The
FIAT CAMSA (Costruzioni Meccaniche Aeronautiche Società Anonima) RS.14 long-range maritime strategic reconnaissance seaplane was the most well known well as numerous aircraft type designed & built by this Genovan-based subsidiary, 186 including two prototypes manufactured 1939-1943.
Aviation Usk AV-1020 with scale injection molded with vacuformed clear & brass etched parts released in 1996 along with the c.2000-vintage re-boxed Czech produced
Xotic-72 AU1020 are the only 1/72 scale kits of the RS.14. Derided by
some modelers as crude and inaccurate the kits nevertheless remain sought after by
Regia Aeronautica Italiania aficionados myself having taken
over two years to obtain a no doubt many times owned & resold unopened example, glad indeed am I to have bought it well as
finally building the critter!
Below is my first build-in-progress photo; mainwings, floats, flight deck sans pilot & copilot seats are assembled, fuselage halves prepped for assembly:
July 1, 2019 Update:
Mainwings sand finished; floats mostly sand finished additional putty filling was necessary more sanding later; engine cowlings glued together, putty filling & sanding next. Model kit instructions outline three cockpit canopy assembly options two requiring cutting out fuselage halve portions, inserting portions of the vacuform cockpit canopy, am choosing the third
least invasive, i.e. cutting out only the vacuform canopy windscreen top & painting in cabin windows, getting to
that assembly challenge later this week!
July 3, 2019 Update:
Floats & engine cowlings sand finished, fuselage & cowling interiors painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% White shading replicating Verde Anticorruzione.
U.S. Independence Day 2019 Update:
Flight deck seats & control wheels painted & assembled, seat belts fabricated from painted Scotch Magic Mending Tape, glued in place on seats.
July 6, 2019 Update:
Majority of model kit parts molded in two identical circular trees, highly economical though same pitch direction propellers, engines rotated opposite directions, one propeller cut part, pitch direction reversed. Kit lacked propeller shafts, used circular plastic stock, drilled holes though engines subsequently glued on circular mounts, propeller hubs & spinners, glued spinners on shafts, they & cowling parts dry fit assembled. Vacuform nose "greenhouse" assembled, considerable trim, file & sanding work necessary, seam puttying required as well, sanding them over tomorrow.
July 7 & 8, 2019 Update:
Sheet plastic wedge shims glued in place on fuselage halves forward of cockpit to ensure good vacuform nose "greenhouse" to fuselage joins, dry fitting sessions went well
Vacuform cockpit canopy cut trimmed, filed & sanded to fit, dry fitting sessions also went well
Forgot to paint crew seat upholstery
retro with Testors Flat Rust enamel
somewhat replicating rust-colored leather seen on Italian aircraft seats. Kit provided etched brass beam gun mount parts painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel, glued in place on fuselage halves. Cockpit instrument panel painted & glued in place on port fuselage halve; kit provided etched brass & clear plastic sheet printed instrument panel parts glued together they glued on plastic backing it held in place with glued-on sheet plastic shim, flight deck assembly subsequently glued in place on port fuselage halve. Fuselage halves glued joined, good results
nose shims putty filled later today.
July 9, 2019 Update:
All fuselage seams finished sanded, some additional puttying required. Cockpit canopy panes masked then glued in place on fuselage; canopy cut out of one-piece vacuform part intended for grafting onto cut-out fuselage area too narrow
dry-fits didn't reveal this, starboard side upper fuselage join noticeably misaligned
Nose "greenhouse" panes masked then glued in place OK, port fuselage join slightly off, vacuform part creeped over fuselage edge whilst gluing down side window in slot, didn't catch the creeping
Cockpit canopy & nose greenhouse base painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% White shading replicating Verde Anticorruzione, entire fuselage except rudder (will be painted Verde Oliva Scuro 2) Humbrol 125 Satin U.S. Dark Grey + 36% Testors Flat White enamels replicating Giorgio Azzurro Chiaro 3:
Humbrol satin paint dries slow, set fuselage aside to dry next two days, resuming work on other kit components tomorrow.
July 10, 2019 Update:
Mooring bollards glued on float topsides some millimeters back from bows based on RS.14 Internet photos. Single piece plastic "teardrop", two-piece etched brass "T" style kit options provided, chose teardrop based on wartime RS.14 photos, brass parts likely breaking off whilst handling the model during construction. Floats glued in place on main wing engine nacelle undersides; disregarded kit instructions to drill holes for inserting float strut pegs, cut
them off, glued struts directly on the nacelles instead, good alignments, better than having drilled holes knowing they'd be misaligned!
