Retired In Kalifornia's Italian Aircraft Model Builds In Progress Photos

Post in-progress or completed model pics here
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RetiredInKalifornia
Generale di Divisone Aerea
Generale di Divisone Aerea
Posts: 455
Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:34 pm

Thanks...

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Thu Jun 25, 2020 4:49 pm

Editor wrote:
Thu Jun 25, 2020 2:05 pm
wow it came out beautiful, another gem for the Gallery!
...Maybe last build in Bianco Avorio 5, one of the en route LF/KORA SAIMAN 202s could be base painted the color, Humbrol 148 Matt Radome Tan tin's almost empty, hopefully enough left for the SAIMAN build. Must yet decide schemes for the Aviation USK/Xotic-72 SM.84s, one definitely will be VOS2 with GAC1 mottles per photo I'd seen in this livery, gotta find it, be sure got decals to render it as well.

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RetiredInKalifornia
Generale di Divisone Aerea
Generale di Divisone Aerea
Posts: 455
Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:34 pm

Group IV Aviation USK/Xotic-72 Savoia-Marchetti SM.84s, Valom Caproni Campini N.1, LF/KORA Models SAIMAN 202 Variants

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Thu Jun 25, 2020 8:13 pm

GROUP IV PLASTIC MODEL BUILDS ARE COMPLETE

Build Progress Reports Will Be Continuously Posted Here, Photos Of Built Models Will Be On Separate Postings

The Aviation USK/Xotic-72 Savoia-Marchetti SM.84s, Valom Caproni Campini N.1, LF/KORA Models SAIMAN 202bis & 202/M variants are the last injected plastic kits left in inventory, the last "Italians" in this casting medium pending any new aircraft subject releases now till end of 2022 when will retire from scale modeling.

The 2000-vintage Aviation USK AV2025 & re-boxed Xotic-72 AU2025 were the only 1/72 scale SM.84 model kits available till release of the superior SEM Model resin in 2018 none of which in production, difficult as well coming across on the secondary market particularly the SEM Model kit. Missing out on buying the superior SEM Model kit when released now must build the inaccurate though easier to build Aviation USK & Xotic-72 ones they being the first two Group IV builds:

Aviation USK/Xotic-72 Savoia-Marchetti SM.84s Builds In Progress

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June 26, 2020

- > Major kit parts & associated sub components separated from sprues, trimmed, sanded, glue join areas & blemishes puttied interiors of some spray painted out of bottle Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Gray enamel approximating color Savoia-Marchetti employed in painting aircraft interiors:

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- > Resin sprues on engine reverse sides sanded down to fit inside painted engine cowling interiors, engines must be painted before assembling cowlings, doing so later.

- > More filing & sanding work needed on mainwing engine/landing gear nacelle units, interiors spray painted before gluing them on lower mainwings, doing it later.

- > Torpedoes assembled, other kit parts must be glued on before painting them.

June 27, 2020

- > All propellers for both kits assembled, tedious work :crazy:

- > All engine nacelle interiors & mainwing mount areas on lower mainwings spray painted out of bottle Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Gray enamel approximating color Savoia-Marchetti employed in painting aircraft interiors.

- > All engine nacelles trimmed, filed & smooth-sanded, glued in place on mainwings, edge seams putted, laborious work :frown: smooth-sanding seams tomorrow.

- > All resin engine parts base spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels.

June 28, 2020

- > All mainwing-engine nacelles, mainwing edges finish filed & smooth sanded laborious work :frown:

June 29, 2020

- > All kit pilot & co-pilot seat frames spray painted Testors Flat Aluminum, seat covers Rust enamels.

- > Kit etched brass seat belts spray painted Humbrol 29 Matt Dark Earth, buckle ends hand painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamels, glued in place on seat frames.

- > Kit lacked torso belts, fabricated them from cut strips of spray painted Humbrol 29 over Scotch Magic Mending Tape ends hand painted Aluminum, glued in place on seat frames.

- > Kit clear printed-on cockpit instrument panel plastic films trimmed & glued on injected plastic panel base parts.

- > Kit etched brass cockpit instrument panels over-spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels, engine control levers Aluminum.

- > Brass cockpit instrument panel parts cut out of frames, aligned & glued over instrument panel plastic films, OK results, assembled units set aside for now.

- > Kit lacked beam guns & mounts, rectangular plastic beam gun port covers were provided however.

- > Two spare SUPERMODEL Savoia-Marchetti S.81 kit Lewis Guns modified to appear as generic 12.7mm machine guns spray painted "special mix", gun mounts fabricated from styrene sheet plastic spray painted Aluminum, parts assembled, guns vertically trainable.

- > Rectangular kit-provided plastic beam gun port covers alternately glued in place starboard/port model kit fuselage halves, mounts for the gun mount assemblies fabricated from sheet plastic also alternately glued in place port/starboard model kit fuselage halves.

- > Vertically trainable gun & mount assemblies test fitted on fuselage interior halve mounts, guns can train horizontally as well, good results :thumbup:

June 30, 2020

- > Kit fuselage halve interiors, bulkheads, cabin & flight decks base spray painted Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Gray enamel approximating color Savoia-Marchetti employed in painting aircraft interiors.

- > All kit & fabricated fuselage interior cockpit parts assembled, painted, glued in place on forward flight deck, good results :thumbup:

- > Molded on forward flight deck rudder pedals hand painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel.

- > Kit lacked aileron & tailplane control column parts, fabricated sets from styrene sheet plastic, glued on kit provided steering yokes, assemblies spray painted Aluminum, yoke handles hand painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels, glued in in place in front of rudder pedals.

- > Kit engine control consoles parts spray painted "special mix" center-glued in place in front of control column crossbars.

- > Aluminum over sprayed kit brass engine control levers cut from frames, glued in place on engine control columns, detail hand-painted aluminum & "special mix".

- > Bulkheads yet to be glued on flight decks, doing that later.

July 1, 2020

- > Fuselage halve window ledges spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" for better visual aesthetics.

- > Kit clear plastic fuselage window parts cut from sheets, glued in fuselage halve orifices, very tedious work :crazy: :evil:

July 2, 2020

- > Bulkheads glued on flight decks:

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- > Flight decks & cabin floors glued in place on alternate fuselage halve sides:

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- > Trainable fuselage beam guns inserted, retaining rings glued in place below mounts:

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Update

- > Fuselage halves glued together, some seam puttying necessary, good results :thumbup:

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July 3, 2020

- > Inaccurate though usable kit clear vacuformed styrene plastic cockpit canopies cut out from sheets, trimmed, filed & sanded to curve-fit over fuselage cockpits.

- > Fuselage cockpit edges hand painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" for better visual aesthetics.

- > Fit-tested vacuformed canopies glued over fuselage cockpits, good fits generally, windshield gap puttying necessary on one fuselage, slight rear canopy bowing over fuselage on another, not noticeable enough to require puttying.

- > Kit clear vacuformed styrene plastic ventral fuselage gunner's gondolas cut from sheets, trimmed, filed & sanded to flat-fit over scribed ventral fuselage areas.

- > Scribed ventral fuselage areas masked-off, spray painted "special mix" for better visual aesthetics.

- > Gondolas forward windows masked-off, glued in place over scribed ventral fuselage areas, tricky work :crazy: acceptable results.

- > One poorly glued-on gondola had to be pried off :wtf: ventral fuselage area paint removed & re-sprayed, gondola outsides & insides cleaned-up, glued back on, disaster averted though just :shifty:

- > Ventral fuselage-gondola join areas edge masked, gondolas over sprayed out of bottle Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Gray enamel approximating color Savoia-Marchetti employed in painting aircraft interiors.

- > Masking over cockpit canopy windows, spray painting canopies Model Master 1726 tomorrow.

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- > Fuselage cockpit canopy windows masked-off, very tedious work :crazy:

- > Visible longitudinal center canopy join seams needed to be putty filled, scraped & sanded several times, more tedious work :crazy: :evil: canopies over-sprayed Model Master 1726 enamel, acceptable results.

July 5, 2020

- > Kit one-piece tailplane parts trimmed, filed, sanded, test fitted over rear dorsal fuselage attachment areas (some starboard side trimming was necessary), good fits & horizontal centering relative to fuselages :esmile:

- > Poorly molded-on two-point tailplane attachment lugs for rudder sail assemblies cut off, adjacent attachment areas sanded, one centered hole drilled in each attachment area well as in corresponding rudder sail assembly.

- > Cut circular styrene plastic pieces from parts spares glued in each tailplane hole as replacement attachment lugs, rudder sail assemblies test fitted, good results :esmile: allows precise three axis centering whilst gluing together later.

- > One-piece tailplane units glued in place over fuselage attachment areas, flat triangular dorsal tail parts trimmed & sanded, glued in place over fuselage tail cones, some puttying & shape-sanding necessary, very good results :biggrin:

- > Fuselage mainwing assemblies glued in place on fuselages, tricky work :crazy: fusalage wings roots tad thin relative to assemblies, positioned latters flush with upper root join line, putty filled all joins, acceptable results:

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- > SM.84s had fuselage-wing root emergency fuel dump pipes, fabricated them from cut-shaped styrene sheet plastic, glued in place per page 194 photo in Chris Dunning's Courage Alone The Italian Air Force 1940-1943:

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- > Engine crankcases hand painted Testors Model Master 2105 Dark Blue Gray, assembling engine & cowling parts later this week.

July 6, 2020

- > Fuselage-mainwing puttied joins of both models shape filed & sanded, tedious work :crazy: some re-puttying & sanding necessary, acceptable results.

- > Model mainwing leading edge landing gear light slots hand painted Testors Silver & Flat Aluminum, kit clear vacuform plastic mainwing leading edge landing gear light cover parts cut out of sheets, filed & sanded, glued in place in slots, acceptable results.

- > Propeller drive shaft holes drilled in all resin model engine parts, propellers test fitted, good results.

- > All engine & cowling units assembled, high-anxiety effort start to finish :shock:

- > Circular resin engine parts way too narrow relative to engine cowling interiors, solution after several tries was gluing cut styrene sheet plastic tabs & spacers on engines & cowling interiors, spacers center engines, tabs horizontal & vertical engine alignment relative to cowlings whilst gluing together, kluge though workable :esmile:

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- > Assembled engine & cowling units inspected, join puttying necessary on some, finishing cutting, filing & sanding them later.

