Dstream Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 (edited) Hi all, I always liked the graceful lines of this jet. I grew up in Italy and in those years this aeroplane was a rather common view in the skies over there and it was also seen in occasions of visiting airbases and airshows. Its story is quite known and I am not trying to repeat it here. It just suffices saying that it was developed in years '50 by Fiat Aeronautica as a subsonic tactical jet under the lead of G. Gabrielli, who also signed earlier Italian designs like the G. 50 and G. 55. The Italeri kit is the only game in town in 1/48 scale and is a re-boxing of the old ESCI kit. I bought the box shown below more than ten years ago and it waited since for its turn to be built. The kit was nice for its time, but today it somehow falls short of expectations. Its surface is detailed with fine positive lines that only approximately reproduce the actual paneling arrangement. The interior too leaves much to be desired being basic and fictional. With the intention of building a decent 'Gina', I started with sanding and rescribing the entire surface. This is the first time I rescribe a model to such an extent and, as expected, it took long time with many corrections and reworks. This is an image during the process. Once liberated from the positive details and from the sink marks scattered over its surface, the graceful lines of the airframe can be better appreciated. The model reproduces the original shape reasonably well, the only exception being the underside area, below the jet pipe where the contour slopes up too steeply towards the jet exhaust. Such a shape is a feature that can be observed in the G.91 T. It appears that at Italeri they mixed up the two types. Also the pattern of the vortex vanes on the tail cone is incorrect for an 'R' type and again it belongs to a 'T' type. At any rate, being the vanes necessarily molded too thickly, I chose to remove them completely. At the same time, I also removed the rudder part from the vertical surface for better detailing. I tried to make them new out of a thin aluminium foil of a disposable food tray. I made them with an 'L' shape, like the real things, and then glued them with CA. I tried to make them of the smallest dimensions that I could, however, a certain size is necessary for handling and for providing a secure glue bonding. Perhaps till a tad out of scale, but better than the originals, in my view, and with the correct pattern. Once the dark colors of the camouflage will tone them down they will be acceptable, I hope. Now that the most tedious part is over, I will tackle the cockpit. For this, when I bought the kit, I also outsourced the very nice cockpit set of Neomega that seems to fit pretty well the available volume. That's all for now, any comment or critique are welcome. Best regards, Daniele Edited April 25, 2021 by Dstream Typos 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbudde Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 I'm in; yep the Gina looks always great . Even better than the F-86D. and very lovely in a Tigermeet or an old german dayglo/gray/green/ white alluminium scheme. Cheers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Great to see a Gina build!!! Will definitely be following your build. By the way...let me know if you need any info. I have a parts catalogue and the flight manual. Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Count me in as well please. I have one of these somewhere and also a decal sheet for a tiger striped aircraft. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Callahan Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Ohhhh a Gina, in the 70th they have flown above the house of my uncle, with my cousin i drove many times to Oldenburg air base to watching them, sooo nice rememberances. So, of course i have to follow your build report 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dstream Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 Thanks all for your messages! Alex, I will keep in mind your kind offer. Best regards, Daniele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Interesting - I really lile the G.91 - a pocket rocket with oodles of Italian flair. I was keen to do a Frecce Tricolori one in 1/72. But then I bought the Meng kit... Justin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Going to be following with interest. I have an ESCI version I want to build soon. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dstream Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) Hi all, I went on with the G. 91 embarking on a modification that I did not plan in the beginning. I already mentioned that the side profile of the kit is not accurate in the tail area, below the jet pipe. In addition, the diameter of the exit area is manifestly under sized. I realized that I could not avoid of looking at this detail, so I decided that I could not let it like that and after having eliminated the ventral fin, I opened up the fuselage cutting three longitudinal slits each side: With this modification, I could enlarge the exit area and at the same time correct the fuselage profile. To keep the desired shape, I inserted plastic wedges into the slits. This how the fuselage appears after the surgery: Then, I faired in the parts and reestablished the roundness of the belly by an application of Milliput: Now, I have to refine better the external surface and create the supports inside for a new larger jet pipe. Meanwhile, I played a bit with the bays of the landing gears that are quite void of details. Looking at pictures of the real thing, I could see that these bays are filled with an intricacy of wires, pipes and devices that were beyond my possibilities to reproduce. Therefore, after having rebuilt frames and stringers, I threw in some metallic wires and some fictitious components just to give the impression of a busy interior: This is after a layer of primer to check the overall effect: This is it for now, thanks for watching, Daniele Edited June 14, 2020 by Dstream 21 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Great progress!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Looks to be an identical moulding as the ESCI, so taking notes. W hat diameter pipe did you use the enlarge the exhaust? Very nice work so far 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dstream Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 (edited) Thanks for your kind feedback, gents! 