Comper Swift De Havilland Gipsy engine - Arctic Decals/Dekno joint venture + Dekno's engine

 

Here is another cute Comper Swift ready to take to the Golden Era skies, this time in its inline engine version. The new kit from Arctic Decals in collaboration with Dekno Models was released to represent the machines re-designed to use a De Havilland Gipsy engine for purposes of racing, altering their nose profile. The kit comes with decals for G-ABWW, that piloted by E.H. Fielden came second in the 1932 King’s Cup. I went for G-ABWH, piloted by A.J. Styran to 1^st place in the The Folkestone Aero Trophy in August 25, 1932 at an average speed of 141mph. This plane had a different scheme and therefore Arctic Decals produced a set for it (with alternate schemes to cover different interpretations of the B&W photos):

I succumbed to the temptation of installing the engine -fortunately produced in 3D-printing by Dekno Models itself- to add interest to the replica. The modification requires some care, but it’s not onerous. To check the step-by-step building post you may go here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/02/comper-swift-de-havilland-gipsy-engine.html

Another build of this same kit, but in its radial engine version can be visited here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/01/comper-swift-arctic-decalsdekno-joint.html