Since springing forth fully formed from somewhere in the Ukraine Toko have quickly established a reputation for good quality products. WW1 modellers can be thankful for a flush of models some of aircraft never before seen as mainstream plastic kits .In keeping with the modern trend TOKO will sometimes offer three or four different versions of the same aircraft, each kit differing in optional parts and decals to allow alternative variants to be built. The latest subject to be given this treatment is the Sopwith 1½ strutter.
My preference these days is for ¼8, but one look inside the box and I was hooked. Toko have set themselves very high standards of detail and accuracy, which the Sopwith certainly meets, and the delicacy of some of the smaller parts is second to none. The trainer version of the kit has a full range of optional parts and was chosen for its conversion potential. My intention was to build it as a French 1B1 single seat bomber, but a visit to the TOKO web page reveals that they got there first and a kit is now in the shops. They even supply it in the markings I had settled on. Nothing daunted, and with the joyous prospect of finishing a model in a single weekend, I set about building my strutter almost straight from the box.
Fuselage
Because I my model depicts a two seat escort fighter rather than the trainer I ommited the seat and dual controls from the rear cockpit. A floor made from microstrip was substituted, and a siutably trimmed part 20a (prop retainer) proved to be an ideal "piano stool" for the gunner. Any additional detail can safely be confined to the gunners possition as the pilots "office" is completely obscured by the broad upper wing and the cabane structure. Some care is called for when assembling the fuselage as there are no locating pins. Perhaps it was just my example but the fuselage had a decidedly pinched look about it. Fortunately the plastic is quite soft and is easiley bent outwards to correct the fault and the seperate turtledeck is then a near perfect fit. The exhaust chanel is also a good fit, but rather fiddly so do take care not to lose it.
This may seem a little picky to some but this kit has fault it shares with just about every kit of a Sopwith type ever made (except for my own Dolphin kit of dim and distant memory, but I won't crow . . . .much).Just in front of the tail the upper fuselage longerons are faired upwards to meet the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizor. This is, as it were, one of Herbert Smiths design signiatures and can be seen on the Camel, Pup, Triplane et al. I cemented a small square section piece of plastic , cut from one of ejector tabs on the kit sprue, just in front of the horizontal tail. Once dry I faired it in with Miliput and later carved and sanded to shape. Before leaving the fuselage group a word about the "W" cabane struts which earned the 1½ Strutter Its nickname. These looked very fragile and I was concerned that a ham fisted ¼8 scale modeller such As I might damage them. I need not have worried as the plastic is not at all brittle and the smaller parts were in no such danger. However, we modellers are renowned for making things more difficult for ourselves and ,after a dry run, I removed the outer upright arms of each "W" leaving just an inverted vee. The missing portions were replaced later with thin plastic rod.
Engine and Cowling
The kit offers both broad and narrow cord cowlings, each with a seperate lower segment, and the model uses narrow cord option parts 16 & 17. The Clerget engine is supplied as a one piece molding which is perfectly acceptable once painted and in its rightful place. Two airscrews are provided and I selected the more angular version. Other optional parts are appropriate to a Sopwith Comic and French 1A2 variants.
Wings and Tail
There is not much to say about the wings and tail, removed from the sprue and cleaned up with a little light sanding they are accurate and finely detailed with razor sharp trailing edges and well defined control surfaces. All struts are finely molded and the correct length, but the pitot head is way overscale and should at least be removed if not actualy replaced.
Assembly
The seperate lower wing panels call for a novel approach to assembly. With the cabane struts and horizontal tail attached the fuselage is inverted and cemented to the upper wing. Once this assembly is set the lower wings and interplane struts are added. This sequence ensures that
the wing cell is pretty well self jigging. The undercarriage vees are too long and I trimmed almost 2mm off each end, while the wheels have an unsightly lug molded on the inside face which should be pared away. All rigging is 5amp fuse wire (see rigging notes elsewhere).
Painting and Finishing
The model represents an aircraft of 3 Wing RNAS flown by Raymond Collishaw, a Canadian later to become a 62 victory ace, and as British aircraft of the period go it is quite colourful.Only after the model was completed did anyone bother to point out that it is in fact one of the options in the Flashback kit. Typical! The basic scheme is the standard PC10 Khaki upper surfaces with plain finish lower sufaces and metal and plywood areas. The geometric markings on the fuselage and tail are for identification purposes and are characteristic of 3 Wing aircraft, they were reproduced from white stock decal and oddments cut from French and British roundels. Serials are drawn onto white stock. National markings are from the kit decals, which are well printed and commendably thin. No setting solution was used and the only surface preparation was a coat of Johnsons Kleer, but no carrier film is evident.
This is the first 1/72 scale kit I have built in at least five years, but it certainly won't be the last. I had quite forgotten the pleasure of finishing a model in a weekend and found the whole experience very refreshing. Now where did I put that Pegasus Salmson 2A2?
