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Tom Cleaver
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WNW 1/32 Sopwith Triplane

January 7, 2013 · in Aviation · · 17 · 3.2K

Here is the , done as "BLYMP," flown by Flight sub-Lieutenant Robert H. "Bob" Little of Naval 8, the Australian Ace of Aces in all wars with 47 victories. With 22 victories, N5493 was the second most-successful Sopwith Triplane after Raymond Collishaw's "Black Maria" with 28. Little's score of 47 included 27 scored in the Triplane between April 10 and June 23, 1917. Naval 8 flew on the Arras Front, and mostly opposed Manfred von Richtofen's Jasta 11.

The model is painted with Tamiya gloss Brown with about 10 peercent "Hull Red" to approximate P.C.12. The underside is painted with Tamiya "Buff." Pheon Decals were used for the individual markings with the kit national insignia decals.

At $69 delivered worldwide, the WNW Tripe completely outclasses the Roden Triplane, which is now about $5 more expensive according to one I saw in the LHS Saturday. It clearly demonstrates the difference between a diamond and a zircon.

Full review at Modeling Madness this Wednesday. Definitely tied with the D.VII as my favorite WNW kit.

Reader reactions:
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11 additional images. Click to enlarge.


17 responses

  1. Nice build, TC...I give it a "9" (you would've gotten a 10, but you spelled Blimp wrong) - lol

  2. My favorite BLYMP! Great job!

    It is a pity that the WNW does not make him 1/72

    Vlad.

  3. Nice work, Tom. I think your take on PC-10 is interesting. But, in the end, who knows for sure, and I'm reasonably certain that PC-10 varied from place to place and with the time in service and elements encountered. Are you using steel wire for rigging?

    • It isn't P.C.10, which is the greenish/khaki-ish color. It is P.C.12, the brownish color that the Sopwiths (Strutter, Pup, Tripe and Camel) were painted. And yes, I use .010 wire for the rigging.

  4. Want one! IMHO the Tirplane was every inch as cool as the Dreidekker. You've done a nice work on this model, thanks for pre-sharing it with us.

    • The Sopwith Triplane is actually superior to the vastly-overrated Fokker product. With ailerons on all three wings, rather than forcibly dragging two wings around, it was far more maneuverable, not to mention faster. I have often thought that instead of killing pilots with the godawful Camel, had they stuck the Camel engine in the viceless Triplane they would have had a superior fighter for the rest of the war.

  5. My all time favorite Brit aircraft of WWI. Who cares about Symantec's this is one cool plane and WNW is to be congratulated for making another kit of a classic. The Triple hound had a history of folding its wings in some cases and some examples had doubled up on the cables depending on the pilot.. It had a shorter chord than the Fokker Triplane and could climb like a Monkey or a Angle. Be derived from the Sopwith Pup many of the Sopwith Triplane s had only one machine gun to save on weight and keep the speed. A ace pilot would want two machine guns unless they up the power plant? Either way a great build TC. Green with envy and adding another bucket to the list of models to do.

    • The single-gun Tripes had the 110 h.p. Clerget, while the 2-gun airplanes had the 130 h.p. Clerget (which the kit provides for). Even with the extra weight they were still magnificent performers.

  6. That's a real beauty, Tom. I favor your rendition of PC.10 and RFC CDL, suitably worn for such a significant and historic war horse.

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