007, 06:49 AM

JohnReid · 18 July 2007, 08:26 AM

JohnReid · 19 July 2007, 05:57 AM

JohnReid · 19 July 2007, 06:50 AM

While I have had some problems in the past with poor metal castings, such as those supplied with the Model Expo Albatros and Nieuport kits ,the castings supplied with this kit are of the same quality as the Jenny ,I am happy to say.
The wood supplied has always been of a very high quality but some of the diecut wood pieces do have some problems especially the fitting of some spars through the wing ribs of the DVa and the 28!
So far the Jenny has been the best kit of them all for accuracy and ease of construction as well as overall quality of the parts.The plans and instruction booklet are good but as always a little other supplemental research is recommended.(I chose to build mine as a "Canuck" version).
Although the Jenny is their most expensive kit and maybe a little more difficult to rig,it is my personal recommendation if you are a newcomer to this type of construction ,to start with this kit.Why? the frustration factor and it is the one that you are most likely to finish.The others are for the more experienced builder or for one who has already built the Jenny and doesn't mind a little scratchbuilding.Example: the undercarriage of the Albatros .The metal parts are so soft that over time it may not support the weight of the aircraft without adding some extra internal support to the legs.etc....etc...
to be cont......

JohnReid · 19 July 2007, 07:10 AM

JohnReid · 19 July 2007, 07:45 AM

Although I have never built an Entex model before at first glance it looks good to me.I picked it up on Ebay for 15 bucks so I can't complain about the price.The kit is almost 40 years old and in excellent condition.I have built a few 1/16th car kits before and this one looks about the same quality ,which is usually very good.I plan to heavily weather and modify this kit for my own purposes much as I did on the others.
I could have saved myself a lot of time by just buying a diecast and weathering that ,but this looks to be a lot of fun.
If anyone out there has built this kit or if you have had experience with any other 16th Entex build,please let me know if you had any problems.

For the figure guys out there I will be adding a few to this model(my first experience with natural lighting)
Cheers! John.