discussion Then and now- 4th stormo Regia Aeronautica - Fiat cr32 and Typhoon

[yak face]

Hi all, for the then and now build ive managed to do it out of the stash , using a SMER 1/48 (maybe 1/50? but im not fussy) Fiat cr 32 and the revell 1/48 Eurofighter Typhoon. Now that my bench is fairly clear , I can make a start,a bit late i know but ive still got 2 1/2 months to do it! Ill be doing the fiat first and have decided to put a pilot in , primarily to hide the fact that the cockpit is non existant ,just a seat on a peg and an instrument panel .This should make it a quick(er) build, and its going to be in the silver scheme ,with painted fabric sections and ill possibly be trying something different for the metal areas round the nose , im not sure yet. Ill have to adapt the decals a bit but ive got some 4th stormo emblems in the spare decal box and i dont think itll cause any problem. Pics and progress to follow when ive got something tangible done! cheers tony

 

[yak face]

Well ive started, the unused pilot from the tamiya mosquito has been doctored a bit (oxygen mask and hose cut off) and painted as a 1939's italian flyer ,complete with moustache!! The seat and instrument panel is the only thing provided but im not bothered , once the mester is in place you cant see anything else anyway! The fuselage is now glued together so the rest should come on a bit quicker, the only trouble is im going on holiday weds for a fortnight just as im getting into it! cheers tony

View attachment 34811

View attachment 34812

View attachment 34813

View attachment 147837

View attachment 147838

View attachment 147839

 

[Ian M]

Nice one Tony, great to have you in the build.

Looking forwards to seeing the progress.

Ian M

 

[yak face]

Heres the progress ,what little bit there is!, on the fiat. The fuselage has been glued and sanded and the rest of the time i have been cleaning up mould seam lines, its a very old kit!!The pic shows the unusual configuration of the cr32 with the bottom wing a lot smaller than the top and 2 of the 4 V shaped interplane struts (which took some cleaning up,due to very prominent lines) There arent an awful lot of parts to the kit but the cleaning up and maybe having to fabricate some bits which are unusable as supplied, is adding to the time of the build, but hey ho! more progress as it happens, cheers tony

View attachment 35693

View attachment 35694

View attachment 35695

View attachment 148719

View attachment 148720

View attachment 148721

 

[yak face]

Well its been a bit of a slow burner this one, but i managed to get a bit more done. The wings and fuselage are in silver (several shades) and the wheels are on. The tricolori on the tail and elevators was originally supplied as a decal, but it didnt line up properly so i had to mask and paint it DOH!!!!The interplane struts have been fixed to the top wing and the location of this is going to be a bit tricky, the holes on the bottom wing dont line up ,hence the blobs of filler in the pic!The windscreen has been made from a piece of clear acetate as i lost the original (it probably wasnt up to much anyway).All thats left to do now is fabricate the wing guns and fairings, stick on the top wing and do a little bit of rigging, oh and the stormo decals have got to be cobbled together. heres the pics. tony

View attachment 36117

View attachment 36118

View attachment 36119

View attachment 36120

View attachment 36121

View attachment 149143

View attachment 149144

View attachment 149145

View attachment 149146

View attachment 149147

 

[Dave W]

interesting build Tony.I like the Tricolour on the tail. Bet the Tornado wont be as much fun!.

 

[Dave W]

Got that wrong in my last post.I meant to say bet the TYPHOON wont be as much fun!!

 

[Guest]

Tony mate this looks good the tricolori onthe tail looks the business nice silver tones too lovely job so far.

scott

 

[Ian M]

Nice little birdie there Tony.

The tail really sets of the silver. looks great.

