Hi Troops:
I hit my local plastic emporium this morning to find the two latest
1/48 scale W.W.I aircraft issues from Roden on the shelf. First was a variation of their Bristol F2B 2 seat fighter in it's Sunbeam Arab engined version. Shortage of Rolls-Royce Falcon engines lead to this version fitted with the Sunbeam Engine Company's Hispano-Suiza knock off. Performance wasn't as good as the R-R engined ship but they were issued to artillery spotting flights and recon units as their performance was still better than the R.E.-8 aircraft they replaced. The second kit is a rather esoteric bit of W.W.I history, a B.E.-12B. The B.E.-12 was an attempt to create a single seat fighter to deal with the Fokker Eindekker fighter using components of the B.E.-2 Corps Reconnaissance aircraft. The B.E.-2 was the aircraft whose poor defensive capabilities gave rise to the term "Fokker Fodder". The B.E.-12 didn't fare much better over the Western Front and most ended up being used as single seat bombing aircraft. In an effort to find a quick answer to the Zeppelin and Gotha night raiders attacking England a variation of the B.E.-12 re-engined with the Hispano Suiza engine was created. Fitted with lighted instruments and Holt Flare brackets and crude armament installations these went up into the night sky to challenge the Zeppelins and Gotha bombers. And occasionally they even got one! Both kits are the kind of class moldings we have come to expect from Roden. The Bristol kit includes all the parts from the original kit so you can build a Rolls-Royce engined version if you happen to have some left over "Brisfit" fighter decals around. There is a drawing for rigging given and I would suggest a trained spider would be very handy to have. :-) The B.E.-12 kit suggests that kits of it's B.E.-2 forbears are also in the works. Up to now the only kits available in 1/48 scale were the Falcon Vac-u-form so this is a welcome kit.
Bill Shuey