Eduard has issued two resin propellers as upgrades to the propellers issued with their SE.5a Wolsely Viper kit. The upgraded propellers include resin and photoetch parts with much finer detail than the kit propeller.

The Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5 was introduced in 1917 with a 150 HP V8 Hispano-Suiza 8A engine with two-bladed counter-clockwise (left) rotating propeller. The SE.5a was an improved version of the SE.5 and was one of the fastest fighters of WWI. The SE.5a aircraft was originally produced with a 200 HP Hispano-Suiza 8B gear-driven engine (‘Hisso’), with a counter-clockwise (left) rotating four-bladed propeller. The gear-driven engines proved unreliable, and were quickly replaced with the 200 HP Wolsely Viper direct drive engine with clockwise rotating (right) two-bladed propeller.

In their recently issued SE.5a Wolsely Viper kit, Eduard includes both the Hispano-Suiza 8B and Wolsely Viper engines, as well as right & left two-bladed propellers, and a left four-bladed propeller. The propellers reviewed here are the right and left two-bladed upgrades to the kit propellers. The clockwise (right) propeller is for the Wolsely Viper engine and the counterclockwise (left) propeller is for the earlier Hispano-Suiza 8A engine.

Each kit includes two resin parts; the propeller and front hub, and photoetch parts for the rear plate and front strap. The front strap, photoetch part PE2, is included with both kits but only used on the Wolsely Viper right propeller. The resin props have continuous attachment to the pour block, but it cleans up easily.

The resin upgrade right propeller has a narrower blade & tip than the kit right propeller. The front hub on the resin propeller has greater detail and more depth than the molded-on hub for the kit propeller. The resin prop has a flat rear plated that doesn’t have bolt details like the kit prop, although it is difficult to see in the finished aircraft.

This is a nice addition to upgrade Eduard’s SE.5a. The shape and rotation options can be tailored to the aircraft being modeled, and the resin hub adds nice detail to the propeller.

Thanks to Eduard for producing these excellent add-on products, and for providing review samples to IPMS. Thanks to IPMS for letting me do the review.