Bishops Mount

[Kostucha]

Hello all!

Well, as it just so happens to be, I found myself in an urge to build yesterday... to work on the Camel some more - but I cannot seem to locate my airbrush pump! Apparently, the pump just so happens to be a key component to the airbrush system... I searched high... and I searched low... and yet... nothing to be found. So, in REALLY wanting to work on a biplane, I pulled out this kit:

A truly superb little 1/72 bit of work! Hands down it's leaps and bounds ahead of the Roden kit! No more scratch building wicker seats! (Though, that was fun!)

This kit has ALL the bells and whistles:

Got a mask, clear pieces, PE, great decals, SUPERB instructions - and best of all! TWO! There are TWO! kits!

So, I said to myself "Self..." and I knew it was me, as I recognized the voice "...If you're going to do Barkers mount, you really should use this to make Bishops mount!" And I had to agree with myself - it was the right thing to do. No one wants to see a model builder who is in constant disagreement with himself, just nuts! Crazy really. So, in researching Bishops mount, I found three distinct schools of representing Mr. Bishops mount:

1. All silver, with a C-5 on both sides of the fuselage (with or without the maple leaf on the port side)

2. All silver, with a C-5 on both sides of the fuselage and on top of the fuselage as well (with or without the maple leaf), and

3. The one I dicided to go with, no C-5 as is shown in the picture of him standing before his Nieuport (reference pic to follow shortly).

So! Off to the races. First step was to clear out the interior, and learning from the Camel, predrill all the points where control wires and rigging would go:

Kit detail was added inside, and aside from a piece of solder for a control stick/pipe, this is all OOB (though it does say in the instructions to add the control stick... I wanted solder rather than plastic):

Literally, less than an hour later, the fuselage was glued together:

At this point I looked at the Roden Camel and scoffed... saying something to the effect of "you wish you were this Nieuport kit, don't you?"

The bottom wing glued on, shot of silver onto the sides (precaution in case my rattle-can silver couldn't reach), and my wifes long black hair to the rescue (for rigging) and off we went in a mad rush to bind the wings together before the whole kite fell apart on me:

Edited February 11, 2011 by Kostucha

[Kostucha]

And after a whole covering of silver:

One day, she'll have her hair turn grey, and then I'll be in business - I can add it AFTER painting everything silver... but until then... I'm quite content none the less.

Soon there will be some roundels, the wooden struts painted, and weathering... copious amounts of weathering...

Cheers! And thanks for rolling through my random banter. I hope you had a good chuckle here and there.

Mark.

[Charlie Cheetah]

I did have a good chuckle. I remember my mom buying me a 1/72 Sopwith Camel when I was a kid, it got built, but not rigged, since I was only 7 or 8 at the time, I didn't have a steady girlfriend yet and my sisters wouldn't let me use their hair.

Great work on such a wee beastie.

[AX 365]

Great work and a fun read, Mark.

Keep at it.

Mike