- > Propellers test fitted over engine & cowling units; port mainwing props turn counter-clockwise per SM.84 period photos:

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July 7, 2020

- > Assembled engine & cowling unit seams scraped & finish sanded, forward cowling halves spray painted Testors Flat White one set over-sprayed Testors Flat Yellow enamels per period photos & painting information regarding SM.84 unit identification markings.

- > Propellers spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix", yellow over white blade tips, hubs hand painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel, good results, painting blade reverse side synchronization stripes, applying propeller manufacturer logo decals later.

July 8, 2020

- > Largely assembled models base spray painted Humbrol 63 Matt Sand + 10% Testors Flat Yellow + 36% Flat White shading replicating Giallo Mimetico 3 (GM3), Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Gray + 36% Testors Flat White shading replicating Giorgio Azzurro Chiaro 1 (GAC1) enamels.

- > GM3 applied over model topsides, surrounding mainwing & tailplane leading edges, main landing gear nacelle fronts for yet to be determined applications of other mimetico camouflage colors.

- > GAC1 applied over entire model per CMPR/GAVS Schema E2 ala IPMS-Italy color chart specific to some Savoia-Marchetti SM.84s, Azzurro 11 to be applied later.

- > Models set aside to dry overnight:

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July 9, 2020

- > GM3 base painted model topsides & rudder units laboriously spray painted Humbrol 120 Matt Light Green + 36% Testors Flat White shading replicating Verde Mimetico 53192, Testors Model Master 2009 British Crimson + Humbrol 118 Matt US Tan 80/20 mix + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Marrone Mimetico 2 per CMPR/GAVS Schema 10b ala IPMS-Italy color chart, excellent results :thumbup:

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July 10, 2020

- > CMPR/GAVS Schema 10b ala IPMS-Italy color chart painted model undersides & mainwing wheel cover outsides sprayed Humbrol 140 Matt Gull Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Grigio Mimetico, good results.

- > Yellow painted engine cowlings masked off, rear halves sprayed Humbrol 63 Matt Sand + 10% Testors Flat Yellow + 36% Flat White shading replicating Giallo Mimetico 3, Humbrol 120 Matt Light Green + 36% Testors Flat White shading replicating Verde Mimetico 53192, Testors Model Master 2009 British Crimson + Humbrol 118 Matt US Tan 80/20 mix + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Marrone Mimetico 2 per CMPR/GAVS Schema 10b ala IPMS-Italy color chart, good results.

July 11, 2020

- > Image conditions made for :crazy: working today.

- > All assembled kit engine oil cooler units painted & glue-mounted on models, acceptable results.

- > Cooler housings too tall per period SM.84 photos, sanded them down 25%.

- > Cooler housing interiors spray & hand painted out of bottle Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Gray approximating color Savoia-Marchetti employed in painting aircraft interiors, oil cooler parts hand painted Testors Brass enamels.

- > Three cooler housing exteriors spray painted Humbrol 140 Matt Gull Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading replicating Grigio Mimetico other three Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Gray + 36% Testors Flat White shading replicating Giorgio Azzurro Chiaro 1 (GAC1) enamels.

- > All kit engine cowling dorsal ram air inlet parts partially painted, glue-mounted on engine cowlings.

- > Period SM.84 photos show center-mounted air guide stakes inside inlets, fabricated sets from sheet styrene plastic strips, glued them in place, all inlet interiors spray painted Model Master 1726 emamel.

- > Three inlet exteriors spray painted GAC1, glued in place over GAC1 base-painted engine cowling rear dorsal areas, set aside for more painting later.

- > Other three inlet exteriors partially painted Humbrol 63 Matt Sand + 10% Testors Flat Yellow + 36% Flat White shading replicating Giallo Mimetico 3, Humbrol 120 Matt Light Green + 36% Testors Flat White shading replicating Verde Mimetico 53192, Testors Model Master 2009 British Crimson + Humbrol 118 Matt US Tan 80/20 mix + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels extending Schema 10b mimetico of parent engine cowlings subsequently glued in place over them, set aside for more painting later.

July 12, 2020

- > Image conditions made for :crazy: working today as well.

- > Testors Flat White enamel identification band painted around CMPR/GAVS Schema C10b ala IPMS-Italy color chart model's rear fuselage:

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- > All assembled engine & cowling units fully painted:

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- > GAC1 base painted units spray painted Humbrol 25 Matt Blue mottles replicating Azzurro 11 pneumatic piping color employed on some wartime SM.84s ala CMPR/GAVS Schema E2 ala IPMS-Italy color chart.

July 13, 2020

- > All GAC1 model topsides & rudder units spray painted Humbrol 25 Matt Blue + 36% Testors Flat White shading replicating Azzurro 11 ala CMPR/GAVS Schema E2 ala IPMS-Italy color chart, very satisfying results :biggrin: :thumbup:

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July 14, 2020

- > Testors Flat White enamel identification band painted around CMPR/GAVS Schema E2 ala IPMS-Italy color chart model's rear fuselage.

- > Kits lack mainwing navigation light parts, fabricated them from cut & shape-sanded styrene plastic parts, holes drilled near mainwing leading edge tips, pieces glued in place, hand over-painted camouflage colors, Testors & Model Master Flat Green & Insignia Red enamels stippled on part ends, OK results.

- > SM.84s had additional navigation lights above/below mainwings behind those on wing leading edges, replicated them by drilling shallow holes filled in with Green & Insignia Red, OK results.

- > Kit mainwing tri-fasci water decals cut from sheets & applied, good results:

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July 15, 2020

- > Kit "258-2" & small fuselage fascio water decals applied on CMPR/GAVS Schema E2 ala IPMS-Italy color chart model's rear fuselage sides, good results.

- > SKY Models 72019 "204" + unit logos, large kit fuselage fascio decals applied on CMPR/GAVS Schema C10b ala IPMS-Italy color chart model's rear fuselage sides, good results.

- > Poly Scale Flat Black & White "special mix" acrylics sprayed around fuselage noses, mainwing landing gear nacelles of both models replicating engine blow-by grime, good results.

- > Both models & assembled engine cowling units over-sprayed with Testors Clear Semi-Gloss Lacquer, window maskings removed, windows cleaned & covered with clear machine oil, good results.

- > Engine cowling units glued on both models, satisfying results :biggrin: :thumbup:

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July 16, 2020

- > Assembled kit torpedoes trimmed & sanded, ready for painting

- > Torpedo break-off tail vane parts trimmed & assembled, ready for painting.

- > All assembled mainwing landing gear & tail wheel tires base spray painted Testors Flat Rubber, Black & White "special mix."

- > Landing gear tire forks trimmed, ready for painting:

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- > All mainwing landing gear strut units assembled, ready for painting.

- > Basic kit landing gear strut parts laboriously super-detailed with cut styrene sheet plastic pieces & EZ Line stretch thread using this SEM Model SM.84 "dry assembled" photo as guide:

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July 17, 2020

- > All kit exhaust pipes, trimmed, filed & sanded, spray & hand painted Testors Flat Steel & Rust "spot mix" enamels, "Pan Pipe" outlets hand painted Flat Black & White "special mix", all glued in assigned places behind engine cowlings, good results.

- > All assembled mainwing landing gear strut units base spray painted Testors Flat Aluminum, oleo shock areas hand painted Silver enamels, good results.

- > All landing gear wheel hubs hand painted Flat Aluminum enamel, treads spray painted Poly Scale Mud acrylic, all mainwing wheels slid in place on landing gear strut units, good results.

- > All now fully assembled mainwing landing gear strut units glue-mounted inside mainwing wheel wells, extremely exasperating work :crazy: :twisted:

- > Scratch fabricated upper oleo shock scissors on "H-struts" pushed against wheel well front bulkheads causing strut bottoms to go off 1.5mm from well mount holes :wtf: H-struts slanting some degrees aft well as slanting inwards towards fuselage :wtf: :twisted: corrections made to reduce rear slant angles, absolutely not wanting to tempt fate those slanting towards fuselage left alone :!:

- > Sets of L-shaped hangers for all kit landing gear wheel well covers fabricated from styrene sheet plastic, glued in place on cover insides, set aside to dry.

- > Assembled torpedoes base spray painted Flat Aluminum enamel, still evaluating whether fabricating retaining pins glued on shackles will allow removing torpedoes for displaying.

July 18, 2020

- > All kit landing gear wheel well covers with L-shaped hangers glued in place along mainwing wheel well edges, good results.

- > SM.84s typically had two mainwing outer leading edge-mounted Pitot tubes just one very generic & too thick tube provided with each model kit, fabricated thinner "not as generic" tube sets from styrene sheet plastic strips & spray camouflage painted them, tube ends hand painted Testors Flat Aluminum & Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels then glued them in place, good results.

- > All kit aileron & tailplane elevator mass balances separated from sprues, trimmed & finish sanded, two sets of three spray camouflaged, glued in place underneath ailerons & port side elevators, good results, painting & mounting those on upper starboard elevators tomorrow.

- > Cut styrene plastic subs glued above & inside all kit torpedo shackle parts former facilitating glue-mounting them underneath model portside wing roots, latter alternatively placing & removing torpedoes on/off them.

- > Torpedo noses & shackles spray painted Testors Flat Steel enamel.

- > Retaining holes drilled in scribed rectangle areas underneath portside wing roots of both models, torpedo shackles glued in place, good results.

- > Assembled torpedo break-off tail vane units spray & hand-painted Testors Flat White & "special mix" neutral grey & Aluminum enamels, glued them on torpedoes, good results.

- > Shackle mounting holes drilled on torpedo topsides they test fitted for placing & removing them on/off shackles, good results :biggrin:

- > All kit Distintivo di Guerra crosses & House of Savoy crest water decals applied on rudder sail assemblies, good results.

Aviation USK/Xotic-72 Savoia-Marchetti SM.84 Models Complete, See Post Below

LF/KORA Models SAIMAN 202bis & 202/M Builds In Progress

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July 21, 2020

- > SAIMAN 202 historical information via Internet very limited, just two cockpit interior photos of instrument panels available, adjoining areas possibly painted light grey.

- > Kit fuselage halve, wheel spat & engine air scoop interiors, cockpit floors & bulkheads speculatively spray painted light grey Testors Flat Black & White enamels 1:15 mix similar to my c.2010 JACH 72103 SAIMAN 200 kit build.

