RVHP 1/72 Resin Sopwith Swallow By Bob Pearson

Introduction

During the summer of 1918 Harry Hawker had a Sopwith Camel modified for his personal use. This entailed the fitting of a single, swept parasol wing in place of the Camel's two wings. Hawker used the resulting Sopwith 'Scooter' for aerial demonstrations and the decision was made to modify another Camel in a similar fashion, but to equip it with full armament. The Sopwith Swallow, as this aircraft was known, differed from the Scooter in having larger, longer wings and was intended for ship-board use. Testing on the type ended in May 1919 and nothing more was done with the Swallow. . however the Scooter survived until it was scrapped in 1927.

The Kit

RVHP has become known for their fine casting and excellent detail work, and this kit is no exception. The kit consists of 20 resin pieces.

The fuselage is cast in one piece with all detail very nicely done, the exhaust channel, turtledeck stringers and fabric stitching are all well done and no blemishes mar their appearance. The cockpit area is left open and a forward decking covers it after the interior is added. The interior consists of a seat, floor and joystick. However any of the WW1 PE sets should dress this up even further if desired.

The wing is a work of art ... subtle rib detail and thin trailing edges. Ditto the tail surfaces.

The remainder of the parts are the engine, cowl, forward decking, wheels, undercarriage struts, axle spreader bar, two Vickers guns. The last piece is a section of brass 'Strutz' material for the cabane struts and overwing pylon..

There is a single 8.5 x 11 sheet with a short history of the Scooter/Swallow, exploded parts drawings and a cross-hatched drawing showing the finish of the sole Swallow – B9276 (ironically a Boulton & Paul built Camel originally, not Sopwith built aircraft at all). The decals provide roundels, tail stripes and serial for B9276.

Conclusion

Yet another winner for RVHP. I can't find anything wrong with the kit, perhaps construction will show otherwise, but I doubt it.

My sample was acquired from VAMP Mail Order.