Heather builds Italy's "me too" contingent

[Heather Kay]

I asked the question in the chat forum, but I've not heard one way or t'other, so I am lumping three Italian builds into one thread for the sake of my sanity. If this breaks a rule, I'll happily split them up in due course.

 

Right, while everyone else gets on and builds the usual suspects for this GB, I'm adding the Italians to my 1940 collection.

 

Wikipedia tells us: "The Corpo Aereo Italiano (literally, "Italian Air Corps"), or CAI, was an expeditionary force from the Italian Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) that participated in the Battle of Britain and the Blitz during the final months of 1940 during World War II. The CAI supported the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) and flew against the British Royal Air Force (RAF). The CAI achieved limited success during its brief existence, but it was generally hampered by the inadequacy of its equipment."

 

It goes on to say: "Italian dictator Benito Mussolini insisted on providing an element of the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) to assist his German ally during the Battle of Britain. On 10 September 1940, the CAI was formed, under the formal aegis of the 1a Squadra Aerea di Milano ("First 'Milan' Air Command"). Generale di Squadra Aerea Rino Corso-Fougier was appointed Air Officer Commanding."

 

Get more information on the wiki page.

 

The CAI fielded three types, all from the Fiat stable. Two fighters, in the form of the CR.42 Falco (Falcon) and G.50 Freccia (Arrow), and the BR.20M Cicogna (Stork) medium bomber. A couple of support and transport types joined in, but I'm concentrating on the offensive capabilities. The kits I have are varied and interesting, so let's take a look at them.

 

 

First up, here's the AML Fiat G.50. 

 

 

Being lazy, and not quite grasping the Italian air force markings yet, I shall be using this scheme. Note the date says November 1940, despite the G.50s being deployed to Belgium from 10 September. Just out of interest, the other markings in the kit are for Finnish aircraft, about five different ones I can make out! Must have had a Finnish fan at AML.

 

 

There's not a lot to it. Usual limited run style plastic, with a little flash evident. A vac-form windscreen, resin cockpit parts and some PE make the rest of the bits. I have a feeling construction won't take long, but painting will be a whole other ball of wax. Mmm, mottling in three colours... 

 

 

Mister Kit gives me the Fiat CR.42. It's a sesquiplane, although generally referred to as a biplane. I'm not arguing.

 

 

Again, not much plastic, but lots of struts. Only a tiny bit of rigging required, so that's nice.

 

 

Then again, there's lots of resin and PE to get stuck into.

 

 

I also note there's a fair degree of scratch building required. Looks like fun. Transfers cover two planes, only one of which fits the Battle of Britain period. Guess which markings I shall be using. 

 

 

Finally, this venerable box of tricks from Italaeri. For these reissue boxes, the company reproduces the original box art and uses the older form of their name.

 

 

1972, eh? Limited edition of 3,500, huh? Don't care. It's still going to be built.

 

 

Just look at that lot! I think it came in a plastic bag, but as you might imagine I've had it all out to inspect it. As you do. As far as I can work out, two planes are represented on the transfer sheet, but only one - happily, the BR.20M - fits the GB theme - I think. Again, my lack of knowledge on Italian markings bites me. I am sure I'll confirm one way or the other before committing them to the airframe.

 

 

Yes, raised detail, but it's nicely restrained. From the box I can build the straight BR.20 and the BR.20M which is the one sent to chilly Belgium in 1940.

 

 

Wow! A massive stand dominates the transparency tree. For a mould of its age, full marks to Italeri for making such a clean set of parts. 

 

Well, on the face of it, these kits won't prove too much of a challenge. Where I will be struggling will be with the mottled camouflage. I would like to airbrush the mottles, but will be prepared to fall back on the stippling hairy stick if needs be. I think this weekend before the GB kicks off will see me subject the paint mule to an intensive session with the Iwata and ColourCoats enamels.

 

[Stew Dapple]

Hi Heather,

 

Mottling with a decent airbrush and paints is do-able even in 1/72. Reduce the air pressure as much as you can and get in close. Thin the paint well. Good idea to have a mule to try it out on, too  

 

Cheers, 

 

Stew

[Ozzy]

Fantastic selection Heather.

[modelling minion]

Great choice Heather, nice to see the Italian contribution to .303 lead collecting being reproduced.

Having more than one build in a thread isn't a problem as far as I'm aware and has been done before, and they complement each other.

That BR-20 does look very nice.

