The Sopwith Camel is the iconic airplane of the First World War. This kit does the prototype great justice. This was the first model airplane I have ever built, and I greatly enjoyed the experience. The kit's injection modeled parts have a nice crisp detail, and the kit is easy and simple enough to go together in a night. The kit is relatively small, which means one could easily mount it on a small base, or on a diorama. It also scales out nicely to go alongside HO/OO scale scenery and structures. Mine in-fact, became some dressing for a model railroad; Standing alongside an airfield. I also went the extra mile and did all the rigging and added an HO scale pilot figure into the cockpit. This is a great kit, and had solidified my opinion on Academy's model kits. If you're a beginner this is a great kit to start with, and if you've got some experience under your belt, a great kit to play with.

Pros: -Good value (very inexpensive) -parts were molded very well compared to the similar Revell kits with minimal cleanup. Cons: -only one decal set -Minimal interior detail -there is no paint scheme. Seriously, they tell you where the decals go and give you a black-and-white picture of the plane with NO paint colors in the instructions. Not too big of a deal, but annoying.

This was the one that was able to face the fokker triplane. It was unstable, not easy to fly, but on the right hands it was deadly. Got the academy kit long ago, and the only difficult thing is to install the upper wings without braking the supports... But... that is the main dificculty of any biplane... Nevertheless, a small, accurate and economic weekend build. If you're starting and want a bigger challenge, or start on biplanes, this is where you can start.