Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe

Hi Tech, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Robert Baumgartner

Hi-Tech's 1/48 scale Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe  is available online from Squadron.com

World War 1 aircraft modellers have never had it better. New kits are being released on a regular basis and some of these include subjects that one could only have dreamed about.

Despite this, there are still many gaps that the “Cottage Industries” can fill. 

It has been a while since the Sopwith “Snipe” last made an appearance in plastic, with the Blue Max offering being well out of production. 

There are forty-two plastic parts, thirteen in resin (fourteen if you count the broken Vickers gun) and over seventy photo-etched items. A decal sheet is also supplied which contains markings for one aircraft only. 

Accuracy of the major components was excellent when compared to the plans by Colin Owers; the ones used being dated 1996. 

As explained on the instruction sheet, these multi-media kits are not for the novice.

The contents of the box will give the modeller the essential items to create a sound example but additional reference material will be needed. 

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Expect your jaw to drop when opening the box. Inside were the plastic sprues, naked photo-etched fret, and bagged resin all floating around within the oversized box. Naturally the p-e is not going to survive very long among the rattling plastic.

Thus the first step is to bend the p-e parts back into shape and check for broken resin. My example produced a busted Vickers gun and detail snapped off five of the ten cylinders provided: super glue becomes the rescuer, if you can find these items.

The moulding of the plastic parts is generally good but they will benefit from a light sanding to get rid of a slightly rough surface texture in various areas. Some sprues are common to both this kit and that of the “Salamander” so a little trimming of the ailerons are needed for the “Snipe”. This is mentioned in the instructions. 

Both types of fin/rudder are supplied so the builder can deviate from the kit’s chosen scheme.  

Each fuselage half is a lot thinner than expected so there’s plenty of room for the interior. This consists of some plastic framework, with the floorboards, wicker seat, belts, handgrip and instrument panel all being photo-etched.  

The top wing is assembled in the same manner as the original: in three pieces.

The flying surfaces are well formed with subtle rib tapes reproduced on the lower surfaces. Those on the top should have been the same but unfortunately Hi-Tech chose to try and replicate too many of the smaller details. The result is 1960’s Airfix type rivets. Thankfully these are easily removed with a few swipes of wet and dry paper. 

The engine is a lovely piece of work. This consists of ten pieces of resin (one cylinder being spare) and the modeller can add the push rods with stretched sprue. Also in resin are the Vickers guns and the casting of these is matched by the high standards of the engine. 

Photo-etch is used for the finer items, these being the gun sights, air speed indicator, control horns and hole reinforcements for the control cables. Not forgotten is Hi-Tech’s rendition of Barker’s “mascot” that was secured to his starboard Vickers gun. 

Other details are supplied in this material such as the propeller “boss”, Vickers loading handles, and footsteps, amongst others.