This French single seat bomber model is the third iteration of Roden's
1/48 Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter series and there are some changes showing. Apparently Roden got some negative feedback on their use of clear plastic for the wing, fuselage and tail assembly parts in the first two Sopwith versions released. It was an inventive idea, but the clear plastic was very hard and brittle. This latest kit reverts to grey plastic through out. Unfortunately, there appear to be some problems with the molding process because there is a great deal of flash on the wing parts and cleaning them up will take some effort. I don't know if this is because of the different plastic used or if there was some problem with mold alignment this time. To cover the French manufacture, a leRhone engine is supplied in place of the Clerget of the first releases. Markings cover two aircraft, Escadrille Sop.107's blue Egyptian winged serpent and the white swan of Sop.111. Unfortunately, the blue used for the serpent emblem is too dark in my opinion. The kit includes the same photo etched fret as the first releases and there will be a number of items for the spares box in the way of an upper wing, Vickers and Lewis machine guns and some small bombs and their rack. With some care in assembly this kit will give you a model of one of the colorful but lesser known types from the Sopwith stable.Bill Shuey