SOPWITH CAMEL IN MOTION: 1:16 SCALE BIPLANE KIT WITH MULTI-MEDIA COMPONENTS

HERE'S ANOTHER VIDEO TREAT from the master of stop-motion videos, Tom Grigat. This time he assembles a 1:16 scale model from the Spanish manufacturer, Artisania Latina.

STRUCTURAL MODEL KITS - IS THE HASEGAWA 1:16 SCALE SOPWITH CAMEL THE START OF SOMETHING BIG?

News of the 1:16 scale Hasegawa Sopwith Camel makes us wonder if ultra-large scales are on the growth list for future scale models.

INCOMING: FASCINATING 'SEE-INSIDE' HASEGAWA 1:16 SCALE SOPWITH CAMEL FIGHTER KIT

SMN report: Due shortly in stores worldwide is this 1:16 scale Hasegawa ‘Museum Quality’ structural kit of the Sopwith Camel F1, an iconic single-seat World War I fighter plane.

PRECISION 1:8 SCALE HASEGAWA ROTARY ENGINE

SMN report:

Hasegawa has reissued the beautifully produced 1:8 scale scale Le Rhone rotary engine. There are just 82 components to assemble, but it's an impressive kit nonetheless. As you can see from the pictures, the result will be a extremely convincing replica of this important World War I powerplant, and Hasegawa includes a dolly stand, so the display possibilities are good too.

CAN THE AVERAGE KIT CONSTRUCTOR COMPETE WITH A READY-BUILT MODEL?

SMN report:

It’s a hard question to answer, bearing in mind that the model-maker ‘craft’ market is different from the ready-built ‘collector’ market, and that our idea of a well-made kit varies. But there are crossover points between the two, and it’s exemplified by the latest Corgi World War I biplane, a 1000-off Limited Edition 1:48 scale model of the Sopwith Camel flown by Captain CM McEwen in Italy, January 1919.

COMBAT AIRCRAFT OLD AND NEW FROM CORGI

If you like diecast aircraft, then you’ve a chance to add an interesting pair to your collection this month with these two from Corgi, a 1:72 scale BAC TSR-2 strike bomber and a 1:48 scale World War I Sopwith Camel.

We gave a brief heads-up on the TSR-2 on May 30 last year, and here it is, nicely finished in Cold War anti-flash white. Sad to say, the real aircraft became a political victim - despite the prototype XR219 flying in September 1964 and promising to be streets ahead of anything else in the sky, the project was scrapped. Yet in a bizarre twist of incompetence, the swing-wing F-111 ordered to replace it was also cancelled a few years later. So the Corgi model is as much a monument to political uselessness as it is to the diecaster’s art. It looks good though, and is quite a hefty beast, measuring nearly 15 in (380 mm) long.

The Sopwith Camel is an old-fashioned delight, and represents the red-striped aircraft flown by Flight Lieutenant Norman McGregor of 10 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in late 1917, a unit that later became 210 Squadron of the fledgeling Royal Air Force (RAF) in April 1918. Corgi’s model shows off one advantage that ready-builts have over kits - the wire bracing is beautifully presented, and done so exactly that it challenges all but the most skilled model maker to beat the level of precision - certainly this reviewer couldn’t begin to match it.

To 1:48 scale the Camel is big enough - the wingspan is 180 mm (7.1 in) - to make a fine desk-top model, and with some careful weathering would look very fine in a mud-and-bullets World War I diorama setting.

Visit The Aviation Archive section of the Corgi online shop here.

You can buy the Corgi TSR-2 at a discount here.

There are several Corgi Sopwith Camels available, including McGregor’s aircraft here.