Shelliecool Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 When I signed up to this group build I intended to build my P-47D, however on a recent trip to my local model/toy shop (which is closing down) I managed to get my hands on Italeri's reissue of the Fiat BR20 Cicogna, this is a limited edition kit (mine is 3139/3500). It is in the same box and with the same sprues as the first version released in 1972. so why build this aircraft? Well, the BR20 was the first all metal bomber to enter service in Italy, and was regarded as ultra modern, making it a pretty cool bit of kit. Also a stripped down pair of BR20A's were built to enter the Istres-Damascus air race, where they came 6th and 7th. Anyway, back to business, I intend this to be an out of the box build, although detailing is minimal (so I may add a little to the cockpit, not that you will see it.....but I will know!). The kit comprises 3 flesh coloured sprues (a fair bit of flash free with the kit!), and a clear sprue, the kit comes with a stand so I may make her wheels up🤔. There is a minimal sheet of decals, and an equally minimal set of instructions. These have 6 steps, with a small amount of detail. My main issue is the paint scheme, there are no paint codes, merely dark green, light green, brown etc. So I've done a little guess work and opted for Revell dark green, and light leaf green......fingers crossed! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 And we're off........I have begun by hand painting the instrument panel, interior dividing walls and the aircrew. The instructions suggest the crew are wearing brown uniforms, but doing a spot of online research I have opted for a beige colour with brown hats. just need to add the flesh tones for their faces and handed and they are ready to fly. I have also airbrushed the interior floor grey, and fuselage walls cockpit green. This is the second time I've used the airbrush so it's a bit of a learning curve, but I'm pleased so far. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Nice choice Good luck with that camo Will be watching Martin H 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted October 17, 2017 Author Share Posted October 17, 2017 With the aircrew finished, I began to build the interior of the aircraft. Firstly securing the dividing walls into place, followed by the pilot and co-pilot, then the 3Rd seated aircrew member. I have also inserted the windows into the fuselage, and will weather the inside of the fuselage once this is dry. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Good start Shellie, I've got one of these in the stash so I'll be interested to find how you get on with it. Nice 'tash on the co-pilot... he looks a bit guilty though, and the pilot seems to be looking rather pointedly at him Cheers, Stew 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Welcome to the GB Shelliecool A nice choice! Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 I got back to the build last night, after our half term holiday in Dorset (I was lucky enough to visit the D-Day museum in portland, the place is fantastic, it may be small but it is great value for money, and you can touch and get on most of the visits.). Anyway, back to business.... Since my last post I have assembled the fuselage halves, fitting the clear turret and nose section. To say this was tricky would be a lie, it was absolutely impossible! A lot of stress later I managed to squeeze both halves together, and relented to the fact that a lot of filler would be needed. So last night I began filling and filing, repeatedly. This is one of my least favourite jobs, but finally she is as smooth as I can get her. I then began masking the glass on the fuselage, canopy, and nose, again fiddly but worth the time. I have also given the radial engines a Base coat of black, as the wings can't be assembled without them in place. Slow progress but coming along. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share Posted November 1, 2017 With my radial engines painted and complete, I began constructing the wings. As usual the engines were an extremely tight fit in the cowling, eventually after a lot of sanding I managed to get them to fit. once the wing halves were together, I realised the pressure was pushing the engines into a diagonal position. With a lot of force (from a paint brush handed, through the hole for the undercarriage) I managed to get them back into a vertical position, and tape everything till it has dried. I have also begun work on painting the wheels and tyres, and construction of the tailplane. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Cracking on there Shellie, nice work Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 It's looking very good so far and hopefully the first coat of paint won't reveal too much more sanding required Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 Removing the masking tape from the wings, and engine cowlings tonight revealed a nasty surprise.......the glue hadn't stuck. I have used Tamiya cement before, and this time I used it on the wings because I could brush it on, thus minimising any over spill. No mess, but no stick! So tonight I have secured the halves together for a second time (with different glue), and taped them together. I have also continued building the distinctive tail plane, I'm hoping to secure it to the fuselage tomorrow. That's it for tonight, fingers crossed the halves stick! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 Well it's good news, the pieces are finally stuck together! 