Ian M

 

[yak face]

Bit more progress today. The top wing has had the rigging done as it was easy to do it this way before it is attached. I used bait elastic, a rubber thread available from fishing shops , i imagine E-Z thread is similar. The aileron actuating rods and rudder actuating rods have been made using guitar string, and this was also used for the step. I made the gun fairings from a 1/144 drop tank and the barrels from brass tubing , the decals were pieced together using a mixture of kit items and spares box decals, the only thing ill have to admit defeat on is the manufacturers number under the elevator- i couldnt find any numerals in the right colour and size but they arent that noticeable anyway ,ill have to make do with just the fiat cr32 bit! Not much left to do now just stick on the top wing and add the mini winglets (?? i dont know the proper name!!!) on the ailerons and the cabane struts (i know that one!!) heres the latest pics, cheers tony

View attachment 36215

View attachment 36216

View attachment 36217

View attachment 36218

View attachment 36219

View attachment 149241

View attachment 149242

View attachment 149243

View attachment 149244

View attachment 149245

 

[Ian M]

Nice! So you will be starting on the Eurofighter soon? Can't recall one being built on the forum yet so I'll be watching out for that.

Two Very different aircraft I must add!

Ian M

 

[yak face]

Hoping to get the fiat finished today,ian. Then ive got just over a month to do the typhoon !Although it might take me a month to put all the stencils on the bloody thing!!!! cheers tony

 

[yak face]

Ok here we are, im calling this one finished.The wing has been stuck on and the cabane struts had to be made as the kit ones were nowhere near right. The winglets (?) on the ailerons have been fabricated too as ,again, the supplied items were unusable. Even though its been a lot more involved than i thought it would be, ive really enjoyed bashing this old mould into life, and learning a bit in the process. On to the typhoon now,which has about 20x more parts than this kit but at least i wont have to spend much time cleaning them up!!! Any comments crits welcome , heres the photos, cheers tony

View attachment 36254

View attachment 36255

View attachment 36256

View attachment 36257

View attachment 36258

View attachment 36259

View attachment 36260

View attachment 36261

View attachment 149280

View attachment 149281

View attachment 149282

View attachment 149283

View attachment 149284

View attachment 149285

View attachment 149286

View attachment 149287

 

[Ian M]

Tell Ya what Tony: That's a little gem of a build. You can see that you have put a good effort into it and it paid off!

Looking forwards to the Phoon and it will be great seeing them together.

If you go over the set time... So what, I'm just glad that I am not the only one compleating.

Ian M

 

[yak face]

Thanks ian, its a bit of a polar opposite in more ways than one- the typhoon is an up to date modern aircraft AND an up to date modern tooling, compared to the ancient smer kit of an old aircraft. Cant wait to get stuck into the typhoon though, although making the allover grey look interesting is going to be tricky.Heres a teaser

View attachment 36278

View attachment 149304

 

[yak face]

Heres the typhoon in its basic state! 228 parts and a decal sheet with literally hundreds of tiny stencils!! The kit looks to be excellently detailled and i dont think ill have to add anything ,so its just .B. Theres 2 sprues just for all the weapons ,i expect ill have quite a bit left for the spares box. Ill be starting with the cockpit (surprise!) and the ejector seat is made up from 6 pieces and is superbly detailed with moulded on harness, the rest of the cockpit is similarly well detailed ,although these modern digital cockpits are really quite simplified in real life, not as busy or crammed as some of the older jets- makes my job a bit easier!! More progress as it happens , cheers tony

View attachment 36283

View attachment 36284

View attachment 149309

View attachment 149310

 

[Ian M]

I saw a photo of a 4.Stormo 'Phoon with all its stores laid out in front of it on the tarmac. T'was a most impressive site.

Cant find it again now. Typical!

Ian M

 

[yak face]

Heres the ejector seat minus the firing handle,(i thought it would be easier to attach this after painting it yellow and black)It should scrub up pretty well with a bit of careful painting. tony

View attachment 36300

View attachment 36301

View attachment 36302

View attachment 149326

View attachment 149327

View attachment 149328

 

[Ian M]

Good looking seat that! A resin seat may be a little sharper in detail but that kit one has it all.

Firing handle. Good you said that, Need to put one on my seat in the Jag. I always leave them to the last moment, as I normally knock them off about ten times!

I find it easier (some times), to paint a bit of stretched sprue, then bend it in shape as I superglue it in place, one end at a time. Well it makes it easier to paint the strips anyway. lol

Ian M

 

[Guest]

Great looking Fiat Tony and super clean build! I do'nt even you on those Typhoon stencils my eyes hurt just thinking about them!