HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

You know the more I work with this kit the more it seems to grow on me!After all it is the only game in town in 1/16th unless you want to completely scratch build your own,which not many of us is ever very likely to do .It is a compromise between the two and like all compromises it does have its down side.It provides for a good introduction to scratch building in the larger scales and for dioramists like me it is a god send.Imagine almost 9 years of work building three 1/16th scale dioramas using these modified kits?If I had scratch build everything 29 years won't be long enough!
After the Jenny, I guess my expectations were set a little too high for the Camel.I am no businessman and have no idea of the needs of the marketplace in producing kits such as this.That being said quality control is still a major problem with every one of these kits, except the Jenny.
If you are willing to do some scratch building and have the proper independent references and drawings a decent job can be done with these kits.Jim Landon's Nieuport 28 is a great example.(see wwi-models.org)
Those who are used to step-by-step builds will find no comfort here.The information is available but you will have to dig for it.These kits are a challenge for even the most experienced modeler.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Some of the fuel tank plumbing has been installed using copper wire and the cockpit seat has been temporarily installed.

[JohnReid]

As I am building this aircraft my mind occasionally wanders thinking what it must have been like to fly this airplane in combat.Modern combat pilots have a least some chance of survival but for the WW1 guys it was just about nil.No wonder that they issued service revolvers to pilots not to protect themselves from the enemy but to be able to shoot themselves before they died a fiery death.
When you sat in a Camel you really "wore the airplane".It must have been a tight fit with little room to move.There you were seated with your legs under the back half of the engine and fuel tanks directly behind your head and body.
Wearing a bulky flight suit surrounded by levers ,wires and struts and subject to all the usual G forces etc....Those guys must have had nerves of steel!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The oil tank has temporarily been installed behind the firewall and the secondary fuel tank is being modified to fit behind the pilot head.
The parts supplied for the 2nd fuel tank require a lot of modification due to their bulky over-scale appearance .The fitting supplied to hold the tank to the top longerons of the fuselage is 10 times the size of the main fuel tank which is 10 times heavier.Go figure!It would have been easier to scratch-build the thing but I also enjoy the challenges of modification.

[JohnReid]