Roden 1/48th SE5a w/Wolseley Viper
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Brief History
When 56 squadron RFC took the SE5 to war in 1917 they knew that in spite
of teething troubles they had an aircraft far superior to the current
German fighters. The original raked wings of the SE5 and the 150 HP Hispano
Suiza engine gave way to a redesigned wing plan, and 200 HP engine with
the last seven SE5s' making them the original SE5a. Continued problems
with the geared engine led to the development of the Wolseley Viper engine,
eventually chosen to be the Standard powerplant for SE5a production. The
combination of engine and airframe became one of the most successful aircraft
of the first world conflict.
 The
Kit
Rodens' SE5a, Wolseley Viper powered,
is a cleanly molded, straight forward kit. Engineering allows for future
releases of the Hisso powered SE5a, as well as the SE5E, and night fighter
variants. Decals are provided for aircraft flown by: Mick Mannock, 74
squadron; Billie Bishop, 85 squadron; and finally Beachamp Proctor, 84
squadron.
Wings
As originally released the Roden kit did have a relatively major flaw!
The rib pattern of the upper and lower wings were identical! This is incorrect
for any variant of the SE5/5a. On the original  aircraft
there were 6 ribs from the center section to the aileron on the upper
wing, and 5 for the corresponding section of the lower wing. This mistake
was widely discussed on the WW1 list, and the Aerodrome forum, but received
little play elsewhere. The most curious aspect was that Roden had this
feature correct on their 1/72nd kit! A friendly and constructive E Mail
campaign by a few enthusiasts resulted in Roden promising to look into
the discrepancy. Without any major outcry, and NO distributor boycotting
the kit, Roden quietly corrected this problem about 1 month into the production
run! Furthermore, Roden has replaced the incorrect wing (at their expense)
for anyone that has requested the new wing! A comparison photo is included
with the differences highlighted using blue tape.
Construction
As I intended to use nylon fishing line
for rigging, I began by drilling holes for anchoring the lines using a
#79 drill bit. In order to keep the distance between the double lines
consistent, I made a simple template (drill a large hole to represent
the strut location  on
a piece of styrene. Next drill 2 holes the proper distance from the strut
location for the double wires. Finally drill a single hole for the single
rigging locations). Place the large hole over the strut location and drill
through the holes in the template representing the wire anchor locations.
Move on to the fuselage and when complete go to the next step. While on
the subject of wings I will mention the clear panels for checking the
rigging attachment pulleys.This is represented in the kit by decals. Discussion
on the WW1 list came to the agreement that this was not adequate in 1/48th
scale. I drilled holes in the corners of the well defined triangular frames,
then hollowed out the center. The opening was filled on the opposite side
with sheet styrene and sanded smooth.Wire was inserted to represent the
rigging attachment and pulley. The openings were covered with clear decal
film( Thanks Chris Cowx) after the wings and tail surfaces were painted.
Interior
From this point on construction follows the usual procedure, although
not sequential with the  instructions!
I painted the interior surfaces(aft of the fabric join line) Poly Scale
Clear Doped Linen. Forward compartment was painted Aluminum. Instrument
panel and seat backing was also given a coat of CDL. Roden would have
you paint the entire cockpit area "Wood". This is not correct
for any but US SE5Es', and perhaps some post war refitted aircraft. The
lower portion of the fuselage corresponding to the fabric surfaces on
the fuselage sides should remain CDL. All wood areas were given a wash
of Artist oils Burnt Sienna,then streaked for wood effect. After drying
the instrument panel, spare Lewis gun magazine, etc. were assembled per
Roden's step 1. I continued construction with steps 3, 5, and 8 per kit
directions. I added seatbelts,some pirated photo etched levers, interior
bracing wires, and enhanced the leather padding on the seat with white
glue. Instrument dials were Re- Heat instrument decals covered with a
drop of Future. Just a note here, if installed per kit instructions, the
instrument panel sits too far to the rear relative to the opening in the
upper right fuselage. I added about 1/16 of an inch spacer from styrene
strip to the shelf the instrument panel attaches to. I also discarded
the recommended control stick and used the stick with the spade grip marked
as not for use. This seems to be the most common installation on RFC/RAF
wartime SE5a's. If you do not intend to  add
details to the engine area paint the forward fuselage interior black.
The engine bay is visible throught the D shaped opening on the lower fuselage.
