Andre du Plessis

2 August 2026.

Slowly but surely the Camel is coming together. It was time to do the roundels and writing on the fuselage. Here is my biggest gripe with Academy; their decals. Why do they have each element of the roundel separate; the outer white circle, the blue/white circle and the red dot in the middle are all separate decals? Why do they not just go to the trouble and register their print colours properly like all the other manufacturers? Besides that, the decals came apart as I applied them, and I had to do some painting to get them right. The outer white circle I had to paint on. The number on the tail, the No. 1 on the fuselage, and the unique ‘DORIS’ on the side of the cockpit, I also painted on. Finally the engine cowl is on, and the lower wing. Regarding the rigging – I happened to see another built Academy Camel over the weekend and it seems the rigging thread that Academy supplies with the kit is not the best, looks like it may sag later on, and the appearance is not as good as I expected. I might resort to some other material for the rigging when I get to it.