[JOCKNEY]

Great choices Heather

Especially the BR20, look forward to seeing what you make of it

Cheers Pat 

[dogsbody]

I remember building that BR.20 way back in the mid 70's. I thought it was a great kit. I also remember Mum sitting at the kitchen table, watching me paint small green spots on the brown. It was also one of the first times I mixed paint to get a colour I wanted. Mind you, it was Testors PLA paint, applied with those cheap Testors paint brushes. It looked quite good to me and Mum. One of my better builds back then.

 

I bought this book a couple years ago. Quite interesting with some good photos and profiles.

 

 

 

I also have a fairly good collection of Monografie Lotnicze books on Italian airfraft.

 

I'll definitely be following this topic, Heather!

 

 

 

Chris

[stevej60]

Great to see more Italian's arriving Heather especially looking forward to the BR20 I tried to track one down but they are pretty scarce now and

very pricey.

[Tim R-T-C]

Looking forward to seeing this. The bravery of these guys flying biplanes against Spits is comparable to the Polish pilots of '39 and the Gladiator pilots on Malta. The fact they were doing it as a display of Mussolini's alliance to the cause and not in desperate defence just makes it baffling.

[alt-92]

37 minutes ago, Tim R-T-C said:

The fact they were doing it as a display of Mussolini's alliance to the cause and not in desperate defence just makes it baffling.

A fair bit of "What a mistake-a to make-a!" might have been heard in the mess room while drowning their sorrows in Chianti.

[FalkeEins]

2 hours ago, Tim R-T-C said:

Looking forward to seeing this. The bravery of these guys flying biplanes against Spits is comparable to the Polish pilots of '39 and the Gladiator pilots on Malta. The fact they were doing it as a display of Mussolini's alliance to the cause and not in desperate defence just makes it baffling.

...IIRC they only encountered Spitfires on a single solitary occasion (23 November)...didn’t stop ‘em claiming five shot down. ( actual losses, one Spitfire damaged). They had encountered Hurricanes on 11 November (the only other sortie during which they ran into RAF fighters) - 19 Falcos subsequently made emergency landings along the Belgian coast ( ten total losses)..

[PeterB]

Hi Heather,

 

Looking forward to seeing this. I have built a few Italian planes - currently have 3 on the go in the "Kit I built as a kid" GB. Like you I am using Colourcoats, but sticking with a brush as my airbrush handling is not up to motting in 1/72, I have a few reference books so if you need any info I might be able to help. I have quite a bit on the CR 42 and G 50 but not much on the  BR 20 in Belgium. I believe it was the usual Giallo Mimetico 3 upper with Verde Mimetico 3 mottle and a Grigio Mimetico undersurface initially, but when they switched to night bombing the unders tail and sides went black with markings painted out,

 

According to the list I have in an Italian Modelling mag article, you will probably need the following paints. 

Giallo Mimetico 3 

Verde Mimetico 2 or perhaps 3  for the CR 42 and G 50 and Verde Mimetico 3 for the BR 20

Marrone Mimetico 2

Grigio Mimetico

but you probably know that already!

 

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Edited July 9, 2020 by PeterB

[Heather Kay]

8 hours ago, PeterB said:

I have a few reference books so if you need any info I might be able to help.

Thanks Peter. I may take you up on that offer.

 

The CR.42 and G.50 will be built and finished with what’s in the kit. I shall follow the box art for both to a large extent. The BR.20 is a bit harder to pin down, and I’m not sure if the supplied "heritage" markings will suit a CAI plane, and the instructions regarding colour are very vague and misleading. More digging to do.

[Stew Dapple]

Heather, is there a set of markings for an aircraft with the number "4-1"? If so Scalemates lists that as an aircraft based in Belgium in 1940 so that would be fine - regarding the colour scheme, there is a colour picture here of CAI BR.20 - the usual provisos apply with regard to viewing old photographs that have been scanned and copied etc. but it does at least give an idea of the colours and the scheme. 

 

If you are having trouble with, or lacking confidence in, the markings provided, PM me.

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[Heather Kay]

3 minutes ago, Stew Dapple said:

is there a set of markings for an aircraft with the number "4-1"?

There is indeed! Whey-hey!

 

I just checked the destructions, and the colours for the 20M are (Italeri names) Sable base, Light Green mottle, Grey undersides.  That does match with what I expected.

 

So the bomber can also be built pretty much straight from the box, which is nice.

[Stew Dapple]

42 minutes ago, Heather Kay said:

(Italeri names) Sable base, Light Green mottle, Grey undersides

It's not obvious in the colour picture (until you see it anyway) but there is also a brown in the mottle. I don't think it's Marron Mimetico 2, it isn't red enough. It might be the photo but it could be Bruno Mimetico; if you haven't got that you could probably get away with Dark Earth...