I added the tank on the underside of the upper forward fuselage decking
and some wiring to enhance this area. Part has now released a photo etched
set for this kit. It includes engine bearers and interior framework to
enhance this area. At this point all sub assemblies, fuselage, upper forward
decking, cowl panels, empennage, and lower wing, are glued together. Fit
of this complex structure is remarkably good! The only filler used was
on the wireless hatch on the right fuselage, and a little trimming was
necessary on the lower wing where it meets the fuselage. Finally carve
off the air intake located above the Vickers gun. This was not present
on many, if at all, on War time SE5a aircraft in British service. (Some
SEs' in US service did have this feature)
Wrinkled Fabric
A common feature on SE5/5a aircraft was
wrinkles in the fabric where it joined metal or wood panels.After several
experiments I came up with an easy and effective method to represent this
fabric wrinkle effect. I used Delta Ceramacoat artist acryllic paint.
This is a thick Acryllic. I simply brushed on a thick coat, then with
a pointed brush formed the wrinkles. The nice part is if you don't like
the results it is easy to remove prior to setting up. I painted over this
with Polyscale smoothing out the edges, and forming some smaller wrinkles
at the same time!
 Painting
This is the point at which I always paint
biplane models. In this case I had chosen to represent C'1096 flown by
Hank Burden of 56 squadron. This aircraft is well documented as the pilot
left a detailed sketch and picture including particulars of markings and
colors. As with most SE5 aircraft the overall scheme is PC 10 upper wing
surfaces and fuselage, with CDL wing undersurfaces. PC 10 is one of those
subjects that will create debate amongst the knowledgable. A rough equivalent
is FS 24087. Add brown to your taste. In this case Lt. Burden specifically
mentions "Green" as the upper surface color so I went less to
the Brown side of PC 10. Gunze OD and Poly Scale CDL were airbrushed for
the main scheme. Washes of Brown water color and artists oils were used
to add subtle shade variations. Tires were painted mid grey with a wash
of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna.
Final Assembly
At this point I chose to replace the Aldis
sight with a metal part from a scrapped Blue Max kit. I  also
shortened the exhaust pipes per the original. The interplane struts were
cleaned up and painted using the same method for wood described earlier.
Cabanes were also prepared and painted PC10. I chose to modify the cabane
struts on the lower end as they did not seem to fit properly. I also drilled
the locating holes for the interplane struts as the pins seemed to stick
out way too much. I attached the struts to the fuselage and lower wing,
using tube glue, and while still flexible I attached the upper wing. Alignment
was maintained using paint bottle jigs until the glue set. Before beginning
rigging some decals needed to be applied. As stated earlier I had chosen
C'1096 flown by Hank Burden. These decals are available on Americal Gryphon
sheet 143. I applied the serial # to the fin, and also the fuselage markings.
Rigging
At this point I began the task of rigging
using 2lb. test fishing line,painted with a black Sharpie. This method
of rigging is described in detail on the WW1 Modeling web site. What should
be a relatively routine procedure turned into an Epic Battle! I had completed
about half of the rigging and was having difficulty with the superglue
I was using. This caused some sag in the wires. I grabbed what I thought
was my incense lighting punk, lit it, and put it near the lines. The result
was burned out lines on one side! I had picked up a Bamboo Skewer!! This
forced me to re-drill the attachment holes  from
the opposite side, (the exit hole). All went well until attaching the
final wire. I dropped the mdel causing instant sag on all wires! :-( I
carefully tightened the wires I could (utilizing punk) then re-drilled
and re-installed the rest! Back on track again I finished the wing Cellule
rigging. We had a late snow and windstorm and lost power suddenly. A word
of advice here, "Do not admire a rigged biplane model by candle light".
Burned another set of double wires. Back to repairing... AGAIN...!! After
rigging was complete, I applied the wing roundels and V to the upper and
lower wings. Final rigging was the control horns and accompanying wires.
Final Finish
Polyscale Semi Gloss was used for the final paint coat. Washes were
applied as a final touch.
Conclusion
This is truly a gem of a kit! Fit is excellent and no major problems
were encountered. Rigging is complicated (ven without my self created
mishaps) having over 50 wires, 16 of them double! I wouldn't recommend
the SE5/5a for a first time rigging effort! I found this kit to be a pleasure
to build and thanks to Roden and Matt Bittner for the opportunity.
References
High in the Empty Blue;Alex Revell
SE5a in Action, John F. Connors
WW1 Modelers web site
The Memorial Fligh Web site
Americal Gryphon decals pamphlet.
SE5 Data File
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