Chris's 1/72 Planet Models Breda Ba.44

[Waspie]

So, for my next trick...
First I took a scan of the photo of the control panel
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218791[/ATTACH]
..Manipulated it a bit to get a 'clean' panel
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218792[/ATTACH]
Printed that out at 7% and stuck it on the model piece
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218793[/ATTACH]
Yes, the detail is barely visible, but it works. And it'll be almost invisible behind the windows anyway
But it will be there!

Ingenious Chris.

[Steve-the-Duck]

Cheers Waspie

I may patent this method!

What, there are 3D printed self-adhesive control panels now?
Oh well... My way is cheaper! Just need to add the four throttle levers in the centre now!

Or not

[Steve-the-Duck]

Well, it's actually starting to look like a 'plane now


Once again, the drawback with a lot of resin kits like this is no locating pins, just simple butt joints. Although, the mating surfaces are very flat and smooth
Of necessity, though, the tail planes are pinned with brass rod, like the wings



Just have to take car in lining up all the holes, as I discovered with the starboard side. The forward pin interefered with the pin to port, then I realised I had the hole in the wrong place anyway


One of the biggest troubles with this kit is and will be the struts. While they are all in pairs in the moulding, there's no guide to which goes where other than actually placing them. That and resin struts can be fragile. I will be pinning some of the main struts, probably with .030 or .020 rod, same as i use for rigging. Luckily, I have a pack of old Aeroclub strut material
And microstrip, which was used for the forward tailplane supports here. They are entirely missing from the kit, as are two struts that connect the engines to the upper side of the wing and two that support the wheels
Apart from that...

I'm now in the process of fitting the windows, which is turning out to be quite laborious fitting. I'm dreading how the windscreen is going to go

Oh, another shout-out to Andrea (Andy the Sheep) for his absolutely invaluable translation work, advice and pointers. If anyone else does Italian aircraft, it's handy to have a helping hand like his around!

[Waspie]

Well, it's actually starting to look like a 'plane now
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218900[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218901[/ATTACH]

Once again, the drawback with a lot of resin kits like this is no locating pins, just simple butt joints. Although, the mating surfaces are very flat and smooth
Of necessity, though, the tail planes are pinned with brass rod, like the wings
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218902[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218903[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218904[/ATTACH]
Just have to take car in lining up all the holes, as I discovered with the starboard side. The forward pin interefered with the pin to port, then I realised I had the hole in the wrong place anyway

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1218905[/ATTACH]
One of the biggest troubles with this kit is and will be the struts. While they are all in pairs in the moulding, there's no guide to which goes where other than actually placing them. That and resin struts can be fragile. I will be pinning some of the main struts, probably with .030 or .020 rod, same as i use for rigging. Luckily, I have a pack of old Aeroclub strut material
And microstrip, which was used for the forward tailplane supports here. They are entirely missing from the kit, as are two struts that connect the engines to the upper side of the wing and two that support the wheels
Apart from that...

I'm now in the process of fitting the windows, which is turning out to be quite laborious fitting. I'm dreading how the windscreen is going to go

Oh, another shout-out to Andrea (Andy the Sheep) for his absolutely invaluable translation work, advice and pointers. If anyone else does Italian aircraft, it's handy to have a helping hand like his around!

Nice team work going on between Andrea and Chris as well as a good build. The power of the internet and this forum. :thumb2: :smiling4:

[Tim Marlow]

Going on nicely Steve. Not for the faint hearted is it.

[Steve-the-Duck]

Going on nicely Steve. Not for the faint hearted is it.

Spreading from the Star Wars thread now, it is

[Steve-the-Duck]

So, 'a challenge' eh?


As I mentioned above, these struts are missing entirely from the kit

The wheel mounting, which is a separate piece, connects up to those supports

Now, these things are sent to try us. the rest of the struts that ARE there all all in pairs, but, NONE of them were the right size for the struts between the cowlings and the wing root, so, more Aeroclub strut material

In retrospect for what's next, fitting these MAY haver been a mistake at this stage

[Steve-the-Duck]

Well, the control panel went in fine. No trouble at all. Didn't even need re-gluing

Just put a little wiring detail on the back, as it will show

But you can also see how tall the control column should not be

And now the fun begins
The transparencies are fairly thick, compared to other vac-form canopies I've experienced, and relatively difficult o cut. Or at least the side panels were. And with a lot a LOT of fettling I got them to fit. I picked up some AK Crystal Glue for canopies, as I knew my usual PVA was NOT going to cut it here. Also, my bottle of ACTUAL canopy glue (which looked a LOT like PVA anyway) has vanished from my trays of stuff

The windscreen seemed thinner than the side windows, even though they're all on the same sheet. Fill with blu-tack, carefully slice, then shape to palace

It's not a good fit by any means, and one side popped off every time I got the other in place. So it's stuck, taped, and time top walk away for a bit. There will needs be filler at the top, and i may have to overlay a strip or something at the joins, or the interior will get repainted when I prime and paint.
I'm also dreading removing the masks when I get to it...

Oh yes, and i managed to knock of the bottom of that port-side cowling strut three times while trying to fit the windscreen

Still, we're progressing

[Allen Dewire]

Ok Buddy, I just found this one and am also amazed at all the scratchy, dicing, slicing, filling and other black magic arts involved. Pretty easy to do in 1/32, BUT in 1/72???...Tip 'o me hat to you Chris!!! Great stuff and you might just be right about the struts getting in the way later...

Prost
Allen

[Allen Dewire]

Oops, to late on the struts!!!...

[Steve-the-Duck]

Oops, to late on the struts!!!...

Yeah, good job I didn't fit the forward ones. They connect to the base of a V-strut that attaches to the top wing
And, with a little dry-fitting test, the kit parts sit too low and therefore will be too short

Never mind that the only mounting points even marked are on the lower wing. I really don't know if I'll be using ANY of the kit struts

BTW the big holes I've drilled in the side of the cowlings are for the rigging. And going by the photos, my holes are too small!

[yak face]

Stirling work chris , its a real slog and a test of modelling skills for sure . Youre doing a fantastic job , keep at it , cheers tony

[Andy the Sheep]

Great job, Chris. :thumb2:
About helping hands: apart from translations, I have a good friend who's the real expert in Italian aircrafts and most of my suggestions and pointers are just a rebound of his encyclopedic knowledge summarized and translated.
I'll report him your satisfaction.

[papa 695]

Well Chris you have been busy since I last looked at this build. Some fantastic work going on, and looking great. Keep up the Stirling work.

[Steve-the-Duck]

Great job, Chris. :thumb2:
About helping hands: apart from translations, I have a good friend who's the real expert in Italian aircrafts and most of my suggestions and pointers are just a rebound of his encyclopedic knowledge summarized and translated.
I'll report him your satisfaction.

And without whom... Cue Oscars acceptance speech. 'Encyclopedic knowledge' of my pet subject, hmm?
There will be questions later