😀 So tonight I spent time building the tale plane, this went together well, only a few small gaps needed a spot of Humbrol filler. The struts were a little fiddly, and it doesn't help that the part numbers are completely different on the diagram and the sprue! That said, it's a pretty awesome looking tail. I then secured the flaps on both wings and fixed the wings to the fuselage. The top edge of the join was nice and flush, but the undersides revealed fairly large gaps. These i filled with Humbrol filler, which has made them look pretty smooth. A little more sanding once all the glued areas are dry, and it will be on with the priming. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 It's really coming together now Shellie, nice work Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberto Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I remember building it in the 70s...A few years ago!!! Very good work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 So I decided to give the fuselage joins another sand down, hoping to eliminate the need to sand her down again after priming.....then disaster struck, the gun in the nose turret fell inside the aircraft 🙄, great! I wasn't going to give in however, and after 20mins of shaking, inserting tweezers, and files into the tiny gap, I managed to lasso it out with fishing line....phew to say the least! So firmly back in place, the aircraft is ready for priming, asap! https://flic.kr/p/21g4ZhG 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 11, 2017 Author Share Posted November 11, 2017 And so the sanding saga continues! Yesterday I gave the underside a light coat of primer, and there standing loud and proud was my seam!😣 Now I'm happy to admit I'm no sanding expert, to me it is the stuff of nightmares. YouTube however, is my friend, so I sat down today and watch a load of videos about filling and sanding. I have ordered some waterbased filler, having watched it being used and fancied a try. Tonight I got some ultra fine wet and dry, masked up the areas and began sanding. Then, after cleaning her down, got some trusty Humbrol filler and went over the seams. She is now tucked up in the modelling cupboard drying. Tomorrow I will get the wet and dry out again and hopefully sand her ready to prime.....now for a bottle of beer! Night all. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 I'm convinced it is possible to achieve some zen-like state of transcendent peace through prolonged filling and sanding, but on the other hand no-one ever claims to have achieved it and all sensible people hate filling and sanding so perhaps not. I hope yours went well and a quick rub-down this morning will get it ready for priming. Nice work so far and a good save with the nose-gun Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 Last night I spent what felt like hours, carefully rubbing down the seam and filler with wet and dry paper. I am so looking forward to the postman delivering my water based filler. Anyway, after a good clean off using a spot of airbrush cleaner, I left her overnight ready to prime today. This afternoon I have given both sides of the aircraft a quick blast of primer, and although the seam is still slightly visible, it is better and I'm prepared to live with it (please squint when looking at the following photos!). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 Looking good Shellie Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 Tonight I have finished priming the aircraft, ready for its striking top coat. I was totally excited this afternoon to discover my new filler had arrived. And having tested it on my Boston Havoc build, am mega impressed with the results, wipe clean filler is definitely the way forward for me! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 15, 2017 Author Share Posted November 15, 2017 And so the time has come to begin painting, so beer at the ready to ease the nerves. I got my airbrush out of the cupboard and carefully masked the aircraft so I could paint the underside. Now I am novice to airbrushing so I wasn't expecting greatness. I began by mixing Revell grey with thinners and flow improver, however it was too thin😣, so (having run out of Revell) I mixed a Humbrol grey with thinner and flow improver, and got a far better result. I gave the aircraft a thin coat, building up a little as I went back over the aircraft. Now, I'm not claiming it's amazing, but it looks alright. We shall see what the morning brings, when hopefully it will have dried nicely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qn30jEkPz7 Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 Looking like a nice build. Shame about the loss of your local hobby shop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 The underside does look good, nice job Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 17, 2017 Author Share Posted November 17, 2017 Last night I gave the underside a second coat of grey, to hit any areas I'd missed the night before, and having left the aircraft to dry over night, today my aim was to seal it in. So tonight I set to work with the Quick Shine gloss varnish, this time using the hairy-stick (as I don't mind varnishing that way). Having received a nice coat she is tucked away, once again to dry over night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelliecool Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 She's all masked and ready for a coat of green! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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