injection-molded plastic, cast resin, photoetched metal,
decals. $11.95
The Sopwith 1˝-Strutter is significant because it appeared at a time when most British fighters were of pusher configuration, with a rear-mounted engine and airscrew that "pushed" the aircraft forward. It also was also unusual in that it was built in far greater numbers by foreign licensees than by the original design firm. Sopwith produced about 1200 Strutters for English service while France produced over 4000 for the Escadrilles of the Aviation Militaire. It was widely used in many roles, including bomber, 2-seat ship-board fighter, and single-seat night fighter, and by at least 10 different nations. The Sopwith 1˝-Strutter is thus a welcome addition to any collection of WW I aircraft models.
Upon opening the box, this reviewer discovered that the Flashback kit is the third iteration of a Czech Masters resin design that first appeared over 10 years ago. Pegasus and Merlin released earlier injection-molded kits based on this master. That said, Flashback's offering is unquestionably the best to date.
The plastic parts are very well molded, with virtually no flash. All struts are included. There are two resin Clerget engines (110-hp Model 9Z & 130-hp Model 9B), resin guns, and resin interior pieces for the cockpit. Photoetched cockpit side walls, instrument panels, and two kinds of gun mount for the observer's Lewis gun—British Scarff ring or French Etévé mounting—round out the finer detail parts. Among the injection-molded parts, the wings stand out for their very fine trailing edges and sensible engineering. Two complete top wings are supplied. One features the cut-away center section that improved pilot visibility on a number of British machines. The other is a solid, one-piece affair more typical of the majority of these machines. The top wing was a weakness in both the Merlin and Pegasus kits, because it came in multiple sections that were tedious to align. The reviewer will, in fact, be using his Flashback spare to finish an as-yet unbuilt Pegasus kit.
Flashback issues 2-seat (reviewed here) and single-seat versions of the kit. The two-seater includes decals for a Strutter from No.3 Wing, Royal Naval Air Service and a Sopwith 1A2 of Esc SOP 226 (the scheme shown on the cover of Windsock Datafile #34). The decals are well printed and nicely capture the different shades of blue used for French and British national insignia.
This is an excellent kit. It is the best rendition to date of a Sopwith Strutter in 1/72 scale. We can only hope that Flashback will give this level of attention to many of the other Czech resin kits that have been released over the last 15 years.
Many thanks to Ken LaSala of KPL Systems for assistance in obtaining this kit.
Highly recommended.