CliffB Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 (edited) My offering will be a Fiat CR-20: 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! The kit has a nice decal sheet - but I'll be doing mine as a Paraguayan machine (another recruit for my Chaco War collection). Expect a late(ish) start from me - but I'll be following everybody else's builds avidly. Cheers Cliff Edited December 16, 2012 by CliffB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbaldbloke Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Looks interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Agreed with FBB, what scale is it Cliff? Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Rogers Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Looks like 1/72 scale Max. Great choice Cliff, I've got a full resin Planet Models Seafire 45 so be interesting to see how you get on with this kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Looking forward to seeing this come together, Sir. This is an unjustly over-looked machine; it was quite a good one in its day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Good subject Cliff! Looks a good resin kit from the photo - I'll be watching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) 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. 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 Edited October 1, 2012 by CliffB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 I managed to finish the cockpit over the weekend. All OOB, apart from the PE lap straps. It looks a little clumsy in the photo, but in the (smaller) flesh, it looks OK. Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Sheesh that looks tiny Cliff - will be a little stunner when done though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 A quick update on this weekend's progress.... 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 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..... 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 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! Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 Some more progress to report. Major painting and decaling is finished. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChladek Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Nice coloring on this one. Can't wait to see the completed results as it is certainly not a subject one sees very often (either the aircraft or in these particular operator colors). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Rogers Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Looks really nice Cliff, unusual aircraft in an unusual scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 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). 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. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChladek Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Another excellent finished result IMHO. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Thanks Jay! Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Nicely done, Sir! Looks very sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Rogers Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Nice work as always Cliff, very neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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