1/48 Copper State Models Sopwith Dolphin 5FI

Gallery Article by Richard Spreckley on Feb 26 2018

 

      

The Sopwith Dolphin 5FI is one of the lesser known marques from this famous aircraft company. Yet it was a revolutionary design which saw it become the master of high altitude battles over Europe. With its lowered upper wing which was set backwards instead if forwards from the main wing and it's four piece armament it was a formidable aircraft.

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Copper State Models are producing the best WWII aircraft in quarter scale to date. This premium edition includes photo etch attachment points for the rigging and a sublime resin and metal engine.

I was building this particular model for my model clubs group build for 2018: Tangmere 101. Celebrating 101 years of the airfield with Tangmere Sector Modellers. Although the airfield did not become operational until mid 1918 it was completed in 1917 and started to receive aircraft in transit to Europe. As a result only the national marking decals were used and the serial number on the tailfin were sourced from spare decal sheets.

This particular aircraft is seen in a photograph from 1918 with no unit markings and a pilot: Lt E Wilson from 92Sqn stood in front of it. Records show that 92Sqn did not use the Dolphin so it must have been of great interest to the pilots from this particular Squadron. This build is an attempt to replicate that photo in some ways whilst also showcasing the amazing detail provided by CRM.

The kit itself is beautifully produced with a good colour instruction booklet. The whole build felt like a delicate operation (this being my first WWI aircraft build attempt) with each stage needing some level of painting before and during assembly. The only disappointing feature of the kit is the lack of the two Lewis guns that were mounted on the upper wing spar for the pilot to operate, so two were purchased from Gaspatch models to rectify that small issue. The photo etch attachment points really helped during the rigging phase where I used EZ fine black line for the rigging and Vallejo Air paints. The highlight of the build was the resin engine and metal exhausts. So much so it was decided to leave the cowling off to show the engine in all its glory. The biggest challenge was to work out when to paint and apply the decals and when to add the rigging. The only way to solve this conundrum is to thoroughly read the instructions prior to starting the build. 

To put the aircraft into some context a 200mm diameter wooden base was sourced and modelling grass was added on top along with some weathering from the airbrush and Tamiya's mud pigments. The aircraft itself was left relatively clean as it appears to be brand new and out of the box so the only real weathering that was done was the exposed cotton cloth wings on the underside of the wings. The wing supports and the inside of the cockpit wood effect was achieved using natural wood decals from HGW. The pilot figure is also from the CRM range which is a great edition and helped replicate the photograph very well. 

Richard Spreckley

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Photos and text © by Richard Spreckley