Roden 1/72 R.A.F. SE.5a

RODEN 1:72 R.A.F. SE.5A

Reviewer: Richard Stracey (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 23 March 2003 (#65)

Kit Details:

Royal Aircraft Factory SE5A -- RODEN # 045 1/72

Aircraft History:

The HP Foland designed SE5 was built around the Hispano Suiza 150 hp V8 engine. Due to engine supply and reliability problems Wolseley developed the 200 hp Viper version of the Hispano engine which powered the SE5A. Although being very successful, being the mounts of nearly all the top British and Commonwealth aces, the 5A was withdrawn from front line service at the end of the war, replaced by the rotary engined Snipe.

The Kit:

This new Roden kit comprises fifty-four crisp gray plastic parts of which ten are not required for this kit. A clear sheet of alternative windscreens is supplied and a decal sheet for four aircraft. The box is eye catching, complete with very nice box art and the instructions are clear, compact and comprehensive, quoting Humbrol paint names and codes.

Construction:

I have to admit to being a Roden fan and spent some time admiring the fine detail and texture of the parts on the three sprues. I have seen some criticism of the spoke effect on the wheels but just look at a picture of the sunlight hitting the wheels of a real SE5A at an angle and you will see that Roden have got it spot on. I like the way (in Sector four) that the propeller shaft is held in place and the Foster mount and Lewis gun are the best yet. I didn’t use the little “window” (P1) but applied Kristal Kleer after all painting had been completed. The wider chord horizontal tail planes (3B & 4B) are used with this kit and the mating surfaces are very fine. As such I think that the rigging really helps to hold them in place. The cockpit is adequately detailed with a decal for the instrument panel although it doesn’t get a mention in the instructions.

The fuselage halves (1A & 2A) fit well but the rest is fiddly and requires great care to get everything in place. The sequence that I used was to add 18A, 19A and 10A to 6A before gluing it to the fuselage. This requires care to make sure that everything is lined up. When dry the lower wing (1B) is added which helps to firm up what was a rather flexible front fuselage. Again, when dry, add 34A at about 45deg., glued to the lower fuselage just behind the “D” shaped fume extractor hole. 1D can now be added, the slots being towards the rear if you see what I mean.

The radiator and cowling (2D) can be added at the same time as this will ensure that everything fits. The cylinder heads and exhausts are best left till after all painting has been done. I did drill out a blind hole just below the cockpit to take the rear exhaust mounting and the exhaust stubs need trimming right back so that the exhaust fits snugly close to the sides. Only Mick Mannock’s machine of the four needs the headrest (5A).

The struts and locating of the top wing needs more skill and care than the strut and bar method used by Revell and ESCI. The locating points for the carbine struts are very vague, a good set of plans helps here as they will with the non existent locating points for the undercarriage. As with all biplanes, they look best with rigging.

Colour Schemes:

The four options are all in standard PC10 (Humbrol 108) with clear doped linen (Humbrol 74) undersurfaces. The fuselage underside is PC10. For linen I prefer to use off white or radome tan and then, when dry, brush on powdered chalk. The excess is then blown off and the remainder rubbed into the surface with a soft cloth. This, I feel, results in a more natural, uneven texture where as paint looks like what it is….paint.

Decals:

The decals are fine except that on my sheet both styles of fuselage roundels (23 & 24) were way off register and had to be replaced. I made Billie Bishop’s Bleriot built C 1904 of 85 Sqn. Three Sqn.hexagons are supplied on the decal sheet but only two are needed for C 1904. Other aircraft of 85 Sqn. did have an extra hexagon on top of the fuselage in line with the two on the sides. Although not mentioned in the instructions on the decal sheet are four black and white triangles. They are inspection panels. I tried them but decided that they didn’t look very convincing so removed them.

Conclusion:

Do I like this kit? Yes! Is it the best 1/72 SE5A kit? Yes! Does it make the ESCI and Revell kits obsolete? No, for two reasons. First is price, although good value ( beware, I have heard of some shops asking twice the price that I paid) Revell and ESCI should easily be able to market their kits for half or less of the Roden price which would put them into the Pocket Money category. Never the less, they are both good kits that Revell and ESCI should be able to market for a long time to come. The other point is that the ESCI and Revell kits are much easier to assemble than the Roden one, in fact anyone should be able to achieve a satisfactory result from them.

Painted in dark PC10 at first glance the Roden offering doesn’t look any different to the others. Only on closer examination the extra detail and quality becomes noticeable. Roden obviously intend to turn out at least three other versions of the SE5/5A which will make them stand out more, including, one hopes, a four blade propeller version.

Reference:

Profile #1, Scale Models of January ’74, Scale Aircraft Modelling of June ’98 and Aeroplane Monthly of July ’73 and May to September ’77 are all of use but Flying Scale Models of November ’02 is by far the most useful. RHS/65

Related Reviews:-

Related INBOX Reviews:-

Roden 1/72 Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5A

web hosting • domain names
web design • online games