Heather builds Italy's "me too" contingent

[PeterB]

Hi,

 

In my G50/MC200 builds I went with a lemony yellow - Hu99, but I did wonder if it should be Giallo Mimetico 1 which in my old version of Colourcoats is more like Hu24 Trainer yellow.

 

Happy birthday Giorgio - I was hoping you might pick up on this thread.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[Heather Kay]

20 minutes ago, PeterB said:

In my G50/MC200 builds I went with a lemony yellow - Hu99, but I did wonder if it should be Giallo Mimetico 1 which in my old version of Colourcoats is more like Hu24 Trainer yellow.

My limited understanding is it was a paler yellow than Hu24, which is quite orangey.
 

According to my reference: "These 'tactical markings' were painted in temporary yellow paint of German origin, suggesting it could have been RLM 27 Gelb, rather than the more usual RLM 04 Gelb. The paint itself was easily removable and not very resistant to weathering, as it was later confirmed when the British captured a CR.42, and were able to remove the yellow paint from its nose without having to retouch the original underlying Italian camouflage paint."

 

Oh, and a happy b'day to Giorgio! I’ve reached an age where I’ve stopped remembering my birthday.  

[PeterB]

Hi Heather,

 

I am the same on birthdays - should have said GM2 not 1 and looking at the tin it is quite lemony in the White Ensign version, but Luftwaffe paint makes sense in this instance.

 

Pete

[Heather Kay]

A delivery from the Big H this morning.

 

 

Looks like the Cicogna's internals are well catered for in that Eduard set. 

[Stew Dapple]

16 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

A delivery from the Big H this morning.

Looks like the Cicogna's internals are well catered for in that Eduard set. 

 

That's going to keep you busy for a while  

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[giemme]

1 hour ago, Stew Dapple said:

That's going to keep you busy for a while  

Definitely! That's a lot of PE!  

 

Ciao

[Heather Kay]

I look on it as a challenge. I probably won’t use all of the interior, but as I’ve paid for it I really should!

 

What's more important is it adds some detail, like the generator, doors and access steps (if I want to pose things open) and much better cockpit detail. It will lift the kit in ways my originally planned basic scratchbuilding would never manage.

[Heather Kay]

I must be insane! 

 

I thought it might be fun to make a start on the upgrades to the BR.20. I got the box from the shelf, opened the PE set and started to try and interpret the Eduard instructions.

 

 

Two densely-packed sheets of parts. Some of the bits are very small indeed.

 

 

Some plastic must be sacrificed. Don’t worry, because there are two very flimsy PE parts to replace the nice solid and rigid floor...

 

So far, I’ve assembled the flight deck seats. I have had to step away from the bench to breathe again. Still to fit are the belts and details that amount to the adjustment controls. That propelling pencil has a 0.5mm lead in it, just for scale.

 

Reading further into the instructions, I noticed some detailing provided for the various machine guns. Then I looked a little harder.

 

 

See them thar grille affairs? Well, they are replacement MG barrels. Somehow, one is expected to roll them into a sub-millimetre diameter. Then, if the destructions are to be believed, these actually replace the moulded barrels. I think not. Even assuming I can roll the brass doilies to a suitable diameter, no styrene barrels will be harmed by sharp implements. No sirree, Bob!

 

I rather think some of the sub-atomic scaled parts will be conveniently ignored. If I manage to separate them from the fret, the merest hint of breathing near them will likely blow them into the stratosphere. Best to pretend they don’t exist, I think.

 

Like I said, I must be insane.

[Heather Kay]

After some breathing exercises, and application of extreme magnification, not to mention topping up supplies of patience, I approached the bench once more.
 

A while later, though time appeared to dilate so I’ve no idea how long it took, this appeared… 

 

 

It is very flimsy. I’ll need to find a reinforced container for it to live in until I’m ready to dare painting it. I don’t think it would survive first contact with a paint-loaded brush, so it’s going to have to be airbrushed. On a very low pressure to stop it blowing away.

 

As expected, things like rudder pedals - impossibly tiny brass origami even while flat - have been ignored. I’ve got several infinitesimal levers to stick somewhere near their slots, but even under magnification, the whole thing just becomes a brass-coloured splodge and any location points just vanish.

 

Anyway, that’s the flight deck more or less assembled without too many tears being shed.

 

 

The kit parts for the interior have been under the saw. I couldn’t immediately see how a paper thin brass etch would attach to the styrene with a butt joint. So, I repurposed some of the excised plastic as a ledge for it to sit on. I hope I can do a similar job for the rear section, though it is dropped like the real thing.

 

At this point, before the gibbering got out of control, I laid my tools down and floated away from the bench...

 

 

[stevehnz]

Looks great, comes across as scary as hell. I'll keep an eye on this. Carry on.

Steve.

[dogsbody]

3 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

I must be insane! 

 

40 years ago, when I first started working at the plant, there was a small sign someone had stuck up on the lunchroom wall. 

 

It read:  You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Work Here, But It Helps

 

Maybe that applies to this hobby?

 

 

 

Chris

 

[Stew Dapple]

Heather, are you aware that you have left one of the throttle levers in the advanced position?  Only kidding!