July 22, 2020

- > All fuselage cockpit parts fully painted & assembled; 202bis kit version fuselage halve cargo window areas cut out, clear injected plastic windows glued in place, extensive portside window sill puttying necessary, good results:

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- > Kit instrument panel water decals applied over Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" spray painted plastic mountings, millimeter too wide either side, trimmed decals & mounts to snugly fit over forward cockpit bulkhead, mounts glued on bulkheads, good results.

- > All kit pilot & co-pilot seat frames spray painted Testors Flat Aluminum, seat covers Rust enamels, good results.

- > Kit lacked torso & seat belts, fabricated them from cut strips of spray painted Humbrol 29 over Scotch Magic Mending Tape ends hand painted Aluminum enamels, glued in place on seat frames, seats glued on cockpit floor, good results.

- > Kit joysticks & rudder pedals hand painted Testors Flat Aluminum & "special mix" enamels, glued on cockpit floor, good results.

- > Front & rear cockpit bulkheads glued in place, assembled cockpit interior units test fitted on 202bis & 202/M starboard fuselage halves, good results:

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- > Assembled cockpit interior units test fitted inside closed-up fuselage halves, good results:

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July 23, 2020

- > SAIMAN 202/M assembled cockpit interior unit glued on starboard fuselage halve with no cargo window, port halve also with no cargo window then glued on, clear pour-molded plastic canopy glued over cockpit, OK results.

- > Assembled 202/M cockpit interior unit kept sliding off fuselage halve even with superglue on it :evil: clamping fore & aft cockpit bulkheads down "seated" it though must try different approach gluing the 202bis assembled cockpit interior unit on :!:

- > Gluing on clear pour-molded plastic canopy not as difficult other than beforehand spraying Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamel paint over forward of cockpit dorsal fuselage area for better visual aesthetics the canopy windshield extending some millimeters beyond the forward cockpit edge, OK results.

- > Dorsal & ventral fuselage halve joins needed extensive puttying & shape-sanding, aft canopy-fuselage glue join also needed to be puttied over & knife-shaped, noticeable gaps between port/starboard fuselage cockpit & canopy covered with glued-on cut styrene plastic shims, OK results.

- > Clunkily molded one-piece mainwing part extensively trimmed, filed & sanded, assembled fuselage ventral areas where it seats also trimmed, several test fits of both made then glued together, OK results, dorsal fore & aft dorsal fuselage-mainwing joins on fuselage sides will be puttied over tomorrow.

July 24, 2020

- > SAIMAN 202/M fuselage-mainwing joins along fuselage sides puttied over & knife-shaped, OK results.

- > Ventral fuselage halve join had to be re-puttied over & smooth-sanded, OK results.

- > SAIMAN 202bis assembled cockpit interior unit glued on starboard fuselage halve with cargo window, port halve also with cargo window then glued on, good results.

- > Assembled 202bis cockpit interior unit didn't slide off fuselage halve with superglue on it though had to clamp down aft cockpit bulkhead to "seat" it on the halve, OK results.

- > Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamel paint over forward of cockpit dorsal fuselage area for better visual aesthetics the canopy windshield extending some millimeters beyond the forward cockpit edge, OK results, gluing on pour-molded plastic canopy tomorrow.

- > Clunkily molded one-piece mainwing part extensively trimmed, filed & sanded, trimming assembled fuselage ventral areas tomorrow before gluing together.

July 25, 2020

- > Image conditions made for :crazy: working today.

- > SAIMAN 202bis dorsal & ventral fuselage halve joins puttied & shape-sanded, aft canopy-fuselage glue join also needed to be puttied over & knife-shaped, noticeable gaps between port/starboard fuselage cockpit & canopy covered with glued-on cut styrene plastic shims, OK results.

- > Clunkily molded one-piece mainwing part extensively trimmed, filed & sanded, assembled fuselage ventral areas where it seats also trimmed, several test fits of both made then glued together, OK results.

- > Dorsal fore & aft dorsal fuselage-mainwing joins on fuselage sides puttied over & knife-shaped, OK results.

- > SAIMAN 202bis & 202/M cockpit canopy frames masked off, panes speculatively over-spray painted light grey Testors Flat Black & White enamels 1:15 mix similar to my c.2010 JACH 72103 SAIMAN 200 kit build.

- > Entire 202/M fuselage-mainwing assembly speculatively spray painted Testors Flat Black, White, Light Blue 1:15:5 enamel mix approximating the light blue finish of the post-WWII restored Museum of Aviation Rimini, Emilia-Romagna Italy's 202/M.

- > Topsides & underneath wing leading edges of SAIMAN 202bis fuselage-mainwing assembly spray painted Humbrol 63 Matt Sand + 10% Testors Flat Yellow + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Giallo Mimetico 3:

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July 26, 2020

- > Image conditions again made for :crazy: working today.

- > SAIMAN 202bis & 202/M starboard fuselage engine carburetor air scoop inlet & manual starter crank holes drilled out.

- > Fuselage engine canopy noses, rudder-sails, tailplane & underwing support parts separated from sprues, trimmed & sanded, one tailplane & support set glued on SAIMAN 202/M, good results.

- > Mainwing landing gear wheels & spat parts separated from sprues, trimmed & sanded, spats glued together one set glued underneath 202/M mainwings.

- > 202/M engine canopy nose, wheel spats, rudder-sail, tailplane & underwing supports over-sprayed Testors Flat Black, White, Light Blue 1:15:5 enamel mix approximating the light blue finish of the post-WWII restored Museum of Aviation Rimini, Emilia-Romagna Italy's 202/M, good results.

- > 202bis rudder-sail & engine canopy nose spray painted Humbrol 63 Matt Sand + 10% Testors Flat Yellow + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Giallo Mimetico 3.

- > 202/M canopy frames over-sprayed Testors Flat Aluminum enamel per Museum of Aviation Rimini, Emilia-Romagna Italy's 202/M, good results.

July 27, 2020

- > Image conditions yet again made for :crazy: working today.

- > Selected SAIMAN 202/M build option depicting Generale Rino Corso Fougier's (1894-1963) personal aircraft seen at Roma-Centocelle April 1942 calls for rudder-sail tri-color markings, rudder-sail masked-off, base spray painted Testors Flat White enamel, after drying masked-off again, over-sprayed Testors Flat Green & Model Master Insignia Red enamels, good results.

- > 202/M build option also calls for white fuselage & mainwing bands, masked-off & spray painted Flat White, good results.

LF/KORA SAIMAN 202/M Model Complete, See Post Below

July 29, 2020

- > Image conditions still yet again made for :crazy: working today.

- > Selected SAIMAN 202bis build option depicting civilly registered I-ABIU in Regia Aeronautica Italian mimetico east Africa 1940.

- > Humbrol 103 Matt Army Green & Testors Model Master 1702 Field Drab enamel equivalents of kit specified Mr Color/Hobby acrylics respectively replicating Verde Mimetico 1 & Marrone Mimetico 1 with 36% Flat White shading sprayed over all 202bis model topsides & around mainwing & tailplane leading edges in CMPR/GAVS Schema C1 pattern, set aside to dry.

July 30, 2020

- > Image conditions still yet again made for :crazy: working today.

- > SAIMAN 202bis kit Alfa Romeo 110 engine part hand-painted Testors Flat Steel & "special mix" spot mix, glued inside mimetico-painted engine canopy nose part, assembly glued on fuselage nose (same procedure with 202/M build), good results.

- > All model undersides including tailplane & braces spray painted Humbrol 140 Matt Gull Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Grigio Mimetico, good results.

- > Mainwing walkway tread areas masked-off & spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" (same procedure with 202/M build), good results.

- > Port & starboard cockpit canopy retraction handles fabricated from cut styrene plastic pieces, glued in place, hand over-painted "special mix" (same procedure with 202/M build), good results.

- > Canopy frames over-sprayed Testors Flat Aluminum enamel per kit painting instructions & period 202bis & 202/M photos, good results.

- > Tailplane glued in place over rear dorsal fuselage, forward dorsal join spot puttying & knife-shaping necessary (same procedure with 202/M build), join over-sprayed with Testors Model Master 1702 Field Drab + 36% Flat White shading replicating Marrone Mimetico 1, under-tailplane braces glued in place, good results.

- > Main landing gear wheels could not fit in spats :twisted: 2/3rds of them cut off, glued over spat bottoms (same procedure with 202/M build), spats spray painted Grigio Mimetico, wheels hand-painted Testors Flat Aluminum & Flat Rubber, Black & White "special mix", good results.

LF/KORA SAIMAN 202bis Model Complete, See Post Below

Valom Caproni Campini N.1 (CC N.1) Likely Last Year 2020 Injected-Plastic Italian Aircraft Subject Build In Progress

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August 1, 2020

- > CC N.1 fuselage halves, one-piece lower, two upper mainwing parts, fuselage flight crew deck & seats separated from sprues, all edges trimmed, filed, sanded & test fitted, seats glued on flight crew deck.

- > Parts interiors, flight crew deck & seat spray painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel per kit instructions & period Internet photos, set aside to dry, more fuselage halve interior painting later.

- > Mainwing parts glued together, set aside for more working on later.

August 2, 2020

- > Assembled CC N.1 mainwing unit leading edge join seams putty filled, set aside for more working on later.

- > Fuselage halve interiors aft of cockpit flight crew deck areas spray painted Testors Flat Steel, good results.

- > Kit resin fuselage nose air impeller clean-trimmed, spray painted flat steel, back plate area Testors Flat Black & White "special mix", good results.

- > Cockpit flight crew deck assembled, satisfying results :biggrin: :thumbup:

- > Pilot & co-pilot seats hand painted Testors Rust enamel.

- > Kit brass etched torso & lap seat belts spray painted Humbrol 29 Matt Dark Earth, buckles & seat attachments hand painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamels, glued in place on seats.

- > Kit brass etched rudder control pedal parts spray painted Aluminum, glued in place on flight deck.

- > Aileron & elevator control column spray painted Aluminum, steering yokes "special mix", glued in place on flight deck.

August 3, 2020

- > All CC.N.1 kit fuselage interior assemblies completed, glued in place on fuselages halve interiors, satisfying results :biggrin: :thumbup:

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- > Kit etched brass flight crew controls spray & hand-painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" & Aluminum enamels.

