FIAT cr42 n nightfighter in 1/40 scale

[yak face]

Well i thought it was about time i got some primer on the cockpit. Its had a couple of coats of the UMP black primer , which i heard is the same as badger stynlrez. Once this has cured for at least 24 hours ill start and get some colour on . Ive been making the two kidney shaped instrument panels by cutting and drilling plastic card . The thinner pieces are for the back which i put behind before spraying black , this way ill have a backing piece with the instruments marked so i can scratch some vague details with a pin and once placed back behind the front drilled piece and glazed with a drop of varnish should look ok. If im not happy then ive always got some generic individual instrument decals to use instead. Cheers tony

[Guest]

Great scratch work Tony. Looking really good.

[BattleshipBob]

Gordon Bennett Tony wonderful scratch craft

[AlanG]

Just loving that scratch building Tony.

[scottie3158]

Tony,
Cracking work.

[yak face]

The cockpit has had a coat of paint before i add any more bits that would make it more difficult to do later . It is a very light grey green colour which i matched from photos to Tamiya xf 12 jn grey . While this was drying i started tackling some of the other areas that need attention. The top wing and elevators have the control surfaces marked out as a raised line so i had to rescribe these , bit of a bugger as the ailerons are not a straight line but i got it done with the help of some dymo tape my trumpeter scriber and the razor saw.I also cleaned up the mould seam lines and flash on these and the undecarriage legs . The wheels are meant to be trapped between the two halves of the spat but this would have meant i had to mask them up later on so I cut a slot in the wheel and it can be inserted last off after painting.

[yak face]

I’m calling the instrument panels done , they've had the backing stuck on and the dials glazed with clear varnish. I gave the front face a coat of black grey to make the black dials stand out better. The cockpit has had a few more details added on the right hand console , these will be picked out in colours later on. There were three main areas of this kit that required major attention , the cockpit , the engine and the cowling , ive started to address the first two , and now ive been looking at sorting the cowling out. I started by sanding off the raised , cooling flaps and drilling and cutting out slots for the exhausts and machine guns. The ridge about 12mm back from the front edge is too far back so i glued a two mm strip of plastic card around the cowling to move this further forward to make the access panels behind it the right size. I have yet to finish scribing these and the newly positioned , closed cooling gills. Another thing that is notable for its absence is the 28 small oval bumps around the cowling ( 2 per cylinder, its a 14 cylinder radial , even though the kit only gives a full front 7 ) I plan to add these using tiny nail art jewels , the placement is going to be a tricky one though!

[papa 695]

Great work Tony.

[yak face]

Little bit more done on the cockpit today. The instrument panels have been glued to each fuselage half and another piece of tubular frame added underneath each panel. The right hand side of the cockpit has had the details painted, but theres still a few more bits to do , the next area to be sorted is the control column and its associated linkages and the rudder bar , then its onto the other side of the cockpit and the seat and belts:tired:Cheers tony

[yak face]

Few more bits done today . The framework in front of the seat has had a few more pieces added and ive been making the control column ready for fitting last off. Ive also been pondering the problem of the machine guns . The guns are breda safat 12.5mm with perforated cooling jackets round the barrels .The kit supplies two round sticks devoid of any sort of detail ,if the kit was 1/48 i would just order some brass replacements but 1/40! No aftermarket for this puppy. After much sideways thinking i came up with the idea of using wine foil , perforated with a rivet making wheel and rolled into a cylindrical shape around a brass tube . Much experimenting and dozens of failed attempts later i managed to get two that i was happy with , these have been painted black and will get a gun metal dry brushing later . Note . Ive just looked and the pictures are a bit out of sequence but youll get the idea!

[AlanG]

After much sideways thinking i came up with the idea of using wine foil ,

Is that sideways thinking (on the floor) after drinking said bottle of wine? lol

[scottie3158]

Tony,
A great piece of lateral thinking those MG jackets are superb mate.

[stillp]

Gun barrels look great Tony!
Pete

[Fernando N]

Great scratch building work Tony, neat idea for the guns too :thumb2: .

[papa 695]

Cracking work so far Tony.