22 hours ago, bar side said: Looks to be an identical moulding as the ESCI, so taking notes. W hat diameter pipe did you use the enlarge the exhaust? Very nice work so far As far as the diameter of the jet pipe is concerned, from pictures I derived that the diameter of the pipe should be about 9 mm in 1/48. So I took the Evergreen tube closest to it which was 9.5 mm,. Considering that I might want to file it down a bit to reduce its thickness, I thought it should be good enough. However, I wanted the diameter of the fuselage a bit larger because there is an annular gap between the pipe and the fuselage. I then wrapped aluminium tape around the plastic pipe to enlarge it to 10,5 mm and I used this one for forming the fuselage. Best regards, D. Edited June 15, 2020 by Dstream Decimal point added to mesures. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbudde Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Yep, that looks fine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dstream Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) Dear all, lot of modifications are involved with my build of the G. 91 and the work is proceeding slow. Slowly but surely, these are my small progress so far. On the interior side, this is the way I have finally arranged the new jet pipe. Clearly, I will have to trim its length before gluing it. The inner walls of the air intake presented the sharp corners of the gun bays that looked ugly when seen through the intake opening. Hence I smoothed the interior with some milliput. This is the fit check of the landing gear bays. I provisionally painted them green, as seen in other models on the web. However, I could not find a single picture that shows this color, on the contrary, the ones that I have found show a gray interior. Therefore, I will remove the green paint and apply some kind of interior grey. Finally, I started painting the Neomega resin cockpit which is very nicely done and detailed and it fits perfectly the ESCI/Italeri plastic. That's all for now, any comment, critique, suggestion are welcome, best regards, Daniele Edited July 11, 2020 by Dstream 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dstream Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 After lot of preparation, I just started to populate the interior of the fuselage. This is the Neomega cockpit and the part that makes ceiling of the air intake. I removed the coaming above the IP which will be replaced by a resin part. This is how it looks once the fuselage will be closed. I am very pleased with the Neomega parts. I definetively would recommend this set to those interested in building this kit. Now, the LG bays need to be finalized, Best regards, Daniele 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Very nice progress! Neomega delivers quality nearly everytime! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Nice cockpit, well painted. I might have to get one of those. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Hi Daniele, any updates? Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Scrapiron Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Looks like you have the interior all taken care of based on your post back in July. We happen to have a G.91 fairly close by that I photographed a few years back. Thought maybe some bit from my pics might provide some detail that you or @bar side can use in your projects. Fiat G.91 “Frecce Tricolori” at the Museum of Flight - - - - - - - - I know there are reference pics out there, but hopefully these can be of some use/inspiration. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dstream Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 On 10/4/2020 at 12:01 AM, coneheadff said: Hi Daniele, any updates? Alex Dear Alex, the build is on hold since my summer break, but it is my intention to restart it soon. I am ready to close the fuselage halves. Cheers, D. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dstream Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 On 10/4/2020 at 7:27 AM, Ol' Scrapiron said: Looks like you have the interior all taken care of based on your post back in July. We happen to have a G.91 fairly close by that I photographed a few years back. Thought maybe some bit from my pics might provide some detail that you or @bar side can use in your projects. Fiat G.91 “Frecce Tricolori” at the Museum of Flight - - - - - - - - I know there are reference pics out there, but hopefully these can be of some use/inspiration. Thank you so much for posting these pictures! Indeed, there are a lot of useful details. This is one of the pre-series aircraft that were converted into the original 'PAN' version for the Italian aerobatic team. Hope to use them soon when I will re-start my build. I have never visited it, but the Museum of Flight must contain an amazing collection. Cheers, D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 2 hours ago, Dstream said: Dear Alex, the build is on hold since my summer break, but it is my intention to restart it soon. I am ready to close the fuselage halves. Cheers, D. Great! Looking forward to see your next steps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dstream Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 (edited) Hi, after a long iatus, where I was engaged in other modelling activities, I am coming back with this build. Seen that Kinetic is about to release a new 1:48 G.91, I thougth that I better try to finish mine before it becames obselete. I completed the internals of the fuselage with some additions in the in the rear to support the taipipe. These are the parts before closing: Having added several new parts and having modified the parts extensively, the fuselage halves needed some persiasive means to be mated correctly: Finally, the fuselage is buttoned up: This is how the new beefed up profile of the tail area and the tailpipe zone look now (compare with the pictures posted above by @Ol' Scrapiron😞 I used Milliput extensively to reconstruct the modified areas and it worked very well. This is the area of the main gear bay with the slots for the airbrakes. Here, I had to implant sections of plastic channel profile to redefine the slots: Finally, an overall view of the modified underside. Now the tail bottom fin needs to be built and added. Still plenty of work to do. That is all for now, I hope you like it. Any suggestion is appreciated, best regards, Dan Edited April 25, 2021 by Dstream 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Great to see you back on this build Dan and awesome progress! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Good to see this back on the go. I rushed ahead & did mine without half the careful attention you are giving yours. She came out ok, so to give you a bit of encouragement this is how a basic one turned out 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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