- > Cockpit flight crew deck assembly needed to be glued on port fuselage halve interior first, flight crew controls glued in place afterwards, tricky work :crazy: port controls then glued on starboard halve interior, good results.

- > Kit-provided plastic "bridge" between pilot & copilot painted Aluminum, glued in place on port fuselage halve interior.

- > Kit provided cockpit flight instruments printed on clear plastic sheet not at all aligned with holes in kit etched brass instrument panel covers :twisted: clear styrene plastic sheets glued on cover backsides & cut out, sheet backsides spray painted "special mix" spot mix lightened replicating instrument dials, kluge for sure OK results nevertheless.

- > Mounting instrument panels on port fuselage halve interior problematic :think: wedges cut from styrene plastic, glued on instrument panel backsides, copilot's panel glued underneath the bridge, pilot's panel on cut plastic shim glued on top fuselage halve interior edge, good results:

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- > Fully painted resin nose impeller glued in place on starboard fuselage halve interior:

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- > Jet exhaust cone assembled & spray painted Testors Flat Steel & Silver enamels, circular plastic cone mount spray painted Flat Steel & "special mix", cone mount glued in place on starboard fuselage halve interior, cone assembly unit slid in mount, good results:

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August 4, 2020

- > CC N.1 fuselage halves glued together in stages, join seams extensively puttied afterwards, tricky work :crazy:

- > Cockpit flight deck popped out of starboard fuselage halve interior retaining rail whilst gluing halves together causing copilot's steering yoke to pop out of alignment :wtf: removed, trimmed to fit, repainted, glued it back on control column, forced flight deck back on retaining rail, glued it in place, OK results.

- > Mainwing assembly unit leading & trailing edges extensively knife-trimmed & shape-sanded, additional puttying necessary in places, OK results.

- > Fuselage & mainwing assembly units knife-trimmed to fit, units glued together, join seams extensively puttied, OK results:

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August 5, 2020

- > All CC N.1 puttied fuselage & mainwing assembly joins finish-sanded, OK results.

- > Vacuformed clear pliant plastic flight crew canopies cut from forming sheet, trimmed & sanded, test fitted, OK results.

- > Pilot cockpit canopy originally was to be closed, poor test fits changed mind, cut off windscreen, knife & sand-shaped it to sit in front of cockpit, OK results.

- > Pilot & copilot sliding canopy sections knife & shaped-sanded to fit over dorsal fuselage spine in open position, OK results.

- > Dorsal fuselage area forward of pilot cockpit where windscreen will be seated spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels for better visual aesthetics.

- > Tailplanes & rudder sail kit parts glued in place, seams puttied, clunky fits though OK results.

- > Fuselage nose air intake ring separated from sprue, trimmed & sanded, insides spray painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel, glued in place, join puttied, OK results:

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August 6, 2020

- > CC N.1 tailplane, rudder sail & fuselage nose air intake ring puttied join seams finished-sanded.

- > Pilot's clear vacuform windscreen masked-off, glued in place in front of cockpit, over-sprayed Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels for better visual aesthetics.

- > Entire model sprayed painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel, good results, set aside to dry till tomorrow August 7th.

- > Spots on fuselage nose air intake ring join seam needed to be re-puttied, set aside to dry & finish sand later.

Valom Caproni Campini N.1 Complete, See Post Below
Last edited by RetiredInKalifornia on Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:34 pm, edited 76 times in total.

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LF/KORA SAIMAN 202 Models Arrived Today July 6, 2020

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:33 pm

RetiredInKalifornia wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:17 pm
...Grossly unbeknownst to me LF/KORA Models in 2018 released a new-tooled injected-plastic kit of the SAIMAN 202 two-seat cabin monoplane with many different decal options for the 202bis & 202/M variants:

LF/KORA Models SAIMAN 202 Kit Offerings...
  • KPK72102 SAIMAN 202BIS Italian & German Service (2 Decal Options)
  • KPK72086 SAIMAN 202/M Italian Liasion & Courier Service (4 Decal Options)
The 1/72 scale SAIMAN 202 was an Italian aircraft I'd very much wanted to model to pair with the 1/72 scale JACH SAIMAN 200 biplane, the Italian Kits Wings IW08 resin SAIMAN 202 wasn't available so gave up looking for any aftermarket ones years ago - oh, so little did I know :oops:

The 202's have been added to the Group IV Proposed Late 2019 Up To Summer 2020 Model Builds following completion of the Group III Cunarmodel Ca.135S & FLY Model Caproni 101 kits.

Endless profuse thanks to Chris Busbridge's SUPERAEREO website cluing me on the LF/KORA SAIMAN 202 kits, am assuming he's a member of STORMO Magazine as well, no?
Kits are very nicely molded, high quality water decals, kits will be currently built during August 2020.

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Aviation USK/Xotic-72 Savoia-Marchetti SM.84s

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Sun Jul 19, 2020 7:39 pm

Group Photos:

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204° Squadriglia SM.84 In CMPR/GAVS Italy Schema C10B Ala IPMS-Italy Color Chart Livery:

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258° Squadriglia SM.84 In CMPR/GAVS Italy Schema E2 Ala IPMS-Italy Color Chart Livery:

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Last edited by RetiredInKalifornia on Mon Jul 27, 2020 9:09 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Re: Retired In Kalifornia's Italian Aircraft Model Builds In Progress Photos

Post by Editor » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:57 pm

Good job Richard, I never seen a S.84 finished in the E2 scheme. And I see you gave your S.84 "204"/C10B the Jean color treatment - the color matching is almost identical - very well done. The Aviation USK kit builds up beautifully. Articles please. btw the CMPR chips originated with GAVS not IPMS Italy. There was some involvement with modelers clubs in Ravenna and Trentino but I believe only with respect to distribution. Ferdinando D'Amico was a founding member of GAVS.

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You're Absolutely Right...

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:13 pm

Editor wrote:
Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:57 pm
Good job Richard, I never seen a S.84 finished in the E2 scheme. And I see you gave your S.84 "204"/C10B the Jean color treatment - the color matching is almost identical - very well done. The Aviation USK kit builds up beautifully. Articles please. btw the CMPR chips originated with GAVS not IPMS Italy. There was some involvement with modelers clubs in Ravenna and Trentino but I believe only with respect to distribution. Ferdinando D'Amico was a founding member of GAVS.
...Been referring to IPMS-Italy's CMPR/GAVS color chart since 2001 for Humbrol enamels, don't know when it was posted, correcting references to CMPR/GAVS Schema Ala IPMS-Italy Color Chart.

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"The Last Italians" Described

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Sat Jul 25, 2020 11:15 am

The following 1/72 scale Polish-made BroPlan styrene plastic vacuform kits constitute the last Italian aviation subject model kit builds of mine during 2020 pending any new or desired reissued subject releases:
  • MS-44 CANT Z.506C + 1316 Italeri Z.506B Conversion
  • MS-86/88 Aeronautica Umbra Trojani AUT.18 Pre/Post Modification
  • MS-97 CANT Z.1007 Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI Inlines
  • MS-158 Caproni Ca.316
  • MS-193 Savoia-Marchetti SM.95
The Z.506C conversion build was scheduled to be first after completing the LF/KORA Models SAIMAN 202 & Valom Caproni-Campini N-1 injected-plastic ones but will build the Z.1007 first as have display box space for it well as wanting to gain practical skills building a large vacuform kit before taking on the more complicated Ca.316 & Z.506C floatplane builds, work on the Z.1007 should commence on or before August 20, 2020.

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LF/KORA SAIMAN 202s

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Tue Jul 28, 2020 4:16 pm

Group Photos:

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SAIMAN 202bis "I-ABJU" Formerly Owned By Frederico Bazzi In Regia Aeronautica Italiana Mimetico & Markings Italian East Africa 1940:

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SAIMAN 202/M Generale Rino Corso Fougier's (1894-1963) Personal Aircraft Roma-Centocelle April 1942:

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Valom Caproni Campini N.1 August 27, 1940 Maiden Flight Livery

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Fri Aug 07, 2020 7:52 pm

Valom Caproni Campini N.1 Was Last Italian Aviation Subject Styrene Plastic Injected Kit In Inventory

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Last edited by RetiredInKalifornia on Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:25 pm

Post Deleted
Last edited by RetiredInKalifornia on Sat Aug 22, 2020 11:42 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Retired In Kalifornia's Italian Aircraft Model Builds In Progress Photos

Post by Editor » Sun Aug 09, 2020 9:14 am

Beautiful job Richard on your CC N.1 (article please) and second SAIMAN 202.

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Thanks...

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Sun Aug 09, 2020 9:38 am

Editor wrote:
Sun Aug 09, 2020 9:14 am
Beautiful job Richard on your CC N.1 (article please) and second SAIMAN 202.
...Will compose the CC N.1 article this week, already sent you article for the SAIMAN 202s.

First BroPlan vacuform kit build of CANT Z.1007 Asso commences August 22nd, very apprehensive how it will go, first vacuform build since 1982 Vac Wings 72 Flugtechnische Fertigungs Gemeinshaft 227 (Czech Flugtechnische Fertigungsgemeinschaft Prag actually built it), quarter scale Blohm und Voss 238 research aircraft Amazon currently having one up for sale 38 years later no less:

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Kit was terrible; thick plastic & wide mold corners made cutting out parts difficult, propellers had to putty backfilled, thin transparent canopy hard to glue on though this decades before using ethyl cyanoacetate glues, did complete it but thought "Never Again!" on vacuforms till now.

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Update - BroPlan Caproni Ca.111 Delivered August 17, 2020

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Mon Aug 10, 2020 11:55 am

Today August 10, 2020 purchased the last BroPlan MS-76 Caproni Ca.111 vacuform styrene plastic kit with injected plastic parts Aviation Megastore Netherlands had in stock, found it whilst doing a "random search" for Caproni Ca.111 model kits. Seven 1/72 scale BroPlan Italian subjects kits are now in inventory, first up is the CANT Z.1007 Asso on August 22, 2020.
Arrived in good order :thumbup:

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Group V - BroPlan Vacuform Builds - Part I

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:15 pm

The 1/72nd scale Polish BroPlan styrene plastic vacuforms with injected-plastic parts are the last Italian aviation scale model kit builds of 2020, possibly the last ever pending any new or reissued Italian military subject kit releases of interest now till end of 2022 when absolutely for sure will retire from scale model kit building after 61 on-off years.

