SPLIT PERSONALITY

Steve Budd takes a trip to 1918, via Wingnut Wings’ 2F.1 maritime boxing from its delightful new Camel series

As 1916 closed, the Sopwith Baby seaplane found itself in need of a worthy successor; with the advent of the F.1 Camel, both the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service placed significant orders for this devastatingly agile fighter.

After extensive testing, the ‘navilised Camel’ was deemed fit to go to sea with a landplane undercarriage, a single Vickers machine gun firing through the propeller and a Lewis gun on an Admiralty Top Plane Mounting, shooting clear of the prop’ arc. The modified rear fuselage was detachable for storage and contained flotation bags in case of ‘wet’ landings, while Sopwith re-designated the project ‘2F.1’. To its new owner, however, it was instead referred to as the ‘Split Camel’ and more commonly, the ‘Ship’s Camel’.

The moulding demands close inspection…to appreciate the care and attention poured into this definitive series of Camel family kits.

The fuselage interior comprised a mix of clear doped linen, wood and metal – here segmented and base painted, awaiting further enhancements.

Weathering and staining the ‘metal’ was a fun part of the project. A solid coat of Alclad II ALC-101 Aluminium was used as a foundation.

The starting point for any subsequent work with tube oils was a sympathetic application of Mr. Hobby 318 Radome, cut with cellulose thinners.

Weigh anchor!