Bristol F.2B Fighter
Weekend Edition

Eduard, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

Eduard's 1/48 Weekend Edition Brisfit is available online from Squadron.com
 

The Bristol F.2A had a disastrous start to its combat career.

Six aircraft from No. 48 Squadron took part in a sortie on 5 April 1917 and only 2 returned.  They had the misfortune to run into the Albatros D.III fighters of Manfred von Richthofen’s Jasta 11.  The problem lay not with the aircraft but how it was handled.

The pilots were told to adopt the standard two-seater tactic of keeping together to allow the rear gunners to provide mutual protection for each other. This negated the excellent speed and maneuverability of this fighter. When the F2 was used offensively, as if it were a “Scout”, it quickly became a potent weapon.

Eduard’s “Weekend Edition” of the F2B follows the standard pattern for these releases.

In the box we get all the plastic that allows the modeller to build a sound replica of a famous aircraft.
To provide for a quick and easy result, there are none of the photo-etched parts that one usually finds in releases from this manufacturer.

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What we get are 4 sprues of crisply moulded plastic which contain a total of 163 parts. There is no flash present, and any ejector pin marks on the completed product are kept tucked away from prying eyes. Only the fastidious will choose to fill the interloper found under the cockpit cowl, but this takes just a couple of minutes and only requires basic modelling skills.

Assembly starts with the cockpit and there is a lot of detail contained in here. The fuselage halves each come as a single length and include an excellent representation of the internal structure. No less than 26 parts make up the “offices” and the resulting fit doesn’t leave you with any headaches. Seatbelts will have to be made via your favourite method or sourced from one of the many photo-etched accessory sets.

Another highlight of this kit is the wings. Both upper and lower items come as single piece items and the built-in dihedral takes a lot of the guess work out of positioning these parts. The detail is superb and the surfaces display no sink marks or distortion of any kind. The trailing edges are commendably thin and the subtle rib tapes fully defined.

To help animate your aircraft the ailerons, elevators and rudder are all separate parts.

 A potential trouble spot on any kit of this subject is the mounting of the lower wing. Fortunately the builder need not worry on this account.  Eduard has engineered the kit to make this task an easy one by providing accurate struts with positive location points.

Speaking of accuracy, the kit parts were compared to respected plans from a couple of sources and here too the kit performs well.

There are also plenty of bombs contained in the box, so if not used here they are welcome additions to the spares box. The instructions are simple enough to follow and a rigging diagram helps explain the intricacies of this tricky setup. A couple of vague areas can be resolved by consulting the excellent box art.

Marking Options

One famous marking scheme is provided in this Weekend Edition kit.

The aircraft is Bristol F.2B C-4619 which arrived in France on 23 January 1918. It belonged to No.62 Squadron RFC and on March 13 was flown by 2 Lt. WE Stanton. His observer at the time was Lt. HE Merritt who shot down a Fokker triplane near Cambrai. Not to be out done, Stanton also claimed a victory, this time over an Albatros. With 25.5 victories he became No. 62 Squadron’s top scoring pilot.

This aircraft was seen in many guises, the one portrayed here having short exhausts, the letter “R” on its fuselage, and the unit’s stripes around the rear.

The decals come on a single sheet and my examples were in perfect register. Each item was surrounded by minimal carrier film which included some welcome stencil data, logos and instrument faces.

Eduard’s Bristol Fighter has always been a favourite amongst modellers.

One of the reasons for this is the way that Eduard have tackled what is traditionally a difficult aircraft for the modeller to build. Assembly is straight forward thanks to some clever engineering and the wealth of parts will assure you have plenty of detail.

Whether you want to build this particular subject or use the kit as a basis for another project, these “Weekend Edition” releases are the perfect opportunity to pick up a classic kit at a budget price.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text Copyright © 2009 by Rob Baumgartner
Page Created 2 September, 2009
Last updated 2 September, 2009

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