Build Progress Reports Will Be Continuously Posted Here, Photos Of Built Models Will Be On Separate Postings

The prototype & 34 first production Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini (CANT) Z.1007 Alcione (Kingfisher) three-engined medium bombers were powered by 825hp 12-cylinder upright-V Isotta Fraschini Asso XI RC.40 engines, assigned to flying units before Italy's entrance into WWII owing to engine unreliability & high maintenance requirements well as inadequate defensive armament none were flown operationally most subsequently being employed as bomber flight crew trainers.

The BroPlan MS-97 is the only scale model kit of the CANT Z.1007 Asso variant, my first vacuform build attempt since the Vac Wings 72 Flugtechnische Fertigungs Gemeinshaft 227 (Czech Flugtechnische Fertigungsgemeinschaft Prag actually built it), quarter scale Blohm und Voss 238 research aircraft in 1982:

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August 22, 2020

- > Fuselage halve forms cut-separated from molding sheets; thin & supple vacuforms easily separable unlike late 1970s-vintage thick & hard Vac Wings 72 FFG-227 kit ones.

- > Extensive knife-trimming, filing & edge-sanding necessary, more later prior to glue-joining halves.

- > Molded-in fuselage halve cockpit greenhouse areas cut out, will be replaced with a kit-provided single-piece clear vacuform plastic one.

- > Fuselage halve ventral & dorsal gun mount spaces cut out; minor edge cracking whilst cutting out dorsal mount spaces, glue-patched over with cut styrene plastic sheet pieces, form-sanding edges tomorrow.

- > Fuselage halve portal windows drilled out, square ones cut out & edge filed.

August 23, 2020

- > Fuselage halve, dorsal & ventral gun mount edges smooth-sanded, some putty filling necessary.

- > Alignment tabs cut from styrene sheet plastic, glued in place inside port fuselage halve edges, halve join test fits made, some tabs trimmed, more working on later.

- > Clear vacuform cockpit greenhouse cut-separated from molding sheet, general alignment test fits made, much more working on later!

- > Fuselage engine exhaust stack holes drilled out, molding defects around port side stacks knife-trimmed off.

- > Fore & aft fuselage-mainwing structural support parts cut-separated from molding sheets & assembled, OK results.

- > Aft support assembly easy, fore support helluva bear :twisted: parts molding misalignments taking hours to correct, absolutely must remember "lessons learned" for upcoming CANT Z.506C, Caproni Ca.316, Savoia-Marchetti SM.95 fuselage-mainwing structural support parts assembly work:

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August 24 & 25, 2020

- > Fore & aft mainwing support assemblies glued in place inside port fuselage halve.

- > Fuselage halve cockpit canopy greenhouse alignment rails cut from styrene sheet plastic, glued in place.

- > Large rectangular traverse fuselage interior floor part cut-separated from molding sheet, knife-trimmed, glued-positioned underneath fore & aft mainwing support assemblies, rear portion extended aft of dorsal gun station.

- > Pilot & co-pilot floor parts cut-separated from molding sheet, knife-trimmed, glued-positioned fore & aft mainwing support assemblies.

- > Fuselage halve interiors & glued in place parts spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione:

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August 26, 2020

- > All fuselage halve windows glued in place, very good results :thumbup:

- > Kit provided clear windows scribed on vacuform plastic sheet way too thin :wtf: fabricated replacements cut & knife-shaped from thicker clear plastic sheets, remarkably little effort in doing so well as gluing them in place :biggrin:

- > Strangely colored kit provided injected-plastic flight crew seats, control columns & instrument panels cut from sprues, prepped & glue-assembled ready for painting.

- > Flight crew seats base spray painted Testors Flat Rust Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, set aside to dry till tomorrow.

- > Kit lacked crew torso & seat belts, sprayed Humbrol 29 Matt Dark Earth enamel over Scotch Magic Mending Tape, set aside to dry till tomorrow when will cut strips to fabricated belts from.

- > Assembled & single-piece instrument panel units spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix", set aside to dry till tomorrow.

- > Kit provided fuselage dorsal gun base mount part cut-separated from molding sheet, filed & shape-sanded, sprayed Verde Anticorrosione, set aside to dry till tomorrow.

August 27, 2020

- > Fuselage interior detailing fully painted, assembled, glued in place, gratifying results :biggrin: :thumbup:

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- > Fuselage ventral machine gun mount raised, tilted & aligned over cut styrene plastic risers angling gun barrel downwards:

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- > Fuselage halve test fits, no apparent need for adjusting any fuselage interior detail assemblies:

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- > Shown fuselage ventral machine gun glued in place, not able to do so after fuselage halves are joined:

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- > Shown fuselage dorsal machine gun to be glued in place later:

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August 28, 2020

- > Fuselage halves glued together, tricky work, OK results.

- > Aft dorsal join kept popping loose :wtf: judiciusly applying liquid styrene glue coaxed it to say iin place :lolno:

- > All join seam puttied over, pray none will pop open smooth-sanding them over tomorrow :!:

- > Upper starboard fuselage hallve rudder sail leading edge shorter than port's due to flawed molding :wtf: extensive puttying necessary building it up, shape-sanding all rudder sail edges tomorrow.

- > Mainwings & tailplane vacufrom parts cut-separated from molding sheets, getlting back to them later.

August 29, 2020

- > All fuselage halve join seams sand-finished, all day spent working on them :crazy: OK results.

- > Clear vacuform cockpit canopy greenhouse part shape-sanded, test fits good, window pane masking tomorrow.

August 30, 2020

- > Fuselage constuction complete, acceptable results :esmile:

- > Cockpit greenhouse sand-trimed, glued in place, window panes masked for spray painted.

- > Clear vacuform ventral gun station window part cut-separated, starboard side split whilst cutting out gun port area :twisted: trimmed & glued back in place, visible glue scar partially conceled when masking for spray painting.

- > Window part glued in place over ventral gun station cavity; cut clear styrene plastic tabs glued on edges positioned the part.

- > Very rough window part glue seam gingerly though successfully putty filled, knife-shaped & sanded, masked for spray painting.

- > Masked parts spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione:

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August 31, 2020

- > Fuselage rudder base painted Testors Flat White, set aside to paint other Italian tri colors later.

- > All mainwing halves knife & filed-trimed well as edge sanded, tedious work :crazy:

- > Inlet holes for leading mainwing edge oil radiators filed out.

- > Kit lacked oil radiator parts, generic ones fabricated from cut styrene sheet plastic, glued in place inside lower mainwing halves.

- > Areas surrounding oil radiators spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione.

- > Oil radiators spray painted Testors Brass enamel.

- > Cut styrene plastic retaining tabs glued in place inside upper port side mainwing halves, necessary fo aligning, retaining, gluding mainwing wing halves together, tedious work :crazy:

- > Test fits OK though after considerable shape-filing work, applying experience whilst assembling starboard mainwing halves :!:

- > Port side mainwings halves glued together in stages, delicate well as tedious work :crazy: applying experience whilst assembling starboard mainwing halves :!:

- > Mainwing assembly glue seams puttied, sand-finishing them later.

September 1, 2020

- > Fuselage rudder masked-off, spray painted Testors Flat Green & Model Master Insignia Red enamel Italian tri colors, good results.

- > Starboard side mainwings halves glued together in stages, delicate though not as so tedious work :esmile:

- > Mainwing assembly glue seams puttied, sand-finishing them later.

- > All tailplane vacuform part edges knife-trimmed, filed, sanded, test fitted, sets glued together, retaining tabs weren't necessary.

- > Tailplane assembly glue seams puttied, sand-finishing them later.

- > Vacuform mainwing engine / landing gear nacelle parts knife-trimmed, exhaust stack holes drilled out.

- > Landing gear covers cut out of nacelle parts, edges knife-trimmed, filed & sanded; kit-provided covers too large, nacelle ones used instead.

- > All engine cowling parts knife-trimmed, exhaust stack holes drilled out.

- > More nacelle & cowling knife-trimming, filing & sanding later.

September 2, 2020

- > Puttied tailplane assembly seams sand-finished, more work than anticipated :crazy: good results.

- > Tailplane but- ends joining fuselage rudder sail knife-shaped & sanded, tailplanes positioned & glued on rudder sail, some seam puttying & over-sanding nessary, good results.

- > All puttied mainwing edges sand-finished, some seam puttying & over-sanding necessary, work about that had anticipated, good results.

- > Mainwing butt-ends joining fuselage will be knife-shaped, edge sanded & test fitted tomorrow, glue-joining them later.

September 3, 2020

- > All engine cowling parts filed, sanded, glued together, no retaining & positioning tabs necessary, OK results, glue join puttying, more aft area trimming & sanding work later.

- > All engine / landing gear nacelle parts glued together, cut styrene plastic retaining & positioning tabs well as seam puttying necessary.

- > Additional starboard nacelle knife-cut shaping necessary around aft landing gear welll edges, didn't anticipate that :oops:

- > All puttied over engine / landing gear nacelle glue joins shaped & finish-sanded, interiors spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, good results :esmile:

- > Starboard mainwing leading edge underneath nacelle area spray painted Verde Anticorrosione, starboard nacelle edges joining on starboard mainwing knife-trimmed & test fitted numerous times, glued on mainwing, OK results.

- > Nacelle-mainwing glue joins puttied over, sand-finishing them tomorrow.

September 4, 2020

- > Kit lacked mainwing navigation lights, holes driled on wing leading edges, light parts fabricated from eliptical crossection spare resin part, glued them in place, good results.

- > Starboard engine / landing gear nacelle - starboard mainwing puttied over glue joins sand-finished, OK results.

- > Starboard mainwing butt-end joining fuselage sanded to sit closely as possiible over starboard fuselage, excellent test fits after several sanding passes :thumbup:

- > Starboard mainwing glued on starboard fuselage halve; tight fits all around, good dihedral alignmet :thumbup: gratifying results :biggrin:

- > Port mainwing leading edge underneath nacelle area spray painted Verde Anticorrosione, port nacelle edges joining on starboard mainwing knife-trimmed & test fitted numerous times, glued on mainwing, OK results.

- > Port engine / landing gear nacelle - starboard mainwing puttied over glue joins sand-finished, OK results.

- > Nacelle-mainwing glue joins puttied over & sand-finished, OK results.