 

That's an excellent effort on the etched stuff, I'm never entirely sure how serious Eduard are, especially with some of the sets for older kits, it does feel like they are having a laugh sometimes. You've made a nice job of it though  

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[giemme]

11 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

 

It is very flimsy

But it looks amazing!    What did you use to glue it together? CA? TIA

 

Ciao

[CedB]

Ah, another member of the tiny, tiny PE club! Drives you nuts doesn't it?  

 

Great job Heather, that does look very realistic (or it will when painted).

[modelling minion]

That is amazing work on the PE Heather.

Its not something that I use that often except for seatbelts so to see that cockpit assembly and knowing that it is in 1/72 scale is mind blowing, and I don't blame you at all for leaving out the tiniest of parts.

[Heather Kay]

25 minutes ago, giemme said:

What did you use to glue it together?

Just CA. I toyed with using PVA to hold things in place with wriggle room, followed by CA to fix it. That might be a better way for the next stages.

[Ozzy]

Amazing work Heather, you must have the patience of a saint. 

[Heather Kay]

24 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

Amazing work Heather, you must have the patience of a saint. 

Nah, just rocking a natty line in white jackets where the arms fold round the back. 

 

I made the "mistake" of leaving everything arrayed in the bench after last evening's session. It felt rude not to at least complete the cockpit section.

 

The plan, if you can call it that, is to scrape away the rather rudimentary interior moulding, then fit the replacement parts to one half of the fuselage. This ought to protect the rather delicate parts better than rattling round the bench, and make them easier to paint. Then again, you’ll note part of the etched structure passes in front of a glazing panel, which will make painting in place rather amusing.

 

I couldn’t resist is a dry fit of where I had got to. By this time, the cockpit assembly had been glued to the kit interior parts, and the bulkhead details had been added.

 

I think this might work. It’s certainly a step up from the original kit parts.

 

Stupid phone calls, distracting me in the middle of a post!

 

 

Without the IP and control columns in place, it rather looks like I ought to fit the rudder pedals after all. I’ll think on that.

[Heather Kay]

I know. I should be working on the day job stuff. I’ve actually had a productive week on that, so I felt a day for my fun things was warranted. I’m the boss, so there. Besides, other life stuff has been happening, too. I might let you know about that another time.

 

 

Anyway, the bulk of the interior detailing is now done. With everything just plopped in for fitting, it looks sufficiently busy in there. I did fit the rudder pedals, but chopped off the foot loops. You can go too far, you know. Like the G.50, I added styrene blocks into the nose for the replacement instrument panel to glue to. The empty compartment actually had fuel tanks in it, which must have been a comfort to the crew. The navigator's station amidships has a couple of wireless sets, plus the access to the belly gun station, apparently know as "the jaw" because it lowered on a hinge mechanism. Don’t worry, there’s a ton of brass to go into that, and the nose.

 

I am contemplating whether to open the various doors in the port side. The PE set has details for doing that. I might just limit myself to adding the frame to the cockpit interior sidewall. I’ve got to pare away the moulded wind generator in order to fit the three-dimensional version made up from brass and plastic. The other thing I need to consider is how to fit the main wheels. The kit has an axle which is trapped between the two halves of each wheel. I’ll need to consider how to adapt the resin upgrades I’ve got.

 

Anyway, I’m tempted to get a coat of primer on everything soon. Exciting!

[Heather Kay]

 

Primer. I’ll get interior colour sprayed tomorrow.

[Cookenbacher]

Oh wow, that PE interior work is fantastic Heather, I'm dizzy just looking at it.

[CedB]

Seconded!  

 

Open doors sound like a great idea - it'll be a shame to hide all that lovely work.

[Heather Kay]

8 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

Oh wow, that PE interior work is fantastic Heather, I'm dizzy just looking at it.

I find I get dizzy if I look up too quickly with the head magnifier on! 

33 minutes ago, CedB said:

Seconded!  

 

Open doors sound like a great idea - it'll be a shame to hide all that lovely work.

Well, y'see, most of the detail work is in the cockpit, and will be visible through the canopy. In the back, there’s just the navigator. I’ll probably pose the "jaw" open. Actually, I think the rear door will make a nice feature.

 

*continues to ponder*

[Heather Kay]

 

The instructions say "light green" for the interior. I’m using bog standard RAF interior green.

 

 

I think the interior parts don’t look at all shabby. Some attention with a fine brush plus various paints will bring it all to life.

 

Thoughts have turned to the fuselage glazing. The moulded lumps suffer shrinkage in the centres of each pane, giving the impression of olde worlde shoppe window panes. I really don’t want to scratch build glazing if I can avoid it, but equally I’m not sure @Martian's superglue and polishing will work either. So, for the first instance, I shall sand and buff the glazing and see how far it ends up inside the widow apertures. If it looks horrid - which I expect it will - I’ll look at trimming each panel out of its back and making it a good flush fit that way.

 

Nothing is ever easy. That job will need to wait for a while. Since the paint booth is set up, I want to start getting paint on the fighters (and random Potez).

[TonyW]

That photoetch looks quite amazing.

I would be seriously tempted to make the plane as a cut away. The thought of all that fine work disappearing into the closed fuselage would have me in tears.