This plane may only be 2 pieces of paper, but it will keep you busy for the better part of an evening putting it together. The pattern is designed to print on 8 1/2" by 11" paper. Download it and print from your favorite graphics editor, like Paint Shop Pro. It won't print well directly from your browser.

If you also want to download the instructions, use your browser to save this page as a text file. It won't be quite 'as pretty' but it should work fine.

You can click on a heading in the Table of Contents to take you to that section of the instructions. Use the 'Back' button on your browser to return to the top. Have fun and good luck!

P.S. Hopefully, in the near future, I can get a few photos of the finished model on site. Stay tuned!

Instructions for building the Sopwith Camel - Table of Contents

• A. Supplies & Materials Required
• B. Definitions

  • 1. Mountain Fold
  • 2. Valley Fold

• C. Assembling the Fuselage

  • 1. Cutting Out the Fuselage
  • 2. Building the Fuselage

• D. Assembling the Wings

  • 1. Bottom Wing
  • 2. Top Wing
  • 3. Building the Wing Struts

• E. Installing the Bottom Wing
• F. Installing the Top Wing
• G. Building and Installing the Tail
• H. Building and Installing the Landing Gear
• I. Building and Installing the Engine Cowl

  • 1. Building the Cowl
  • 2. Installing the Propeller
  • 3. Installing the Cowl

Instructions for building the Sopwith Camel

• A. Supplies & Materials Required

  • white glue
  • toothpick (for glue applicator)
  • scissors
  • long pencil
  • X-Acto knife

• B. Definitions

  • 1. Mountain Fold - fold the paper away from you (forms a 'mountain').
  • 2. Valley Fold - fold the paper toward you (forms a 'valley')

• C. Assembling the Fuselage

  • 1. Cutting Out the Fuselage

    • Cut out fuselage along lines outside of grey tabs and around edge. On the back of the pattern along the front edge, mark with a pencil the lines marked A, B, C and D for future reference.
    • Cut the lines indicated up to the small hash marks intersecting lines B, C and D. Cut out cockpit as indicated. DO NOT cut dotted lines on line B and C yet. They will be cut after the fuselage is assembled. Cut the short black lines on tabs E, F, G, H and J up to fuselage to form a series of smaller tabs. This will allow contouring the rear of the fuselage later.

  • 2. Building the Fuselage

    • Mountain fold lines B, C and D from front of fuselage to the hash marks. Mountain fold all grey tabs , working small tabs on F, G, H and J around contour of fuselage. Curve top of fuselage (between lines A and B) lengthwise over a long pencil. If you use a hexagonal shaped pencil, it will realistically texture the fuselage to look like 'ribs'.
    • Carefully align and glue tab E to opposing edge of fuselage. Cross section of fuselage should be shaped similar to a loaf of bread, square on the bottom with a rounded top.
    • Glue long tabs F and G to top edge of fuselage. DO NOT glue small tabs near end of fuselage yet.
    • Glue long tabs H and J to bottom edge of fuselage. DO NOT glue small tabs near end of fuselage yet. Ensure glue is applied right up to the hash marks on line C and D.
    • Apply glue to small tabs at the rear of the fuselage and the end of the fuselage sides. Between thumb and forefinger, position the fuselage sides on tabs and contour the sides to meet at the end of the fuselage. At the same time, use your other tumb and forefinger to position the top and bottom of the fuselage on the tabs. Hold in position until the glue dries. Use long pencil inserted through the front of the fuselage to help contour the tail of the fuselage.

• D. Assembling the Wings

  • 1. Bottom Wing

    • Cut out Bottom Wing. Cut dotted line between tabs M and N and dotted lines along end of tabs M and N.
    • Valley fold tabs M and N along red lines.
    • Apply glue to straight section of trailing edge on left side of the wing. DO NOT glue wing tips yet. Glue the two edges of the wing together. DO NOT crease the leading edge of the wing. Slightly flatten leading edge until contour of the wing airfoil looks correct.
    • Repeat previous step for right side of wing.
    • Glue wingtips together by applying glue and pinching with your fingers, contouring wingtip as you go. Trim glued edges around the wing with scissors.

  • 2. Top Wing

    • Apply glue to straight section of trailing edge along length of the wing. DO NOT glue wing tips yet. Glue the two edges of the wing together. DO NOT crease the leading edge of the wing. Slightly flatten leading edge until contour of the wing airfoil looks correct.
    • lue wingtips together by applying glue and pinching with your fingers, contouring wingtip as you go. Trim glued edges around the wing with scissors.

  • 3. Building the Wing Struts

    • Cut out wing struts. Inner wing struts are shorter than the outer wing struts. Mountain fold along dotted line. Fold over four more times. Glue last fold down and trim edge.
    
    
    • Add tabs to the struts as follows:
      • Inner Wing Struts - tabs at tan end.
      • Outer Wing Struts - tabs at both ends, Cut tabs to angle at 30 degrees.
    • Form tabs for glueing on end of strut by sticking the pointed end of an X-Acto knife between the layers of paper at the end of the strut and carefully cutting along the fold lines on both sides to the solid black line. Fold back flaps on either side to form a 'T' shape at the end of the strut.
    • Note that the Outer wing struts have tabs that are bent at a 30 degree angle to accomodate the angle at which the Top wing is positioned over the bottom wing. When cutting the end of the struts, cut one side slightly longer than the other to allow the tabs to be bent over at the correct angle. The top surface of the top tab and the bottom tab should be parallel, with the strut angling at approximately 60 degrees between the tabs.