- > Upper port mainwing butt-end joining fuselage sanded to sit closely as possiible over port fuselage, good test fit after several sanding passes :esmile:

- > Lower port mainwing butt-end joining fuselage & aft wing taper cut too short in places :wtf: :oops:

- > Aft wing taper built up with puttied over cut styrene sheet plastic & shape sanded, OK results.

- > Port mainwing glued on port fuselage halve; tight upper fuselage-mainwing fits, OK dihedral alignmet, good results generally :esmile:

- > Underneath mainwing-fuselage glue join gaps extensively putty-filled & sand-shaped, acceptable results.

- > Largely assembled model now ready for spray painting:

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September 5, 2020

- > Space for fuselage tail landing gear mounting cut out, kit provided mount trimmed to fit inside hole, glued in place, some puttying & sand-shaping necessary, OK results.

- > Largely assembled model uppersides, underneath mainwing & tailplane leading edges base spray painted Humbrol 63 Matt Sand + 10% Testors Flat Yellow + 36% Flat White shading replicating Giallo Mimetico 3.

September 6, 2020

- > Temperature record-setting Image conditions made for :crazy: working today, all engine cowling assemblies finished nevertheless, OK results.

- > Some cowling joins broke loose while sand-finishing them :wtf: annoying having re-gluie, re-putty, re-sand seams :twisted:

- > Kit injected-plastic engine radiator disc parts trimmed to fit inside cowling fronts, glued in place with cut sheet plastic stay wedges four to a disk.

- > Near all remining kit injected-plastic parts separted from sprues for later trimming & assembly work.

September 7, 2020

- > All model topsides & engine cowlings spray painted IPMS-Italy Humbrol 149 Matt Dark Green replicating Verde Mimetico 2, Testors Model Master 2009 British Crimson + Humbrol 118 Matt US Tan 80/20 mix replicating Marrone Mimetico 2 + 36% each by volume Testors Flat White shading enamels in CMPR/GAVS Schema A5 variant per kit painting instructions.

- > Soft-edged color separations per Internet research made for slow & tedious spraying work :crazy: satisfactory results nonetheless :thumbup:

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September 8, 2020

- > All model undersides spray painted IPMS-Italy Humbrol 140 Matt Gull Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Grigio Mimetico per kit painting instructions.

- > Soft-edged color separations per Internet research made for slow & tedious spraying work :crazy: OK results, some spot painting needed, doing that tomorrow:

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September 9, 2020

- > Spot spray & hand painting complete, longer & more tedious work than anticipated :crazy: OK results.

- > All engine cowlings spray & hand-painted appropriate mimetico colors, radiators spray & hand-painted Testors Brass & Flat Steel enamels, OK results.

- > All engine exhaust stack exteriors hand painted Testors Flat Rust & Steel spot mix, OK results, painting stack insides later.

- > All engines spray-weathered with Poly Scale Flat Black & White "special mix" acrylics replicating engine blow-by grime, OK results.

September 10, 2020

- > All engine cowling assemblies glued in place, cut styrene sheet plastic tabs used to hold them in place, OK results.

- > Circular engine exhaust interiors paintedTestors Flat Black & White "special mix" with dabbed circular toothpicks, OK results.

- > CANT Z.1007 Asso tailplanes per period photos apparently were stay-braced on rudder sail & fuselage only with cables in four locations unlike Z.1007bis' employing cables above & ridged trusses below tailplanes, not having thick EZ Line thread strung close-parallel cabling in four locations per period photos, OK results though extremely tedious work :crazy:

- > Fuselage tailwheel mount incorrectly placed on fuselage undersides :wtf: should had been inside the fuselage :oops: mounting it inside risked breaking it and the tailwheel off whilst handling the model :problem: mounting it externally negated that :mrgreen:

- > Tailwheel mount masked-off, spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" creating the illusion of a fuselage tailwheel mounting hole :shifty: :wink:

9/11 2020

- > All decals afffixed on model, satisfying results :biggrin: :thumbup:

- > No kit decals sans the CANT Z.1007 logos were usable, very poor print quality :twisted: most gingerly affixed one of two logo sets, high anxiety whole time whilst doing so :shock: :crazy:

- > Spare SUPERMODEL CANT Z.1007bis flying unit decals employed to respresent a 210° Squadriglia aircraft affixed; carrier film age-yellowed :eh: close knife-cutting around objects removed near all of it :biggrin:

- > Spare SUPERMODEL decortative fuselage fasci seen on Z.1007 & 1007bis aircraft affiixed forward of CANT Z.1007 logos.

- > Large Tauro 72-554 mainwing tri-fasci decals roughly approximating those those seen on early CANT Z.1007s well as House of Savoy crests on rudder affixed.

- > Large 1/72 scale tri-fasci decals now hard to find, Tauro 72-554 sheet took them from was computer printed not silkscreened presumably as a "cost savings" measure :crazy: :thumbdown:

- > All paint masking strips removed, clear areas machine oil-cleaned, cockpit canopy "greenhouse" touch-up painted, tedious work :crazy: good results nevertheless :biggrin:

- > Linted canopy greenhouse insides swabbed with trimmed Q-Tips via dorsal fuselage gun station, tricky work :crazy: good results.

- > All but one fuselage window insides swabbed with trimed toothpicks diped in machine oil via dorsal fuselage gun station, double tricky work :crazy::crazy: OK results.

- > Fuselage dorsal gun station window insides also swabbed with toothpicks, least tricky work though tedious :crazy:

- > Fuselage engine exhaust stack stains spray painted on with Poly Scale Flat Black & White "special mix" acrylics, OK results.

- > Mainwing fuel & oil filler cap area trailing stains hand painted on with Poly Scale "special mix" & Mud spot mix, OK results.

- > Kit lacked mainwing Pitot tube, fabricated one from spare plastic parts approximating type seen on early producton Z.1007 Asso aircraft.

- > Work on prepping & painting propellers, landing gear assemblies et. al. kits parts commences tomorrow.

CANT Z.1007 Asso Complete, See Post Below

September 12, 2020

Caproni Ca.316 Build In Progress

The Caproni Ca.316, a modification of the Ca.310 Idro (seaplane), was a reconnaissance aircraft intended for catapult operations from Italian Navy capital ships. The basic aircraft design was modified with attachment of large pontoons underneath the engine nacelles and a revised nose with extensive glazing, 14 built none purportedly entering service.

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September 13, 2020

- > Fuselage halves, fore & aft fuselage-mainwing structural support parts cut-separated from molding sheets, surprisingly easy work :clap:

- > Fuselage halve edges trimmed, sand-shaped, repeatedly test fitted, satisfying results :thumbup:

- > Fuselage halve areas forward of fight crew cockpit cut off, halves taped together, three-axis sand-shapped & leveled, satisfying results :thumbup:

- > Clear vacuform plastic replacement fuselage nose part trimmed, three-axis sand-shapped & leveled, satisfying results :thumbup:

- > Clear nose part repeatedly test fitted over taped together fuselage halves, good three-axis fits :thumbup:

- > Fore & aft fuselage-mainwing structural support part edges trimmed & sand-shaped, positioning tabs cut from styrene plastic sheet, glued in place aft support part insides.

- > Portside fore fuselage-mainwing structural support part too short :problem: cut part end off, glued it over aft structural support part port tip-end positioning tabs.

- > Main fore fuselage-mainwing structural support part glued over aft structural support positioning tabs starboard tip-end towards portside; noticable gab between it and portside end cap, structural support unit will be hidden by mainwings anyway :lol:

- > Lanciani gun turret holes cut out of fuselage dorsal areas, edges knife & shape-sanded, OK results.

- > Fuselage halve side window holes cut out, edges knife-shaped & filed, OK results.

- > Port fuselage crew cabin door partially cut out as non-kit specified option, edges knife-shaped, OK results.

- > Cabin door window hole cut out, edges knife-shaped, OK results.

- > Main fuselage part assemblies taped together for test fitting display:

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September 14, 2020

- > Cut styrene plastic positioning tabs glued inside & along all port fuselage halve edges, tabs also cut & glued along all port & starboard forward fuselage halve edges for positioning the clear vacuform plastic replacement fuselage nose part, good results.

- > Fuselage halve interiors, assembled fuselage-mainwing structural support unit, cockpit flight deck part spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, good results.

- > Flight crew seats cut out of vacuform molding sheet, knife-trimmed & sand-shaped, spray painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel, set aside to dry.

- > Styrene plastic-injected instrument panel/control bar & steeing yoke parts cut from sprues & knife-trimmed, yokes glued on instrument panel/control bar, backside spray apinted Verde Anticorrosione, more painting later.

September 15, 2020

- > Kit flight crew seats lack torso & seat cushions, fabricated sets from cut styrene sheet plastic spray painted Testors Flat Rust enamel approximating a common Italian aircraft seating color, all glued in place, good results.

- > Kit lacked torso & seat belts, fabricated sets from Scotch Magic Mending Tape spray painted Humbrol 29 Matt Dark Earth enamel cut in strips, buckle ends hand-painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel, all glued in place, good results.

- > Assembled crew seats glued on cockpit flight deck pedistals, good results.

- > Kit lacked rudder control bars, fabricated set from cut styrene sheet plastic hand-painted Flat Aluminum, glued in place in front of crew sheets, good results.

- > Styrene plastic-injected instrument panel/control bar & steering yoke assembly frontsides spray painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels, hand-painted yoke spokes Flat Aluminum, instrument panel detals Flat White, good results.

- > Instrument panel/control bar & steering yoke assembly glued in front of flight deck pedistals, good results.

- > Cut-out fuselage halve window holes had center posts intended to hold glued in place cut clear styrene sheet plastic panes, posts were too flimsy :evil: cut them out, replaced post & panes with single-piece glued in place panes, OK results.

September 16, 2020

- > Fuselage halve windows kept popping off whilst masking for spray painting :crazy: :evil: several tries necessary gluing back in & masking, pray they'll hold :!:

- > Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione sprayed over window pane separator post.

- > Cockpit flight deck assembly glued on cut styrene plastic pedistal mounted on port fuselage halve, OK three-axis alignment:

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- > Fuselage halves glued together in stages; all seams puttied; rudder joins extensively puttied for later sand-shaping, OK results.

- > Clear vacuform plastic fuselage nose part taped on for test fitting:

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September 17, 2020

- > All puttied fuselage, rudder sail & rudder joins sand-smoothed, some additional puttying/sanding necessary, lots of work :crazy: OK results.

