Hasegawa | 1/16 Sopwith Camel (Part One)

Reviewed by Mike Swinburne

With the centennial of the beginning of World War One coming up in 2014, Hasegawa has released a completely new-tool Sopwith Camel in large 1/16 scale; kit number MU01. Like older 1/8 scale kits, this new kit is a complete skeleton model showing essentially every detail otherwise hidden on an aircraft covered with fabric. Unlike the older 1/8 scale WWI aircraft and 1/16 Wright Flyer however, the construction does not involve the use of any wood or metal - this kit is completely injection molded.

Just how large is a 1/16 scale Camel? Read on to find out!

Part One of the review shows the overall layout of the sprues and what you can expect from the kit as a whole (hint: a lot!).

Part Two will show you some closer-in detail of some notable parts of the kit, to give you a better overall idea of what your money is really buying (again, hint: a lot). The only details I can spot that are missing are seatbelts and turnbuckles.

In the box, you get sprues molded in multiple colors (dark tan, light tan, beige, black, clear, and satin silver-plated), plus rubber tyres, copper wire, thread, aluminum tape, and full-size detail plans to assist with your rigging of the model. This is not a shake and bake kit, and definitely not for beginners, but anyone with patience and some experience with large and detailed kits should have a great time building this kit.

The box:

Sprue A: Fuselage frame sides with landing gear and wing struts molded on

Sprue B: Upper wing, horizontal stabilizer, forward fuselage "wood" panels

Sprue C: Lower wing, elevators, rudder

Sprue D x2: Wing ribs, ailerons, etc

Sprue E: Outer struts, top fuselage parts, cockpit floor, control panel, tail, propeller

Sprue F (satin silver-plated parts): cowling parts, fuel tank, oil tank. I cannot stress enough how nicely done the plating on this sprue is. if you have ever seen the silver-plated release of Tamiya's 1/2 P-51 or 1/48 F-84, it's identical to those - gorgeous.

Sprue G: Engine, gun bodies, shell ejector chutes

Sprue J: Cockpit detail parts
Sprue L x2: Gun barrels, engine parts

Sprue K: Seat
Sprue M: Wheels x2
Sprue N: Axles, rudder

Sprue Q: Clear parts

Rubber tyres and other miscellaneous items:

Color Diagram, full-size plan views for rigging, and decals:

So, how large will this kit be when assembled? Well here are the full-size included plans compared to the HK Models 1/32 B-25. You may need a bigger shelf!

Hasegawa | 1/16 Sopwith Camel (Part One)

Reviewed by Mike Swinburne

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