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[PeterB]

Hi Stew and Heather,

 

According to the list I have from an Italian modelling mag, the BR 20 was only painted in 3 schemes. One was two shades of green as on the box art, one towards the end of the war was just plain green, but the most common one as confirmed in my various profiles seems to have been a mottle of either verde mimetico 2 or 3 (the list says 3) over giallo mimetico 3 with grigio mimetico undersides. As I mentioned earlier, some had the undersides etc overpainted black for night operations against the UK.

 

It is true that many Italian planes had a two colour mottle including either a marrone mimitico shade (there were several) or a bruno mimetico as shown on the Cant Z 1007 on the mag in @dogsbody's post but the BR 20 may not have had that. IPMS Stockholm recommend Hu118 or Hu119 for bruno mimetico which Jamie does not have in the Colourcoats range, although one of his marrone mims is a brown which perhaps might do. Incidentally I find the  old White Ensign Colourcoats Grigio Mimetico I have somewhat darker than shown in illustrations,but Jamie might have changed it when he took over the range. His grigio azzuro chiara looks about right for the SM79 I am hoping to build, but would probably be too light for the BR 20.

 

Somewhere on my computer I have an article on Italian planes shot down over the UK in 1940, preumably in daylight raids. I will see if I can work out where it is.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Pete

 

Later,Just found an article on the BR 20 by Richard Caruna in Scale Aircraft Modelling International (2003-03) and he  says the marrone mottling was on the planes in Belgium and the undersides were grigio azzura chiaro. I used to think Caruna was pretty accurate but I have seen quite a few posts suggesting otherwise so take your pick! This is probably the best option from another source.

Mostly green mottle but if you look closely some bruno mimetico there as well, but rather faint.

 

Pete

Edited July 9, 2020 by PeterB

[dogsbody]

I've just now finished going through the book I posted above, plus @ Ali D'Italia BR.20 books, plus 3 different Signal publication and could't find one profile for a BR.20 that flew from Belgium over Britain.

All I did find was this, in an old Profile Publication, No. 110 and it's basically useless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

[PeterB]

Hi Chris,

 

Yes, that is the temporary night camo they slapped on when they realised how vulnerable they were in daylight.

 

Pete

[Heather Kay]

Making a start on the Mister Kit CR.42.

 

 

Like most short run kits, I make a habit of annotating the instructions so I can find parts. I’ve already found some parts not mentioned, and others apparently mentioned but not existing. I’m supposed to scratch some parts, with rarely any dimensions to help out, but I am already erring on the side of "will I even see it later anyway" territory.

 

 

So far, this is the cockpit tub. Styrene, etch and resin. What a faff! About half the parts match the drawings, and almost none of the etched parts do. The seat frame and base don’t fold as they’re show at all. How does the harness fit? Anyone's guess.

 

Barely an hour in and I’m thinking I might shelve this build and wait for the Italeri kit later this month. Maybe I’m getting a bit too old and impatient for unnecessary fiddling about with invisible parts.

[PeterB]

8 minutes ago, Heather Kay said:

Barely an hour in and I’m thinking I might shelve this build and wait for the Italeri kit later this month. Maybe I’m getting a bit too old and impatient for unnecessary fiddling about with invisible parts.

Hi Heather,

 

I know that feeling well - welcome to the club!

 

Pete

[Heather Kay]

This will have to do.

 

 

A lick of grey paint and a bit of dry brushing will help.

 

 

Not so happy about the miscast cooling gills on the cowling. Of course I can trim them out and replace with styrene or metal, but  am I going to? Well, let’s see how fitting the other parts together goes before I make the decision on pulling the plug on this model.

[Stew Dapple]

Hmm, that was a sympathy 'like' Heather, some kits seem to want you to do more than I would consider ideal. Can't say I would blame you for shelving that one, but you will know best whether to push on with it  

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[PeterB]

Hi Heather,

 

Never built any Misterkits but I have seen mixed reviews. The Revell one is basic and I have no idea how accurate it is but it looks quite nice. The original one I built came with markings for a Belgium based BoB one - not sure what they include now. I am currently refurbishing it and there is a pic on my G50 build in the" Kit I built as a Kid" GB.

 

Pete

[Heather Kay]

 

Okay, some basic framing in the cockpit sides, the IP assembled and the tub fitted to the floor/lower plane. A lick of grey paint and a bit of detail painting, and I think that looks okay. Let’s get the fuselage joined up and see how things look. I expect some gaps that will need filler.

[Stew Dapple]

That's looking rather nice now Heather

 

Cheers,

 

Stew