Revell 1/72nd Sopwith Triplane

I don't build a lot of aeroplanes from World War One. Part of the problem is that I don't know what to call it. I think "First World War" is proper terminology in the UK and former Commonwealth; "World War One" seems to be a US thing; and "Great War" always makes think of Yoda saying "Oooh, wars not make one great!" But a big part of the problem is that World War One aeroplanes (it doesn't seem right to call them "airplanes") have a great deal of character, which makes them, to my mind, formidable modeling challenges. If a plank-on-frame sailing ship is the Everest of modeling, a good fully-rigged biplane must be the K2.

But I do like World War One aeroplanes. The first model I ever built was a Revell Fokker Dr.1, the light blue one that I think was flown by Werner Voss. And I've built the Sopwith Triplane at least a dozen times. But my absolute favorite is the RE.8; something about the way it looks bent in the middle appeals to me.

So, the Sopwith Triplane. Put on a DVD of The Blue Max and dig in. The molds are showing their age and the fit isn't great. The Vickers machine gun is pretty bad, and the pilot is starting to resemble a Sumo wrestler in a leather flying coat. But it isn't too hard to assemble, and the decals were excellent. I've read a lot of negative comments about the size and shape of the "Blymp" lettering and the serial numbers, and those comments may well be true, but the decals as decals worked very nicely. The decal sheet includes a seat belt decal, but considering that there's no interior detail at all and the only way to hide that fact is to shoehorn the portly flying officer in, well, that decal goes in the spares box.

I used Tamiya Khaki Drab to represent PC10. I think it looks a little too dark and maybe not quite brown enough, but PC10 is a hard color to duplicate; I bet everyone has their own interpretation of it. I used Model Master Sand to represent the clear doped linen. It's about the right lightness, but maybe not quite creamy enough, but it'll do. I painted the wooden fuselage decking Model Master Wood, and the struts Tamiya Desert Yellow.

You'll note two major deficiencies. One is that it has no windshield, something I intend to add later, and another is that it isn't rigged. At all. Maybe someday I'll rig it, but I bet I won't. I don't even know what's good for rigging. I used to rely on stretched sprue because it could be tightened with heat, but sometimes it turns out kind of uneven. Maybe some kind of very fine music wire would work. When I get around to building the RE.8 in my collection I'll probably try that. I can justify not rigging the Sopwith, but not the RE.8.