• E. Installing the Bottom Wing

  • Use an X-Acto knife to carefully cut along dotted lines on bottom of the fuselage (lines C and D).
  • Insert tabs M and N on Bottom wing in slots in fuselage. Apply glue under tabs M and N inside fuselage. Slightly elevate wing tips to form dihedral and glue tabs M and N to inside bottom of the fuselage.

• F. Installing the Top Wing

  • Cut small slots in fuselage at the four yellow dashes beside and in front of the cockpit large enough for the Inner struts to fit.
  • Insert strut in slot up to black line, with tabbed end of strut at the top, and glue in place at a 90 degree angle. Repeat for the other Inner struts.
  • Bend struts at approximately 45 degrees toward wing tips and adjust tabs at the top of the struts to accept top wing.
  • Place Top wing on table, top side down. The four struts will locate at the four 'X's near the center of the Top wing. Locate struts by lining up the tabs on the struts with the 'X's while holding the fuselage assembly upside down over Top wing. When you are comfortable with the fit, carefully glue front struts to the Top wing. When the glue dries, glue back struts into position.
  • Glue Outer wing struts in position over the 'X's on the top of the Bottom wing, matching the color of the tabs with the color on the wing. Apply glue to tabs at the top of the struts and glue in position over the 'X's on the bottom of the Top wing. When struts are installed, it should give the Bottom wing a slight dihedral.

• G. Building and Installing the Tail

  • Cut out and glue two halves of horizontal stabilizer together, applying glue only around the edges. Trim glued edges with scissors, if required.
  • Cut out two halves of vertical stabilizer. Valley fold tabs on bottom of vertical stabilizer at black lines. Glue two halves of vertical stabilizer together, applying glue only around the edges without applying glue to the tabs. Trim glued edges with scissors, if required.
  • Glue horizontal stabilizer to tail so tip of 'V' lines up with back tip of fuselage, applying the glue up to the edges of the side of the fuselage. Hold down until the glue dries and stabilizer sits flat.
  • Fold out flaps on vertical stabilizer at 90 degrees. Apply glue to tabs and glue in place on top of horizontal stabilizer, lining the bottom of the vertical stabilizer with the rear of the fuselage.

• H. Building and Installing the Landing Gear

  • Cut out and glue the Wheels to a piece of scrap paper. Cut out again and glue the two halves of the Wheels together. The extra layer of paper will give added strength to support the weight of the plane.
  • Build Landing Struts and Wheel Brace similar to method for Wing Struts. No tabs are needed on the ends.
  • Bend Landing struts on the middle black line. Bend tips of struts on lines in the opposite direction.
  • Turn the plane upside down. The Landing struts attach to the 'X's indicated on the underside of the fuselage and the Bottom wing. Adjust and carefully glue in place (longer section points toward tail), one strut at a time.
  • Glue one end of Wheel Brace to inside of Landing strut at the 'V' formed at the bend, so the end of the Wheel Brace is flush with the outside of the Landing strut. Wheel Brace may appear too long at this point. Allow glue to dry.
  • Gently bend Landing struts outward toward wing tips. Glue Wheel Brace to the other Landing strut while they are bent outwards. Struts will angle outward slightly and evenly. If the Wheel Brace is too long, cut end flush with the Landing strut. Hold until glue dries.
  • Glue Wheels onto end of Wheel Braces. Ensure they are lined up so the plane will sit level. Set aside to dry.

• I. Building and Installing the Engine Cowl

  • 1. Building the Cowl

    • Cut out long strip with tab K and both circular engine and cowl pieces.
    • Cut small black lines around circular Cowl piece.
    • Glue tab K on long strip to other end of strip to form a 'Collar'. It should fit snugly over the front of the fuselage, but not pull the fuselage out of shape.
    • Glue tab L on circular Cowl piece to other end of Cowl piece to form a shallow cone shape.
    • Mountain fold small tabs around cone shaped Cowl piece. Test fit two Cowl pieces together by placing the cone shaped Cowl piece with the tabs facing up inside the collar shaped Cowl piece. It should fit snugly with neither piece pulling the other out of shape.
    • Spot glue one tab on either side of cone shaped Cowl piece and glue into collar shaped piece so fold on tabs just come to the edge of the collar shaped piece. Use a toothpick to apply glue to the rest of the tabs and glue in place, shaping the Cowl from the inside using your finger. Test fit Engine disk inside cowl. Test fit whole assembly over front of fuselage. Be patient, it fits tight and will take some massaging to fit properly. DO NOT glue in place yet.

  • 2. Installing the Propeller

    • Cut out and glue two halves of the Propeller together.
    • To create a Propeller pin, cut a strip of scrap paper approximately 1 centimeter wide. Curl between your fingers until a tube is formed. Roll between your thumb and forefinger until the tube is narrow enough to use as a Propeller pin (1 to 1- 1/2 mm). Slightly moistening your thumb and finger can make this easier. Cut off excess paper and apply glue to outside edge. Roll up again tightly and allow glue to dry. If you don't need the satisfaction of having the whole model made out of paper, you can use a straight pin instead.
    • Carefully cut slot in center of Propeller to fit Propeller pin. Cut slot in center of Engine at the 'X'. Mount Propeller on Propeller pin. Twist Propeller blades in opposite direction to give them some pitch.
    • Place Engine inside Cowl assembly. Mount Propeller by pushing the end of the Propeller pin through the slot in the Engine.

  • 3. Installing the Cowl

    • Spot glue Engine inside of Cowl and Propeller pin to engine.
    • Apply glue to front edge of fuselage and slip Cowl and Propeller assembly over the front of the fuselage.