- > Additional puttying & knife-shaping around fuselage windows necessary, OK results.

- > Clear vacuform plastic fuselage nose part masked for painting, glued in stages on forward fuselage, corner gaps plugged with ethyl cyanoacetate glue, upper part areas spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, OK results.

- > Fuselage nose part upper areas spray painted Humbrol 125 Dark Grey Satin + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Maritime Grigio Azzurro Scuro 3, removed fuselage window masking, panes stayed in place :clap: :thumbup: OK results:

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September 18, 2020

- > All remaining kit parts cut from mold sheets.

- > Mainwing, tailplane & float pylon parts assembled, no retaining & positioning tabs needed not even for mainwings :o all assemblies set aside to cure.

- > Float & engine cowling parts will need glue join retaining & positioning tabs, working on them later.

September 19, 2020

- > Rudder base painted Testors Flat White enamel, Distintivo di Guerra cross area masked, rudder oversprayed with Humbrol 91 Matt Black Green + 36% Flat White shading repilcating Verde Oliva Scuro 3 typical for Regia Aeronautica Italiana maritime aircraft, OK results, entire rudder masked off for later color spray painting.

- > Tailplanes extensively shape-sanded, butt ends joining on fuselage knife-trimmed, sanded & test fitted, OK results, fuselage contact areas masked for gluing on tailplanes later.

- > Upper aft fuselage, rudder & sail spray painted Humbrol 125 Dark Grey Satin + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Maritime Grigio Azzurro Scuro 3, OK results.

- > Distintivo di Guerra cross area rudder masking removed, overspray aireas touched up wit Flat White, OK results.

- > Tailplanes glued on fuselage, OK results.

September 20, 2020

- > All puttied mainwing joins sand-smoothed, some additional puttying/sanding necessary, lots of work :crazy: OK results.

- > Mainwing underside trailing butt-ends too short, cut styrene plastic extenders glued in place, knife-shaped, puttied & sand-shaped, OK results.

- > Period photos of Ca.316 prototyped showed it equipped with a port wing root-mounted machine gun, assuming a gun was also mounted starnboard drilled holes in wing root leading edges, test fitted gun barrels taken from part spares, OK fits.

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September 21, 2020

- > Float pylon assemblies extensively knife & sand-shaped, many test fits underneath aft engine nacelles followed up with many knife & sand-shapings :crazy: pylons eventually and successfully glued on both nacelles :clap: :thumbup:

- > All engine cowling parts glue-assembled with cut styrene sheet plastic retaining tabs, extensive knife-shaping & sanding necessary, good injected styrene plastic engine cowling ring parts fits, OK upper mainwing engine nacelle fits.

- > Engine cowling moldings lacked "skirts" extending to mainwing engine nacelles :shock: initially not sure what to do about that :problem: solution found shape-bending semi-circular cut styrene sheet plastic strips, gluing them inside semi-circular engine nacelle lower halves, "skirts" extending inline with upper cowling edges, successfull test fits resulting just after a few strip adjustments followed by successfully gluing them in place :clap: :thumbup:

- > Engine cowling assemblies test fited over "skirted" mainwing engine nacelles, port cowling ~.3 mm too narrow, starboard ~2 mm too wide :evil: parts of latter repeatedly trimmed till same diameter as port "for balance", re-glued together, glue seams of both cowlings glue puttied (see below).

- > Cut styrene plastic tabs glued around aft engine cowling insides, cowlings test "plugged" in mainwing engine nacelles then glued on, good results :biggrin:

- > Noticeable gaps above engine nacelle "skirts" & aft engine cowlings internally covered over with glued-on styrene sheet plastic strips, good results :biggrin:

- > Some engine nacelle/cowling glue joins puttied & smooth-sanded, all engine cowling parts joins had to be re-puttied & sanded as well :evil: OK results.

September 22, 2020

- > All remaining fuselage uppersides sans areas where mainwing assemblies will be glued on, tailplane uppersides & underneath leading edges spray painted Humbrol 125 Dark Grey Satin + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Maritime Grigio Azzurro Scuro 3 (GAS3).

- > All mainwing uppersides sans butt-ends attached to fuselage, forward upper engine nacelles, underneath leading edges also spray painted GAS3.

September 23, 2020

- > All mainwing assemblies masked-off, undersides sans butt-ends spray painted Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1 (GAC1), OK results.

- > Lower fuselage assembly likewise masked-off, undersides sans mainwing join areas spray painted GAC1, OK results.

- > Fuselage identification band masked-off & spray painted Testors Flat White enamel, OK results.

September 24, 2020

- > Mainwing assemblies glued on fuselage in stages, acceptable results.

- > Extensive seam-fill puttying necessary over all fuselage underside joins & some upperside ones, extensive knife-shaping & sand-finishing nessary.

- > All fuselage-wiing root joins & adjacent areas extensively masked-off & spray painted Humbrol 125 Dark Grey Satin + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Maritime Grigio Azzurro Scuro 3 (GAS3) & Testors Model Master 1726 Light Sea Grey + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1 (GAC1), OK results.

- > Styrene injected-plastic engine ring interiors spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, engine cylinders & crankcases hand painted Testors Flat Black & White "special mix", rings glued on engine nacelles, ring exteriors & adjacent engine cowling areas masked-off & spray painted GAS3 & GAC1, acceptable results.

- > Engine air cooling baffle rings spray painted Testors Flat Steel enamel, glued over engine faces, OK results.

- > Poorly scaled & casted kit mainwing engine nacelles & cowlings areas too long, too short well as outwards splayed :shock: :wtf: :twisted: fate not smiling here :cry:

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- > Photos of build progress to date:

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September 25, 2020

- > Period photos of Caproni Ca.316 prototype show fuselage interior structural supports angled inside double windows aft of cockpit port & starboard, didn't catch that tiill yesterday :oops: nevertheless wanting to replicate them masked-off windows, sprayed on Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione then Humbrol 125 Dark Grey Satin + 36% Testors Flat White shading enamels replicating Maritime Grigio Azzurro Scuro 3 (GAS3) latter color blending with GAS3 vertical window bars for better visual aesthetics, OK results.

- > Engine nacelle uppersides spray-weathered with Poly Scale Flat Black & White "special mix" acrylics replicating engine blow-by grime, OK results.

- > Kit styrene injected plastic engine exhaust pipes knife-shaped, holes drilled, outsides spray painted Testors Flat Steel, inside Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels, pipes glued in place in engine cowling holes, OK results.

- > Kit lacked rudder mass-balance bar, part visually approximating mass-balance bar seen on Ca.316 prototype period photos found in spares bag, knife & bent-shaped, glued in place on rudder, over-sprayed Humbrol 91 Matt Black Green + 36% Flat White shading repilcating Verde Oliva Scuro 3 typical for Regia Aeronautica Italiana maritime aircraft rudders, OK results.

- > Fabricated & glued on mainwing navigation light part fronts hand painted Testors Flat Green & Model Master Insignia Red enamels, OK results.

- > Fuselage tail navigation light immediately below rudder replicated with bush-dabbed on Testors Flat White enamel, OK results.

- > Kit clear vacufrom styrene plastic Lanciani turret part accidentially tossed days ago :!: :shock: :wtf: replaced it with injected-plastic one "stolen" from Italeri CANT Z.506C donor kit for upcoming BroPlan Z.506B conversion build, extensively knife-cut & sand-shaped, frames masked-off & spray-painted "special mix", OK results.

- > Kit injected plastic Lanciani turret gun & mass balance parts nothing more than rods :crazy: :think: replaced them with machine gun from spares bag, mass balance "stolen" from Z.506B, kit parts modified & "married" to fit inside clear turret, spray painted "special mix", "married" unit glued inside clear turret part some touch-up brush painting necessary afterwards, OK results.

- > Kit lacked fuselage dorsal D/F loop, one very similar to that seen on the Ca.316 prototype taken from spares bag, spray painted "special mix", OK results.

- > Kit styrene injected plastice two-blade propellers knife-trimmed & prepped for painting; port propeller blades wrong pitch direction :eh: cut them off, glued them back on in correct direction, OK results.

- > Propellers spray painted Testors Flat White, Yellow, "special mix" & Flat Aluminum per period photos of Ca.316 prototype, KORA 72-202 Piaggio propeller logotype decails affixed to blades, OK results.

- > Kit mainwing & rudder tri-fasci & House of Savoy water decals unusable, Tauro Model 72-546 Ro.37 - Re.2001/2002/2005 Ju-87 Ca.311/13/14 decals used instead, satisfying results :biggrin:

September 26, 2020

- > Positioning & alignment tabs cut from styrene sheet plastic glued inside kit float halves, assembled them, glue-joins extensively puttied, assembled floats set aside to dry till tomorrow, OK results.

- > Entire mostly assembled model over-sprayed with Testors Clear Semi-Gloss Lacquer, OK results.

- > Forward fuselage windows & hemispheric nose cap paint maskings removed, over-spray rubbed off, some touching-up painting necessary, OK results.

- > Noticeable debris glob stuck inside lower starboard ventral forward fuselage window pane :shock: :wtf: removing it extremely problematic if unlikely :problem: removing it with brass rod snaked in from fuselage port cabin door didn't work :evil: hight risk of breaking cockpit assembly parts as well :crazy: thick paper cut-shaped with hook on end dabbed with machine oil did :clap: :thumbup:

- > Painted D/F loop part glued in drilled hole adjacent to fuselage dorsal identification band, OK results.

- > EZ Line stretch thread replicating a radio wire glued over aft fuselage dorsal area, OK results.

September 27, 2020

- > Puttied-over glue joins of assembled floats extensively sand-shaped & sand-finished, several join spots had to be re-puttied & re-sanded :evil: slow tedious work :crazy: OK results.

- > Kit lacked "T" mooring posts, cut-fabricated sets, glued them in place on float topsides near fore & aft ends, OK results.

- > Floats spray painted Humbrol 125 Dark Grey Satin + 36% Testors Flat White shading replicating Maritime Grigio Azzurro Scuro 3 above water line, Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamels below, OK results.

- > Attaching floats on engine nacelle-mounted pylons most dreaded task of entire kit build :crazy: direct glue-attaching severely limits x-y-z axis adjusting before & after gluing, cutting holes in float dorsal areas to slide-in pylons allows very fine x-y-z axis dry test fit adjustiments before well as after gluing though is time consuming :problem: chose latter approach despite extra work involved.

