Learstang Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) A little background: The Gran Chaco War (or sometimes just "Chaco War") was a war fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over a region of scrubland, swamp, and semi-desert called the Gran Chaco. The land was of little use or interest until oil was discovered near it, in the foothills of the Andes. This led Bolivia to believe that oil was also in the Gran Chaco and they asserted their claim to this land, which had belonged to the department of Bolivia when most of South America was owned by Spain. The region had, however, long been inhabited and used by the Paraguayans, who had de facto, if not actual de jure control of the land. To make a long story short, the Paraguayans had better leaders, and were used to the hot climate and landscape of the Gran Chaco, and they won a decisive victory over the superior in numbers Bolivians. In a treaty signed in 1938 (fighting had ceased in 1935), most of the Gran Chaco was legally assigned to Paraguay. So much for my history lesson; now onto my little kit. This kit is the old Aeroclub kit which represents a Fiat Cr.20, of which Paraguay obtained a few (five, I believe) in the 1930's from the Italians, who also provided other aircraft and military assistance at this time. The kit itself is moulded in Aeroclub's typical brownish plastic, with a considerable amount of white metal parts. Best of all, this kit actually has the Paraguayan decals and they look quite usable (we shall see!). The white metal parts need some cleaning up, but I've already cleaned up the plastic parts. Below are some photographs: Enjoy the build (I hope I do!). Best Regards, Jason Edited December 28, 2014 by Learstang 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hi Jason and welcome to the GB. That is a sweet looking kit! I don't think your Fiat and my Breguet would ever have met - but they might just have....... Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) From what I've read, the Fiat was introduced in 1933; I'm not sure it even saw any real action. It was, however, the most advanced fighter the Paraguayans had at the time. I don't suppose you or anyone reading this topic happen to know what interior colour Italian aeroplanes of the early to mid-1930's would have been finished in? The instructions are sadly silent on this. Regards, Jason Edited December 28, 2014 by Learstang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) Jason I have some info from an old Italian book regarding these aircrafts. According to this source, Fiat has listed 6 CR.20 Bis with Handley Page type slots delivered to Paraguay in Spring 1933. The slots were not standard on the Italian machines but had been tested on the CR.20 Asso variant. I have to say however that the picture I have of these aircrafts does not seem to show any slot.. In any case, Paraguayan sources mention 5 aircrafts while a report from the US air attachè mentions 7 Fiats. The aircrafts were used by the 2nd Squadron "Los Indios" and seem to have seen action against Bolivian aircrafts: on June 12th 1933 the Fiats repelled a mixed formation of Bolivian aircrafts but one fighter crashed on the way to its base. On July 8th 1934 a Fiat is said to have scored a victory although no indication is given of the victim. Interior colour: the later CR.32 had the cockpit painted in aluminium. While the CR.20 was indeed older, I would bet on the same colour. Edited December 28, 2014 by Giorgio N 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Thank you very much for the information, Giorgio! I'll go with aluminium, then. Interesting about one scoring a victory. Perhaps it was Cliff's Br.19! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Jason, glad to help ! I searched for more pics and found evidence that yes, the Paraguayan aircrafts had slats on the leading edge. These seem to be closed in every picture of these aircrafts so you may just need to scribe the slats and add the fairings of the mechanism on the lower side of the upper wing leading edge. This picture shows what the slats are like when extended http://historylink101.com/bw/e_plane/bi-plane/slides/IMG_6894_e2.html 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Excellent short history lesson Jason. Good to see both sides of the conflict represented as well ay Cliff? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 That looks very cool. Nice aircraft and choice of markings too. Dont want to teach you to suck eggs, but maybe a coat of Microscale Liquid Decal Film over those old decals would help? I tried some recently and now swear by it. Cheers, all the best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Actually, CH, I often put a clear coat over my decals to give them strength. Given the age of these decals, that's probably the way to go. Giorgio, thank you for the additional information and photograph, and Col., I'm glad to give the history lesson! Best Regards, Jason Edited December 29, 2014 by Learstang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 The aircrafts were used by the 2nd Squadron "Los Indios" and seem to have seen action against Bolivian aircrafts: on June 12th 1933 the Fiats repelled a mixed formation of Bolivian aircrafts but one fighter crashed on the way to its base. The Fiat that crashed (s/n 11-1), had just been involved in a dog-fight with a Bolivian Vickers Type 143. The Bolivians claimed this as a victory, but the Paraguayan's denied any bullet damage to plane or pilot (whose name was Walter Gwynn - RIP). I hadn't heard of the Fiat victory on 8th July, but only three Breguets were in the Chaco at this time and all three apparantly survived the war. Two Fiats claimed a 'probable' against a Curtiss Osprey on 23rd September however. I hope you don't mind me sharing this with others Jason (I know you have the same book as me!) Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Not at all, Cliff. I think it's important to know the history behind the aircraft we model. For example, I'm fascinated by the history of the Great Patriotic War (Eastern Front); that's why I build so many aeroplanes from it. Regards, Jason Edited December 29, 2014 by Learstang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Cliff, the book I've consulted was printed in the early '80s and focuses on the development of the Italian fighter aircrafts between 1918 and 1939, it may very well not be completely accurate, particularly when discussing the operational use in a foreign country. I have to say that I was surprised by the number of pictures of Paraguayan CR.20s I found on the web, I wasn't expecting that many for such a small number of aircrafts serving so long ago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yes, dear readers, I have actually done a bit more work on my Fiat. Here are the Warren-truss interplane struts, which I have started cleaning up a bit: Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Here are some other of the white metal parts I'm working on: And here are some I've cleaned up to my satisfaction (i.e., this is as good as they're going to get): Regards, Jason 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Last, if not least, here is a bit of work I've done on the upper wing, where I'm having to do a bit of repair with some filler: Exciting stuff, what? I realise that Neil (woody37) would have completed this model on his lunch break, but I work at a, shall we say, rather stately pace, savouring each bit of cutting, each bit of filling and sanding. To me, modelling is not a business or a job, to be approached with a machine-like efficiency (and competency), but rather like a Zen tea ceremony. Or perhaps I'm just a lazy oaf who takes forever to do anything. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 So long as you're enjoying the model that's what matters most. I'm certainly enjoying your updates. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 So long as you're enjoying the model that's what matters most. I'm certainly enjoying your updates. Thank you very much, Col.! I've just started work on the interior so I'll post some piccies of that once there's something worth posting. Best Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Nice work on those white metal parts Jason . I always struggle to get a nice surface finish - did you use any special abrasives or techniques? Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Nice work on those white metal parts Jason . I always struggle to get a nice surface finish - did you use any special abrasives or techniques? Cliff Thank you, Cliff! To get the moulding ridges off, I just use my modelling knife (this metal is soft enough where it comes off fairly easily). I finish off with a sanding stick(s) and/or sandpaper. If there are any pits or dents that don't disappear with the sanding, I use CA as a filler, then sand it down once it's set for a few days. That's about it. Regards, Jason Edited January 21, 2015 by Learstang 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Good start, Sir! Looking forward to more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Small bit of trivia: the use of Warren truss struts was typical of Celestino Rosatelli projects. While he's most famous for the work in Fiat on the CR fighter series (where of course CR stands for the initials of the designer), his first use of these was on the very succesful Ansaldo SVA of WW1 fame. For some reason however his name was not recognised in the aircraft designation while his codesigners Savoia and Verduzio were. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Small bit of trivia: the use of Warren truss struts was typical of Celestino Rosatelli projects. While he's most famous for the work in Fiat on the CR fighter series (where of course CR stands for the initials of the designer), his first use of these was on the very succesful Ansaldo SVA of WW1 fame. For some reason however his name was not recognised in the aircraft designation while his codesigners Savoia and Verduzio were. Thank you for the information, Giorgio! I also have the Ansaldo SVA.5 (it was used by Paraguay), and I noticed that the struts were almost the same as those on the Cr.20bis. Before that, I hadn't realised that Mr. Rosatelli had also worked for Ansaldo. From what I've read, it made his fighters very strong - the Cr.32 and Cr.42 being know for their structural strength. More importantly to me as a modeller, it almost completely obviated the need for rigging! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) I realised I made a small mistake.. the designation CR are not exactly the initials of the designer but is for "Caccia Rosatelli", where caccia literally means hunter but is the word used for a fighter aircraft (like the french chasseur). His bombers were of course designated BR Ok, sorry for the useless trivia that does not add anything to the good work Jason is doing on this kit ! Edited January 22, 2015 by Giorgio N 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 All righty then, a little more work. Here is the wing after minor surgery - not much to see, but there wasn't much to fix. I anoint it as now finished. Sorry for the blurry photograph, but I don't have the best camera in the world, but that seems appropriate as I'm certainly not the best modeller in the world. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Here is the fuselage, with the false floor I made from sheet styrene attached to the side. I plan on adding the white metal seat in the lower photograph to this, sitting it on a small pedestal I intend on making out of the short section of sprue below it (it will become much shorter when I'm finished with it). The first photograph shows the false floor off to better advantage. The interior will not be anything fancy, as you won't be able to see much through the small opening, but I will add a control column. I can't remember if the kit came with one, but if it did, it's long gone now so I'll have to scratchbuild one. Other than the seat and instrument panel, which I do still have, that's pretty much it for the interior. The next photograph(s) will hopefully show everything nice and painted and ready for the fuselage to be buttoned up. Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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