Airfix 1/72 Spad VII

AIRFIX 1:72 SPAD VII

Reviewer: Tim Beales (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 26 October 2002

Kit Details:

SPAD VII by AIRFIX in 1/72 scale

Aircraft History:

The SPAD VII first appeared in 1916. It was designed and built in France specifically to employ the latest aviation technology. It was a tough fighter that would not break up in dive. It was a very popular airplane, and thousands were built. It was superseded by the SPAD XIII. SPAD aircraft were the weapons of choice for many leading aces, including Rickenbacker of the USA and Guynemer of France.

Kit Parts:

The kit is a "Fighter Classics" of WW1 Airfix Series 0 model, housed in a small box that will provide you with one Airfix Flying Hour. There are 29 parts moulded in light grey plastic, with virtually no flash. Since this is an old mould (this kit originally dates from 1967), some of the smaller parts suffer from lack of definition, and I suspect that the moulds are pretty much at the end of their useful life.

Instructions:

As is usual for Airfix, the instruction sheet is an A4-sized square sheet with the front taken up in modelling instructions and disclaimers in the languages of the EU. The construction sequence is given on the other side of the sheet broken down into five sections.

Construction of the Kit:

The interior consists of a pilot figure sitting on a seat. The pilot and seat locate onto pins protruding from the inner side of each of the fuselage halves. Before any gluing commenced, I painted everything while the parts were still on the sprues. After the painting was dry, the pilot was attached to his seat, and this assembly was then glued to one of the fuselage pins, followed by cementing the two fuselage halves together. The fuselage assembly locates onto the one-piece lower wing. The two port and starboard exhausts are fitted to the fuselage along with a tiny windscreen and a basic machine gun that fits into a grooved slot in front of the cockpit. The two tailplanes are also added at this stage. The fit of the parts was good, with only a smear of Humbrol filler used along the joints. Next, I glued the bottom of the engine cowling in place, followed by the main engine unit cast inside its cowling as a single piece and the propeller.

The struts and the top wing are easily fitted. There are six pairs of struts that locate into the top wing using a connecting bar in a slot mechanism. There are no problematic angled struts to worry about.

It was at this stage that I probably spent the most time on the model, as the SPAD has an intricate rigging structure (lots of "X" 's everywhere which attracted me to this model). This can be seen from reference photos and on the box art. However, this rigging can be relatively easily done using Aeroclub stretch thread.

The two tail plane support struts then are attached followed by the undercarriage. The undercarriage subassembly is simple: two vee struts and a connecting bar to the two wheels. This is where the age of mould shows up the most, and these parts are probably the worst in the kit. They needed some cleaning with a sharp knife before construction because of flash, and even after two attempts, mine remained slightly skewed. I accept I am a mediocre modeller, but I take comfort from the fact that these parts have obviously not moulded well - they must have not flowed so good in the mould, are somewhat warped, and are slightly different sizes.

Decals:

Only one version is supplied by Airfix: "Le Vieux Charles" flown by Capitaine Guynemer from 1917. However, there are many other profiles available if the modeller wishes to make an RFC machine for example. One would have to make these up with aftermarket decals.

The recommended colours are: (i) the creamy Humbrol 103 for the main body and wings; (ii) a darker sandy H94 to represent the metal parts that were presumably painted with the same dope as used on the body; (iii) a brown H29 for the wooden struts, undercarriage, and propeller; and (iv) H53 gunmetal for the Vickers machine gun and exhausts.

The decals are nice and in register. They show the famous stork motif on the fuselage. There are standard French roundels on the wings and tricolour on the rudder and there are a number "2" and a "Vieux Charles" motif for the fuselage.

Accuracy:

Airfix give the dimensions of the SPAD VII as: span = 7.77 m and length = 6.13 m. My model scales out to have a span = 7.85 m and a length = 6.19 m.

Overall:

A relatively easy biplane to build that can be assembled fairly readily by a beginner, or customised in detail by the fanatic. It can be painted in a variety of colour schemes, if one has the source materials and some generic aftermarket roundels for France, Great Britain, or Russia. Other SPAD VII profiles are easy to come by. An oldie but goodie.

Related INBOX Reviews:-

Airfix 1/72 Spad VII

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