- > Starboard pylon-float glue attachment OK, tedious work :crazy: decent x-y-z axis alignments relative to mainwing despite float skewed slightly right due to poor mainwing castings :evil: float-pylon joins masked-off & puttied, set aside to dry.

- > Port pylon-float glue attachment effort fraught with danger :shock: cut hole in float too far forward :wtf: no choice but cut hole farther aft till port float laterally aligned with starboard one during dry test fits, glue attachment OK, tedious heart-stopping work :crazy: decent x-y-z axis alignments relative to mainwing despite float skewed slightly right ala starboard one due to poor mainwing castings :evil:

- > Cut hole in float fore of port pylon still had to be filled :problem: styrene sheet plastic plug cut-shaped "by-eye", glued in place in just one try :clap: perfict fit as well :thumbup: float-pylon joins & patched hole fore of pylon masked-off & puttied, set aside to dry.

Caproni Ca.316 Complete, See Post Below

September 28, 2020

Aeronautica Umbra Trojani 18

The Aeronautica Umbra Trojani 18 (Aeronautica Umbra T.18 or AUT.18) designed by Felice Trojani (1897-1971) in 1934 was a very modern all-metal stressed-skin fighter aircraft design predating its direct competator the Aeronautica Macchi C.200 by near a year the sole prototype M.M.363 first flying on April 22, 1939 near year and half after the C.200 subsequent flight trials proving disappointing. Returned to the Aeronautica Umbra factory at Foligno, Perugia Italy on Ferbuary 20, 1940 for modifications a second flight test series commenced on November 5th no improvements demonstrated over newer fighters already in prduction ala C.200 all further development subsequently abandoned.

The 1/72 scale 2004-vintage BroPlan of Poland MS-86 & MS-88 vacuform kits with injected styrene plastic parts featuring different engines & cowlings are the only ones of the AUT.18 they being concurrently built:

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September 29, 2020

- > All vacuform kit parts cut-separated from sheets.

- > All tailplane halves glued together, seams puttied & sand-shaped, fuselage attachment butt ends sanded, good results.

- > Vacuform cockpit flight deck & tail wheel mounts, injected plastic pilot seat & joy stick parts cut from sprues & knife-trimmed, seats & sticks glued in place on flight decks, good results.

- > Kits come with clear vacuform canopies, molded-in cockpit canopies cut off fuselage halve parts.

September 30, 2020

- > Cockpit flight deck assemblies spray painted Testors Flat Aluminum enamel, OK results.

- > Kit lacked seat belts, fabricated sets from cut strips of Scotch Magic Mending tape spray painted Humbrol 29 Matt Dark Earth, belt buckles hand painted Flat Aluminum, glued them in place, OK results.

- > One kit provided styrene injected plastic cockpit instrument panel cut from sprues, support brace cut from styrene sheet plastic, glued on instrument panel back, assembly spray painted Testors Flack Black & White "special mix", enamels instruments hand-painted on with Flat White, good results.

- > One kit provided clear vacuform styrene plastic cockpit canopy cut from molding sheet sand-shaped for test fitting.

- > One set of fuselage halve molded-in cockpit canopies & fuselage tail wheel well covers cut off (injected-molded covers provided), fuselage halve edges knife-shaped, filed & sand-shaped.

- > Cut styrene plastic positioning & alignment tabs glued along starboard fuselage halve interior, both halves & cockpit canopy test fitted number of times, OK fits.

- > Fuselage halve interiors spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, OK results.

- > Instrument panel assembly glued in place in starboard halve forward cockpit; several frustrating tries aligning panel support brace on fuselage halve (kept sliding off) :crazy: last try took :thumbup:

- > Cockpit flight deck assembly glued in place over a starboard halve cockpit area positioning & alignment tab acting as mounting; flight deck knife-trimmed to snugly fit within fuselage halves, tricky work :crazy: OK results.

- > Kit provided panel behind pilot seat & fuselage tail wheel mounting knife-cut to fit within fuselage halves, hole drilled in for mounting tail wheel later, glued in place on starboard fuselage halve, OK results.

- > Panel behind pilot seat tad narrow :eh: support braces cut from styrene sheet plastic, glued underneath panel, fuselage attachment end iteratively knife-trimmed for x-y-z axis fuselage lateral & longitudinal alignments, frustratingly tedious & tricky work :!: :crazy: :!: good alignments :thumbup:

- > Glued in place panel behind pilot seat & tailwheel mounting, all positioning & alignment tab topsides spray painted Verde Anticorrosione, OK results.

- > Fuselage halves glued together in stages, all seams puttied, rudder & sail edges extensively puttied, OK results, set aside to dry.

October 1, 2020

- > Second kit molded-in fuselage halve cockpit canopy & fuselage tail wheel well covers cut off (clear vacuform canopy & injected-molded covers provided), fuselage halve edges knife-shaped, filed & sand-shaped, OK results.

- > Cut styrene plastic positioning & alignment tabs glued along starboard fuselage halve interior, halves test fitted, OK results.

- > Second kit provided tail wheel mounting knife-cut to fit within fuselage halves, hole drilled in for mounting tail wheel later, glued in place on second kit starboard fuselage halve, OK results.

- > Second kit provided panel behind pilot seat unusable, new longer & wider replacement & support braces cut from styrene sheet plastic, glued underneath panel, fuselage attachment end iteratively knife-trimmed for x-y-z axis fuselage lateral & longitudinal alignments, tedious work :crazy: good alignments :thumbup:

- > Fuselage halve interiors spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, OK results.

- > Second kit provided styrene injected plastic cockpit instrument panel cut from sprues, support brace cut from styrene sheet plastic, glued on instrument panel back, assembly spray painted Testors Flack Black & White "special mix", enamels instruments hand-painted on with Flat White, good results.

- > Instrument panel assembly glued in place in starboard halve forward cockpit after two tries, OK results.

- > Cockpit flight deck assembly glued in place over a starboard halve cockpit area positioning & alignment tab acting as mounting; flight deck knife-trimmed to snugly fit within fuselage halves, OK results:

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- > Fuselage halves glued together in stages, all seams puttied, rudder & sail edges extensively puttied, OK results, set aside to dry.

October 2, 2020

- > Puttied-over fuselage glue seams of both builds extensively shaped & smooth-sanded, straightforward though repetitive work, good results :thumbup:

- > Forward cockpit edge of one assembly squared-off with cut styrene plastic extender, puttied & smooth-sanded, second kit clear vacuform canopy test fitted over cockpit, good results.

- > Clear cockpit canopies molded too large to seat-on fuselage cockpit edges, must be saddled-on aft of windscreens up to a millimeter noticable overlaps resulting, masked-off & "blacked-out" with sprayed-on Testors Flat Black & White "special mix" enamel paint, canopies glued on in stages, OK results.

October 3, 2020

- > Fuselage clear cockpit canopies masked-off, extremely tedious work :crazy: frames base spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, OK results.

- > Fuselage rudders base spray painted Testors Flat White enamel, spraying on other tri-colors tomorrow.

October 4, 2020

- > Fuselage assemblty rudder's white centers masked-off, sides alternatively spray painted Testors Flat Green & Testors Model Master Insignia Red Italian tri-color enamels, some spray-over touch-ups nessary with Testors Flat White enamel paint, OK results.

- > Kit single-piece mainwing underside parts sand-shaped, test-fitted underneath fuselage assemblies, glued in place, good results.

- > Kit mainwing upperside port/starboard mainwing part wingroot moldings knife rough-trimmed, test-fits & adjustments of them tomorrow.

October 5, 2020

- > All kit mainwing upperside port.starboard part edges knife fine-trimmed, extensively filed & edge sanded.

- > All upperside parts glued in place over fuselage-mounted single-piece mainwind underside units.

- > All fuselage-mainwing join seams including those laterally wrapping underneath fuselages fore & aft of mainwings puttied, noticable gaps along top portside joins of both models requiring extra amounts particularly around aft wingroots.

- > All mainwing leading & trailing edge glue join seams puttied.

- > Mainwing assembly & seam puttying work came off OK though more puttying may be necessary, checking on that tomorow.

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October 6, 2020

- > All puttied glue joins of fuselage-mainwing assembled units extensively shape & finish-sanded; much spot puttying & sanding necessary; tedious & laborious work :crazy: satisfactory results :esmile:

- > Tailplanes glued in place on fuselages, OK results; build progress to date:

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October 7, 2020

- > Engine cowling parts for both model builds assembled, interiors spray painted Humbrol 78 Matt Cockpit Green + Testors Flat White 50/50 mix + 36% Flat White shading enamels replicating Verde Anticorrosione, OK results.

- > Styrene injected-plastic cowling rings, engine carburator ram air scoops cut-separated from sprues & vacuform cowling parts all required extensive knife & sand-shaping work, some glue seam fill puttying & sanding necessary for all well.

- > All injected-plastic landing gear well cover parts cut-separated from sprues, extensively knife & sand shaped, interior sides sprayed Verde Anticorrosione, OK results.

- > All injected-plastic FIAT A.80 radial engine parts cut-separately from sprues, extensively knife-shaped, crankcases spray painted Testors Model Master 2105 Dark Blue Gray, engine cylinders Testors Flat Black & White "special mix", OK results.

See Group V - BroPlan Vacuform Builds - Part II Post Below To Continue
Last edited by RetiredInKalifornia on Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:45 pm, edited 123 times in total.

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RetiredInKalifornia
Generale di Divisone Aerea
Generale di Divisone Aerea
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This Now Maybe "The Last Italian" Model Kit Build - ?

Post by RetiredInKalifornia » Sat Aug 29, 2020 7:09 pm

The 1/72nd scale BroPlan vacuforms were to be the last Italian military aviation subject builds of 2020 but tonight August 29th purchased quite possibly the only readily available 2006-vintage Italeri 1222 Macchi C.202 kit from Rare Plane Dectective. The kit itself was under U.S. $13 postage nearly the same cost, saw it before sometime ago, passed on postage cost, capitulated as wanted to build another Italeri C.202 paring with the spare parts Italeri C.202 "recovery build" build earlier this year. The FROG "What-If" C.202 builds also earlier this year indeed were "The Last Folgores" but overcome with sedimentality bought the Italeri kit, absolutely-positively will be the last Folgore kit build after the BroPlans it listed as the sole Group VI subject build.

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