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Small Wars refugee...KORA Paraguayan FIAT C.R.20 BIS


John Masters

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1 hour ago, CliffB said:

I chose white for mine too

I have a very  off-white silver-grey I might experiment with.  I figure they were aluminum dope beneath so it might be nice to be other than just 'white'.

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2 hours ago, Col. said:

Coming together well

Thanks...Bit by bit.  The instructions for the cabane struts are rudimentary.  I think I might be using some Evergreen at that point.  

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Cabane struts are on.  I'll futz around with this and then work on the undercarriage.  Once that is on (sans wheels) I'll send the whole she-bang down to the paint shop for primer.

 

49644281066_1decc63f58_c_d.jpg

 

--John

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Hi John,

 

forgive me my dumb question but I'm not really into building biplanes: Are you going to mount the upper wing before the outer struts? I'm asking because I wonder how sturdy the cabane struts/fuselage connection is?

 

Thanks!

Markus

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10 hours ago, Shorty84 said:

I'm asking because I wonder how sturdy the cabane struts/fuselage connection is?

The images below will explain all of this.  However, my usual routine for biplane-upper-wing, etc...I attach the cabane struts first, then the wing, then the interplane struts.  For the FIAT it is easier.  In this case I have attached the cabane struts and the first four interplane struts--note how they are not the usual vertical style.  They are similar to the Ansaldo Balilla SVA aircraft.  

 

The short answer Markus, in this case, is...very sturdy.

 

11 hours ago, Shorty84 said:

I'm not really into building biplanes

And why not?  😀 

 

I have added some plastic rod for the ends of the .303 guns.  I have also added a radiator cap.  The cabane struts and the interior interplane struts meet so I decided to add all of that.  It will make it easier to attache the upper wing with a little more support.  

 

49647128832_16178eb9ae_c_d.jpg

 

I have smoothed the connection between the stabilizer and the turtleneck with some Milliput.  I'll clean that up a bit.

 

49647128812_acdc3174c8_c_d.jpg

 

And I have attached the landing gear, air scoop and radiator.  In the kit there are more pieces than needed.  I think one could build the CR.20 which had an axle running between the two struts.  The CR.20bis had added shock absorbers and no axle--I think.  I had to do  fair amount of interweaving to see how the struts fitted and then I noticed this little addendum on the instructions...

 

49646331908_bf3e9c6e76_c_d.jpg

 

And it looks like this...

 

49647129042_c5feee61f1_c_d.jpg

 

.  There are some small constructions I need to do on the upper wing first but at this point I am almost ready to mask the cockpit and prime the aircraft.  

 

--John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ok...primer is on.  We are all waiting for the Greek government to announce that no flights and no ferries will be running for the next month...oh well.  Not much I can do except bike, model and work in the darkroom.  Which is pretty much what I do anyway.

 

Regardless...masking and painting this will be tricky, or maybe not.

 

49652479821_11ef93366a_c_d.jpg

 

The top wing...all the other bits are primed as well but I didn't photograph them.

 

49652753472_593a0452fc_c_d.jpg

 

--John

 

 

 

 

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On 3/11/2020 at 8:38 AM, John D.C. Masters said:
On 3/10/2020 at 9:17 PM, Shorty84 said:

I'm not really into building biplanes

And why not?  😀 

Well, I'm mostly building WW2 and later plus I'm a bit scared of rigging. I have read a lot of "How-To's" but I'm still not fully getting it. But as my modelling interests slowly migrate into the pre-WW2 era I will have to learn it one day.

 

You seem to make good progress and if they really shut almost everything down we will have at least enough kits to keep is occupied (some make babies, others scale models 😄).

 

Markus

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The masking for the FIAT was less difficult than I thought.  If I build this kit again, I will wait until the paint is on before I add the struts.

 

49660368928_dd21a3cb52_c_d.jpg

 

I used Vallejo Model 'Off-White' thinned a great deal with Ajax.

 

49660910451_050c84f740_c_d.jpg

 

The top wing got the same treatment...

 

49660910421_c8955d3e02_c_d.jpg

 

I will take care of the aluminum parts today and also hand-paint the struts, etc...black.

 

--John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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11 hours ago, Shorty84 said:

The white looks very good, not too stark.

Thanks Markus.  

 

I made major headway yesterday.  Wheels are on, top wing, additional struts, windscreen...I also attached the decal fr the rudder and discovered it isn't the correct size or shape.  I'll have to fill in the missing blanks with paint.  Oh well.  Short run kits!  Ti na kanoume! 😉

 

49668935547_efd80489c7_c_d.jpg

 

49668935512_9416b1c29b_c_d.jpg

 

49668935717_e29f3556fd_c_d.jpg

 

I'll shape this little foot later.  I wanted to let it set up over night before I hit it with a sanding stick.

 

49668108538_e8cd741c58_c_d.jpg

 

--John

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Col. said:

good for the star an sod all else

Pretty much.  I should have painted the rudder and cut out the star.  I ended up overpainting the red and blue.  It looks alright.  

 

 

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Down to the wire on this one.  I will do a bit of weathering before I add the final pieces, name the propeller and the rigging for the tail.  Stretched sprue, btw...

 

49672126051_52664c59f4_c_d.jpg

 

But it is looking alright with the decals.  Nice and thin and nicely detailed too.  The Indian with the bow is especially pretty as are the pieces with text.  High end.  I am curious, however.  The colours on those roundels look awfully French.  Perhaps Paraguay bought up all the old French paint and so forth after the Great War?

 

The foot step for the pilot is brass wire...

 

49672412162_7a7aa51593_c_d.jpg

 

49672125971_de5a795f48_c_d.jpg

 

--John

 

 

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