FIAT cr42 n nightfighter in 1/40 scale

[yak face]

After much farting about under the magnifying lamp ive finally got the belts done . I must hsve spent hours and hours searching the net for pictures of the seat belts and how they fasten but could only find the three pics on the ipms stockholm site . These arent bad but are a bit limited so i just had to make them as close to these pics as i could and use a bit of artistic licence. The seat has now been fitted to the pit and heres a few pics before its closed up and virtually invisible!! The fuselage is together and hopefully the build will pick up a bit of pace now, cheers tony

[stillp]

Nice 'pit Tony, shame it's almost invisible!
Pete

[yak face]

Tailplanes are on , and ive scribed and sawn the rudder . This has also had a slot drilled ready for the actuator to be made and fitted. The same has been done on the top wing for the ailerons. The aircraft has a pair of prominent oil cooler exits on the underside of the lower wing fillet trailing edge . Of course the kit didnt portray these in any way so they had to be made . I heated a piece if plastic card over a candle then pressed a conical rotary tool bit into it to form a cone shape . This was then cut out and glued on . Next up is fitting the undercarriage legs , cheers tony

[papa 695]

Some cracking work so far Tony, really liking watching this develop.

[flyjoe180]

Yep, coming along nicely Tony. Those belts look great.

[yak face]

Yep, coming along nicely Tony. Those belts look great.

Cheers joe , although looking at them in mega close up on here I might give them another coat of buff paint to smooth out the woven effect a bit ,it’s going to be tricky though as I’ll have to do it through the cockpit opening! Cheers tony

[yak face]

Little bit more progress - the tailplanes are on with a smear of Vallejo acrylic putty over the joint and I’ve glued the undercarriage legs on. Once these have set I can fit the engine , cowling and windscreen , give it all a quick fettle ,then it can be primed . The raised rivets will be knocked back a bit with a light sanding and the primer coat will highlight anything else that needs attention. Once this is done I can then turn to test fitting the interplane struts and top wing . The top wing will be painted separately from the fuselage and attached last off .

[BattleshipBob]

Lovely work Tony, way outside my skills lol.

Excellent detail, everywhere!!

Bob

[yak face]

Been adding the linkages to the trim tabs on the elevators from brass wire and also made the horn linkages for the rudder , the wires will be added later. Ive now given it a coat of Halfords primer and sorted any bits that showed up , then sanded the rivets back a bit and gave it another one.Next i think I’ll attach the windscreen then have a look at the exhausts and collector ring.

[Jim R]

Hi Tony
I'm gobsmacked. Brilliant stuff. Inventive stuff. Using the nail jewels has worked a treat and your comment about sanding off your finger prints gave the missus and I a laugh. The belts look good - that tape worked well. The whole thing is coming together nicely and as Ian said it is fun watching this develop.
Jim

[yak face]

I’ve cleaned up the windscreen a bit as it wasn’t the clearest moulding and dipped it In klear. While this is drying I’ve started to look at making the exhausts. The night fighter had the stubs extended to reduce the visible exhaust glow and keep it out of the pilots vision , there being at least three different designs . The aircraft I intend doing had them extended to just behind the wing trailing edge with a straight pipe turning down at the exit. After a bit of experimentation these were made using styrene tube heated carefully over a candle and bent to shape then cleaned up. The collector ring for the exhaust is just visible in pictures behind the cooling gills so I made this from a piece of sprue heated and bent around the nose section. This has had a couple of holes drilled in it and a pair of metal pins glued in to take the exhausts after final painting .

[AlanG]

Excellent work Tony. Coming along fantastically.

[yak face]

Cheers Alan , bit more done tonight . I’ve got the engine and cowling fitted after painting the nose section and giving the collector ring a rusty wash . The intake under the nose can be tackled now . This goes under the cowling and runs along under the fuselage to behind the undercarriage legs. This is the reason I didn’t bother too much with the seam on the underneath of the front fuselage as it will be covered up. Problem is it’s slightly too short and the end is a square section , it should finish flush with the front of the cowling and have a semi circular section at the front end. I’ve glued a piece of large diameter styrene tube on to the front and when this is set I can shape it and cut it . I’ve also put the first struts on and fitted the windscreen . The screen was a strange one , having the raised lines for the frame on the INSIDE! I’ve painted these the cockpit colour and will have to sort the outside ones later, probably after painting.

[yak face]

Ive been looking at the kit propellor , a thick ,very simplified hub and wide paddle like blades . I started by cutting about 2 mm off the back of the hub and shaping this between the blades. The front of the hub isnt a problem as this sits inside a recess on the spinner and wont be seen .After looking at photos of museum examples the blades were sanded to the correct shape . I may add a bit more to the hub yet , i just need to get a good close up photo to see what its like .

[yak face]

Styrene rod added to each side of propellor blades , prop is done now, next up is the tricky job of the interplane struts:anguished:.