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Fiat CR-20 bis +++ FINISHED! +++


CliffB

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My offering will be a Fiat CR-20:

Fiat-Box-Lid.jpg

Being a resin kit, there are no sprues - just a bag of bits.

Being a Choroszy resin kit, some of the bits won't feature on the instruction sheet!

P1080453.jpg

The kit has a nice decal sheet - but I'll be doing mine as a Paraguayan machine (another recruit for my Chaco War collection).

Fiat-Decals.jpg

Expect a late(ish) start from me - but I'll be following everybody else's builds avidly.

Cheers

Cliff

Edited by CliffB
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Thanks guys - I'm sure this will be a great GB.

The Fiat is indeed 1/72 scale Max.

Despite my jibe about the instruction sheet, Choroszy are actually in the top league as far as resin kits go (IMHO!). I've made a couple of Planet resins too Doug, and they seem to be hassle free. :)

Cheers

Cliff

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you for the feedback and my apologies for not responding sooner.

Looking forward to seeing this come together, Sir. This is an unjustly over-looked machine; it was quite a good one in its day.

The Paraguayans had mixed experiences with their CR.20s Old Man. Of the 7 or 8 that they purchased, only 2 survived the war. One was lost to enemy action, but the remainder went in accidents or mechanical failures (the harsh conditions in the Chaco region led to problems with engine cooling and lubrication apparently). Having said this, Paraguay chose Fiat CR.32s as their next fighters, so things can't have been all that bad!

Good subject Cliff! Looks a good resin kit from the photo - I'll be watching

Thanks Andy. I'm hoping this will be a relatively easy build.....

Looks like a nice kit. I am a fan of Chorozy modelbud kits- they are nicely cast and quite reasonably priced. I have a VL Saaski to build sometime, but the dry fit looked excellent.

good luck Cliff

Will

Thanks Will; yes, Choroszy make some nice interwar subjects. I've got one of their DH.60X Cirrus Moths c/w with Finnish markings (apologies if I've mentioned that before!).

Having got my 'Close Air Support' GB Potez 25 off my bench, I'm looking forward to starting on the Fiat. I took some time last night to check through the bits and as expected, there are some bonus mystery parts to ponder.

P1080488.jpg

I know you can't see much in the photo but, from left to right, and in order of ease of identification the bits seem to be.

1) A prop spinner: some Fiat's used these, but not the Paraguayan ones.

2) A filler cap for the radiator

3) Machine gun breeches for the cockpit (I'm particularly proud of sussing those out)

4) Fuel pipes from the upper wing (in fairings)

5) ??? No idea !!!: At first sight it looks like a faired axle for the undercarriage, but there is nothing like it on the Fiat.

To be honest, only ending up with one unidentified bit is pretty good for a Choroszy kit and who knows, it may all become apparent in due course.

I'll post some more pics once the cockpit is underway.

Cheers

Cliff

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I managed to finish the cockpit over the weekend.

All OOB, apart from the PE lap straps.

P1080489.jpg

It looks a little clumsy in the photo, but in the (smaller) flesh, it looks OK.

Cheers

Cliff

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You are right Andy - in terms of size and proportions it's much more 'Sopwith Camel' than 'Hawker Fury'.

It was designed in 1926 and this shows - unfortunately it has none of the svelte good looks of later CRs!

Cliff

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A quick update on this weekend's progress....

P1080523_zpse6dcc05e.jpg

P1080522_zps4dab6037.jpg

Pretty hassle-free really - just a little fine scraping here and there to get a good fit .

It's nice to have separate elevators, as in makes it easier to get that characteristic 'droop'. :)

Next up is the undercarriage.......

Thanks for looking

Cliff

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So, I managed to get the undercarriage on last night.

A little more hassle this time, as the instructions (what else?), are vague as to location and to compound things the three-view drawings provided are just plain wrong. Finally got it sussed however and then things went OK. I'm always impressed to see how even quite flimsy bits of resin 'man up' when stuck together into triangulated shapes. Good to see that the laws of mechanics apply to 1:72 as well as to full size.....

P1080525_zpse98fd11e.jpg

Note also the neat little resin step - please place your bets as to whether that will still be there at the end!

I'm finished with the fuselage now (the rudder, tailplane struts and radiator cap will stay off until the end, to help with the painting), so next will be cleaning up the upper wing and struts.

Cheers

Cliff

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  • 1 month later...

Hi again

I've been away from modelling for a few weeks, but am 'back in harness' now.

Having spent an (extremely cold), day at the Model Fair in Coventry today, I felt motivated to blow the dust off the Fiat and cover it in primer.

Not much exciting to see really, but at least it is progress!

P1080553.jpg

Cheers

Cliff

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Some more progress to report.

Major painting and decaling is finished.

P1080563.jpg

As delivered, the Paraguayan Fiats were painted white, although subsequently they were painted aluminium. Ultimately, my Chaco War collection will have no shortage of silver aircraft in it, so I've chosen the white option for this one.

I used Vallejo 'Off White'. I found it really hard to spray - there was just one 'sweet spot' for the thinned consistency (either side of this and the paint was very unforgiving). As always, the Vallejo finish is pretty delicate too. It's a pity they do such a wide range of useful colours!

Decals come from a variety of sources, although the distinctive 'Los Indios' unit markings had to be home-made on my ink-jet printer. There is some excellent colour artwork in the book 'Latin American Air Wars', which helps at lot.

Just detailed painting/weathering. final assembly and rigging to do - fingers crossed should be OK for the GB deadline.

Cheers

Cliff

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Thank you Jay and Doug

Well here it is finished (more photos in the Gallery).

Uniquely, the Fiats featured striped chevron markings on their wings (rather than the usual Paraguayan roundels).

P1080565_zps5c4cde53.jpg

Thank you for a great GB everyone and apologies that I haven't always been around to support the other builds as much as I would have liked to.

:cheers:

Cliff

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