Roden 1/72 scale RAF S.E.5a (Wolseley Viper engine)

Kit: No. 045
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Roden, available from Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX 75011-5010, 972-242-8663, www.squadron.com
Price: $9.98
Comments: Injection-molded, 54 parts, decals
Pros: Crisp surface scribing, excellent detail, several optional parts for different versions
Cons: Mold seams require cleanup, omissions in paint-scheme directions, wings and tailplanes a little warped, cabane struts and fin/rudder are too short

The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a ranks with the Sopwith Camel as the most successful British single-seat fighter in World War I. It was fast, easy to fly, and a stable gun platform. It had its share of engine and structural teething troubles and didn't reach full squadron strength until the summer of 1918. It was flown by high-scoring aces Mick Mannock (73 victories), Billie Bishop (72 victories), and others.

Roden's kit represents an S.E.5a with the ungeared Wolseley Viper engine, synchronized Vickers machine gun, and an over-wing Lewis machine gun. It's molded in light-gray styrene with the windscreen and fuselage clear panel outlined on a small piece of clear sheet plastic.

All the parts in my sample had a little flash at the mold-parting seams and required tedious cleanup. The finely done details are both raised and recessed. There are a few extra parts for subsequent versions coming, so study the instructions. They are easy to follow, but I still recommend test-fitting the parts.

My sample's wing and tailplane pieces showed a bit of span-wise curvature that shouldn't be there. I warmed the parts in hot water and gently bent them back to straight as they cooled.

Before starting construction, I drilled tiny holes for all the rigging and control wires. There is no rigging diagram in the instructions; the box art helps, but J.M. Bruce's Windsock 10, R.A.F. S.E.5a is the best reference I found for finishing the model. Note that the bracing wires for the interplane struts (fore and aft rigging) run from the base of the struts, not into the wing or fuselage. There are also shallow indentations for control horns, but no horns are supplied or mentioned in the instructions. I made mine from stretched sprue.

Some of the parts locations are vague. Part No. 34A appears to be a firewall and is installed at an angle. The vents on the forward fuselage bottom (1D) should go forward.

Building biplanes is always tricky. The struts are fragile, so be careful removing them from the sprues. I made an assembly jig to secure the upper wing upside down and aligned and glued the lower wing with struts in place. The cabane struts have no locating pins on their ends. The cabanes are a bit short, and the instructions number them incorrectly: parts numbered 29A are the fore struts, parts 30A are the rear.

I rigged my model with one-pound-test fishing line run through a black permanent marker. I used finer stretched sprue for the cross wires between the struts. All are held in place with super glue. With all holes pre-drilled, this job, though tedious, is relatively easy.

There were no locating holes for the landing gear struts, so I drilled shallow ones to reinforce the assembly.

The painting and marking diagram gives the correct colors, but with only Humbrol paint numbers. There is no underside diagram to show the location of the roundels. The decals are printed well, but they're thin and brittle. To make them stick better, I made a cocktail of Micro Krystal Kleer, Solvaset, and water. I chose the markings for Canadian Capt. Billie Bishop's plane.

The finished model looks good, but the fin and rudder measure 1/8" short (nine scale inches), compared with the Windscock Datafile drawings.

I spent an enjoyable 30 hours on my model. I recommend it to modelers experienced with small biplane models. I gained an appreciation of what it means to work with very small and delicate parts.

- Ross Whitaker