![]() While construction was not as quick as it can be building a standard biplane, the 49 hours I spent on my little lattice tail was fun. Be careful rigging the booms - I put a bit too much tension on one wire and it caused a bump to show up in my boom. Then I attached all the delicate parts like the gun, engine, prop, and wheels. I expended a feverish number of hours playing Edward Tweezerhands. I used nylon monofilament - medical suture, actually - for all the rigging, and turnbuckles and brass tubing from Bob’s Buckles. All other rigging was attached first to the upper wing, then tied off to the lower wing once assembled. For the same reason, I placed the wires leading from the engine cover on the fuselage before adding the cover. Breaking from tradition, I first placed the wires that attach to the fuselage on the boom, rather than the upper wing, as access would be tight once the lower wing was in place. Without modification, I was unable to get my rigging material to allow a double run of wires to the rudder through the tiny pulley (Part D13) mounted on each rear strut, so I couldn’t use the photoetched-metal wire tensioner included in the kit. But I was a bit frustrated by not having a clearer idea of the rigging under and around the tail surfaces. For the most part, Wingnut has done a good job with rigging diagrams for the main planes and the boom. Kit engineering helps ensure alignment is perfect.Īs always, planning is the key to a successful rigging outcome. I was especially worried about mounting the tail assembly because of the small attachment points, but three dots of super glue did the trick. Wingnut again makes this assembly simple and strong. While it does consume a fair amount of work, the only stressful part of the build - other than the rigging - comes with attaching the booms. Trimming the pin allowed the cover to fit, but even then it required clamping. The mounting pin for the air intake (Part A41) interferes with the filler neck (Part A59) installed on the bulkhead. One other minor issue to watch is the fit of the engine cover. This causes problems with replacing or repairing the petite fin detail, the one failing I found with this kit. This kept the parts count down for Wingnut, but it does compromise detail and forces you to remove molded-on spark plugs from the front of each cylinder. In an odd twist, both kits in The Duellists” share similar engines despite being adversaries. ![]() The parts count is low, yet the result looks fantastic. The interior has a couple of noticeable ejector-pin marks to deal with - I filled them with discs punched from thin card stock, but putty or super glue would work as well.Īfter that, the interior goes together easily. There are no issues with alignment or strength. ![]() The DH.2 uses an attachment method for the booms similar to Wingnut’s Fe.2b - not surprising, given the similarities. The parts you do use are crisply molded and smartly engineered, with plenty of helpful features, such as keyed strut ends and strong wing-attachment points. Needing only 120 of the parts included in the kit, you get a number of extras left over – more than normal, in fact, because, unlike Wingnut’s other releases, the Duellist series includes markings for only one airframe. While not the first kids on the block with a 1/32 scale DH.2, Wingnut shoves the competition aside with this pusher. Not able to completely eradicate the Fokkers, it did manage to stem the horrific loss rate suffered by the Royal Flying Corps - at least until the Albatros showed up in increasing numbers. There are several kits of each, and a box that includes both under the label “The Duellists,” reminiscent of Airfix’s “Dogfight Doubles.” Chuck Davis built this kit and has reviewed the aircraft separately.Ĭommonly referred to as Britain’s answer to the Fokker Scourge, de Havilland’s DH.2 was almost the right fighter at almost the right time. Among its new releases are two important early-war fighters: the Fokker Eindecker and its famous nemesis, the Airco DH.2. New Zealand’s Wingnut Wings continues to break new ground with impressive 1/32 scale World War I aircraft.
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