Roden 1/48 scale Bristol F.2B Fighter

Kit: No. Ro 425
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Roden, available from Squadron Mail Order, 972-242-8663, www.squadron.com
Price: $19.98
Comments: Injection-molded, 136 parts, decals
Pros: Excellent detail, fine engine, good decals
Cons: No seat harness or instrument faces, finicky assembly of fuselage, wings, and struts

The British Bristol F.2B Fighter biplane (colloquially known as the "Brisfit") first appeared in 1916 and was considered by many to be the best two-seat aircraft of World War I. It was a real dogfighter and only secondarily a bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. The box art for the Roden kit shows the aircraft of the Canadian ace Andrew McKeever who gained 30 victories in the F2B.

Roden's kit is beautifully molded in three sprues of light-tan plastic and includes printed film for the windscreen. some of the 136 parts are optional and hint at subsequent kits. The Rolls-Royce falcon engine is a 22-piece gem. You can leave the cowling panels off and display the open engine compartment. Three different props, two kinds of exhausts, and two types of Lewis guns (with multiple ammunition drums) are supplied.

The eight-page instruction sheet is well done, and interior color notes are provided. Decals are given for six aircraft including my choice, makeover's aircraft. The other schemes are also appealing, and include a night fighter that shot down a Gotha bomber, two partly white Australian machines, and a plane flown by Canadian ace William Barker with gunner Prince Edward of Wales.

Little parts cleanup was needed, and the fit is good. The finely detailed cockpit fits well in the fuselage, but no seat belts or instrument-face decals are provided. As on the real aircraft, a transverse shaft from the control stick projects through the fuselage sides and attaches to bellcranks that operate the control lines to the elevator.

I painted and decaled the wings, fuselage, and tailplanes separately before starting assembly. Lightened Polly Scale British drab (PC10) for the upper surfaces and clear doped linen for the lower surfaces were used. The decals went over a coat of Polly Scale clear gloss, with both Micro Set and Micro Sol helping to reduce silvering.

The enormous challenge of this kit is joining the major subassemblies and executing the extensive rigging. The fuselage is held above the lower wing with six short struts and the landing gear struts. I had to make jigs to support all the components while I installed these struts and held the wings in position with rubber bands while the interplane and cabane struts set. When the assemblies had dried, I rigged two-pound fishing monofilament through holes pre-drilled in the fuselage and wings. Since the kit's only rigging instruction was the box-top illustration, I relied on Squadron/Signal's Bristol Fighter in Action as my guide.

The model appears accurate in dimensions and contour. I suspect many modelers of WWI aircraft will want to own this kit, even though they may be too intimidated to build it - I know how they feel. I put about 80 hours into my model, and recommend it to modelers who can handle complex rigging and strutwork.

- Dr. Bill Funcke