Hello all !
I have not seen anything posted about SMER kits so I thought I would put somthing up. Sorry no pics, My digital cam is in the shop…lol
I opened the box to find two trees of parts molded in light grey plastic,one decal sheet for one aircraft, and one set of instructions.
To start with, the parts seem well molded but thick. It will not be hard to place the decals as they are molded into the plastic as well…lol The booms for the tail are straight thank God as are the wings. Ejector pin marks abound (5 ea) on the lower surfaces of both wings. The cockpit tub seems to be acceptable due to the fact that it is large and there is alot of space for resin/P.E. add ons…
My model is almost flash free but will need a bit of clean up. The engine seems well molded and is mounted on a shaft that will alow it to turn with the prop like the real rotary engine. oh ya one more thing THE RIGGING DIAGRAM SUCKS!!! LOL I will have to buy a book or get some very good photos to rig this one properly…
If anyone has a question about the SMER DH-2 please ask . I will answer to the best of my knowledge.
PS Why it says SNAP TOGETHER in the upper left of the window, Ive got no idea . Ive never built a snap kit…LOL
I gave up on SMER when I bought their 1/50 scale Swordfish years ago. The parts were outrageously thick and nothing fit, no matter how much I sanded, cut and begged the plastic. Then I began to hear similar complaints about the SMER kits. Their one redeeming feature is that they are cheap. I wish you the best of luck with your DH 2, which is probably my favorite WW I plane. I’ve always though that when I get around finally to building a plane from scratch, from the wheels up, it would be a DH 2. If I might offer a suggestion, try replacing the struts and the longerons that attach the tail with more delicate and sharply molded Evergreen strip, I, L, or square stock or a similar brand. It would add a lot toward taking away that look of “thickness” you referred to.
Also, I used to own the fine Windsock Datafile booklet on the DH 2, which you can order from Squadron for not a lot of dough. Best of luck. Let us know how it’s going.
Tom
I have built the SMER DH-2 and I have to say it is probably my favourite large-scale
WW1 aircraft in my collection. (I’ll post some pictures of it if you are interested in
seeing it).
I also have the Avro 504, Albatros D.III and Nieuport 11 in my collection, as well as a
Camel, Ansaldo, Fokker DR.I and another Nieuport (to be built as a 14 this time) in my kit pile.
Post-WW1 I have a completed CR.32, MC.200 ( and Swordfish, and an unbuilt Walrus, Bulldog, Re.2000
and SM.79.
They are crude by today’s standard -but- they offer a very wide range of WW1 and inter-war subjects
which are otherwise unavailable from mainstream manufacturers, and in 1/48 scale - which I definitely
think is the best scale for pre-WW2 aircraft. Plus they are very cheap (no more than Airfix/Revell/Italeri
1/72 kits) and available in many model stores (at least in the UK).
If you are prepared to spend time sanding down the horrendous moulded-on insignia and serials (you should definitely do this - apart from the moulded lines being visible on the finished model, they will prevent the decals from sitting down evenly), filling seams, and researching and adding scratchbuilt details, you can end up with a very nice model of an unusual subject.
I would not recommend them to a beginning modeller - on the other hand I built the Avro 504 3 years ago when I had
just started modelling, with no additions other than rigging (I did sand down the moulded markings though!) and it still looks fairly reasonable now apart from the finer paintwork (tyres, cockpit etc.) being slightly crude.
A tip - you can buy ready-shaped aerofoil struts in the form of a bundle of rods in assorted widths. These are
very handy for replacing the often over-thickness and flash-encrusted SMER struts. Aeroclub sell these in the UK, not
sure about the US but I think there is a product called “Strutz”. Anyway these are very good value (the Aeroclub ones
anyway) and contain enough strut material for many, many biplane models in any scale from 1/72 to 1/24!
The “Snap Together” only refers to the number of posts you have made on the Forums. No reflection on your modeling ability. Like mine says “Scratch Built” & I’ve never completly scratch built a model.
Regarsd, Rick