Completed Eduard 1:48 Sopwith F.1 camel

[colin m]

Of the 5,734 Sopwith Camels delivered (5,914 ordered), one of the most famous is that flown by the Canadian ace, William George Barker - B6313. B6313 was completed by the Sopwith Aviation Co. Ltd of Kingston-on-Thames and delivered to the Aeroplane Acceptance Park at Kenley on 11 September 1917. On 24 September B6313 went to No.28 Sqn RFC based at Yatesbury. No.28 Sqn was getting ready to go to France and on 2 October a new 'C' Flight commander joined the squadron. William George Barker and B6313 were to be together for the next year.

On 8 October 1917, No.28 Sqn flew to France, later that same day Barker shot down an Albatros D.V which he didn't claim as he wasn't supposed to cross the lines. The squadron officially began operations on 18 October, and Barker claimed a green Albatros D.III shot down on 20 October. By the end of the month he had scored two more times, when No.28 was notified that it was to be transferred to the Italian front. Which is the version this model depicts.

Barker was given command of his own squadron on 14 July - however No.139 Sqn flew the Bristol F2b Fighter, not the Sopwith Camel. Barker therefore had B6313 transferred to Z Aircraft Park and then assigned to No.139 Sqn. While at No.139 Sqn Barker brought his total victories in Italy to 46 before being recalled to England in early October.

One notable detail was the 'little red devil' on the right hand Vickers gun. This 'radiator mascot' was also carried by at least three other Italian theatre Camels.

The final appearance of B6313 found it with all the paint removed from the nose panels and the b/w bands expanded to seven and six respectively and the upper wing center-section had the fabric removed to improve upwards visibility.

On 29 September 1918, Barker flew B6313 for the last time. During the year of operational flying B6313 had amassed 404 hours, 10 minutes of flying time, of which Barker put in 379 hours 25 minutes.

Major William Barker's Sopwith Camel (serial no. B6313, the aircraft in which the majority of his victories were scored,) became the most successful fighter aircraft in the history of the RAF, shooting down 46 aircraft and balloons from September 1917 to September 1918 in 404 operational hours flying.

The Camel was credited with shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than any other Allied fighter.

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This was my first proper journey into WW1 machinery. It was a bit tricky in places, that's not a criticism of the kit, just me extending my abilities somewhat ! So, yes, I'll build another WW1 plane in the future, but not just yet.

Colin M.....

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[Vaughan]

That's a real beauty Colin there's some great detail going on there and a lovely paint job 5*

 

[flyjoe180]

Hi Colin. This is a beautiful Camel, thanks for showing us. Well done on the rigging too, it looks fantastic.

 

[Ian M]

Really nice job there Colin. It has turned out really well.

Five from me as well.

Ian M

 

[CDW]

Thats excellent t'other Colin...

nice build and paintjob that has a subtle look to it with all the little details you can see here and there.

 

[yak face]

Fantastic job colin, great build and nice to have some background info too , 5 from me , cheers tony

 

[mobear]

really very nicely done 5*s from me

mobear

 

[colin m]

Thank you all for having a look. It's the first Eduard kit I've built, and even though, on the odd occasion it presented a couple of problems, it really is a well engineered kit. So, well done Eduard, and yes, I'll be buying Eduard again. This kit was a 'profipack, it had everything in it, PE, paint masks even the instructions are in the form of a little booklet. Oh yes, as for options, they even provided an alternative upper wing ! I've never worked with so much PE before, but it really does a good level of detail to the model - and - I confess, I might of left a few bits of PE off by mistake. Actually, there are even alternative PE parts as well.

As for the rigging, I have to say EZ line made it quite an easy job. It stretches nicely, and the moment it touches CA, it's stuck fast - so just make sure you get it in the right place first time.

 

[capt-pugwash]

words fail me...bril.

 

[capt-pugwash]

hey colin is that a huskie?, got 2 myself.