July 11, 2019 Update:
Topsides of all major model assembly units painted Humbrol 125 Satin U.S. Dark Grey + 36% Testors Flat White enamels replicating Giorgio Azzurro Chiaro 3; underside fuselage structural part supporting mainwings glued in place allowing dry-fitting major assembly units:
Forward underside fuselage structural part supporting mainwings glue join uneven, was re-puttied, will be smooth sanded Saturday.
July 12, 2019 Update:
Model kit did not have navigation lights or pitot tube parts, drilled holes for them on mainwings, cut sheet plastic stubs replicating the former glued in place, pitot tube will be fabricated later. Undersides of all major model assembly units
except the fuselage painted Model Master 1726 Flat Gull Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1.
July 13, 2019 Update:
Nose greenhouse canopy interior dirty
nose cap pried off, interior cleaned, cap glued back on after painting fuselage undersides. Starboard upper cockpit canopy join to fuselage area scraped smoothed & sanded to appear better. Extensive filing & sanding underside fuselage structural part supporting mainwings & fuselage join areas, extensive sanding of fuselage wing roots & mainwing ends as well. Mainwings glued on fuselage, extensive wing root puttying necessary. High heat conditions here, set model aside to dry, resuming work on it tomorrow.
July 14, 2019 Update:
Mainwing-fuselage joins filed & sanded; spray painted over top & underneath seams many imperfections revealed, several more file & smooth sanding passes required, good results achieved after second paint-over. More areas around cockpit canopy-fuselage join required trimming & sanding, good results achieved after spray & brush paint-overs. Cockpit canopy & nose greenhouse swabbed cleaned after removing all paint masking tape, nose cap glued back on after sanding & scraping off residue:
Model weathering painting commences tomorrow.
July 15, 2019 Update:
Fuselage & mainwing upper sides "weathered" with sprayed-on out-of-bottle Humbrol 125 Satin U.S. Dark Grey enamel replicating Giorgio Azzurro Chiaro 3 then lightly over sprayed with 125 + 36% Testors Flat White enamel mix for "softening". Radio compartment skyline "windows" spray painted on, Testors Flat Black + 5% White "special mix" base coat enamels over sprayed with "special mix & "Testors Flat Silver spot mix, set model aside for drying:
Floats will be weathered tomorrow; weathering
this model taking more time & effort than had anticipated, expecting all of it done by Thursday.
July 16, 2019 Update:
Float upper sides weathered:
July 17, 2019 Update:
Fuselage & mainwing undersides "weathered" with sprayed-on out-of-bottle Model Master 1726 Flat Gull Grey enamel replicating Gigio Azzurro Chiaro 1, 1726 + 36% Testors Flat White shading lightly over sprayed on several "weathered" areas for "softening". Float undersides weathered tomorrow.
July 18, 2019 Update:
Float undersides "weathered" with sprayed-on out-of-bottle Model Master 1726 Flat Gull Grey enamel replicating Gigio Azzurro Chiaro 1, 1726, "rust" with Testors Flat Rust + White spot mix:
July 19, 2019 Update:
Float struts top & undersides respectively spray painted Humbrol 125 Satin U.S. Dark Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Giorgio Azzurro Chiaro 3 & Model Master 1726 Flat Gull Grey + 36% Testors Flat White enamels replicating Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1 then glued in place after drying.
EZ Line stretch thread replicating float-mainwing tension wires glued in place.
Engine details brush painted Model Master 2105 Dark Blue Grey & Testors Flat Aluminum.
Engine exhaust pipe parts drilled out, trimmed & glued in place on engine cowlings (one required putty filling on a side) for later painting.
Weapons pod part trimmed to "seat" over fuselage underside, clear plastic dowels glued on interior ends, holes drilled in fuselage; Elmer's White Glue will be used to hold it in. Pod exterior painted Model Master 1726 Flat Gull Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels, retractable beam gun station cover exteriors painted Humbrol 125 Satin U.S. Dark Grey + 36% Testors Flat, pod & cover interiors sprayed Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% White shading replicating Verde Anticorruzione:
July 20 & 21 2019 Updates:
Seam lines along rudder sail & tailplane uppersides "weathered" with sprayed-on out-of-bottle Humbrol 125 Satin U.S. Dark Grey enamel replicating Giorgio Azzurro Chiaro 3 then lightly over sprayed with 125 + 36% Testors Flat White enamel mix for "softening".
Rudder painted Humbrol 91 Matt Black Green + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Oliva Scuro 2, white
Distintivo di Guerra cross over it well as a white fuselage band for identification purposes.
Model kit & SKY Models 72-019 decals for a 287a Squadriglia Serie III RS.14 were applied.
