Sandbagger Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 (edited) Hi all, I'm waiting for the display case to complete my model of the Nieuport 28C.1. Therefore I thought I'd start on a model that's been in my stash since it was first released. The resin model kit is one of the best made and presented 1:32nd scale WW1 aircraft kits around and is available from Richard at 'Aviattic'. This model will represent the Ansaldo A.1 ‘Balilla’, Serial No:16538 of pilot Tenente Leopoldo Eleuteri of No:70a Squadriglia, operating from Caccia, Padovano, during the October of 1918. He was the only pilot to shoot down one enemy aircraft whilst flying the 'Balilla'. 'Balilla' (little boy) was the nickname of Giovanni Battista Perasso, a Genoese boy who started the revolt of 1746 against the Habsburg forces that occupied the city in the War of the Austrian Succession. The legend is that while some Austrian soldiers were dragging an artillery piece along a muddy road in the Portoria neighbourhood of Genoa, the artillery piece got stuck in a moat. The soldiers forced onlookers and passers-by to dislodge it. Disgusted by the scene, Perasso allegedly grabbed a stone from the road and threw it at the Austrian patrol, calling on those around to join him. This act set in motion a sequence of events that eventually caused the Austrian garrison to be evicted from the city. Mike Edited December 7, 2020 by Sandbagger 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 Hi all, The web site at 'Aviattic' has a fully detailed build log (in Adobe PDF format) for the 'Balilla', which can be downloaded. It is extensive and details every part of the build. I have found a few moulded part numbers that don't match those in the build log, so these will corrected in my own build log. Section 1 covers the building of the S.P.A 6A engine, which I've now completed. Now onto the internals for the fuselage, which includes many minutely detailed photo-etch components, which will prove interesting to build, Mike 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted December 20, 2020 Author Share Posted December 20, 2020 Hi all, I've been working on the preparation of the fuselage internals. The fuselage is moulded as a single piece, so has to be worked through the available openings. The forward bulkhead frame needed to be reduce in width as the front of the fuselage was too wide to fit the photo-etch front frame. The supplied photo-etch sheet is, to say the least, comprehensive and highly detailed with many tiny components. Fortunately some parts are also supplied as resin, if you don't want the 'challenge' of building the photo-etch parts. Fortunately it's not necessary to build the aileron and additional flight controls, as both would be completely hidden under the pilot's seat and can't be seen. However the engine controls can be seen so need to be built. The throttle quadrant alone is made up of 15 separate pieces. This model is definitely not for the photo-etch faint hearted. Anyway, now it's on to the painting phase, Mike 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 She's looking great, Mike. That throttle quadrant looks like a much larger replica - I just want to put my left hand on and go!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin-42 Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 I have this kit, trouble is, all the builds I have seen are masterpieces! I am afraid to start it, and you are not helping! Keep it up, great to see another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 Hi all, Just a few progress shots of the internals of the fuselage. There's still a lot to do yet. Control rods and some wiring, seat harness, machine guns, engine fit, oil tank, gun synchronisation gear etc. Also the final finish and weathering. Mike 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted December 25, 2020 Author Share Posted December 25, 2020 Hi all, Dry fit for the engine and turtle deck, Mike 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 Hi all, The 'Aviattic' supplied wood effect fuselage and tail unit decals have now been applied. Not too easily carried out as the decals need to be accurately cut out from their sheets as they're not 'cookie' cut. They've all been gloss coated as the next step is to apply the 'HGW Models' nail head decals. Then it'll be adding the remaining decals and all of the photo-etch details, Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 Hi all, The model is supplied with decals for the various nail lines on the fuselage, produced by 'HGW Models'. These are intended to be applied onto the wood effect decals. These nail line decals will shown on lighter coloured surfaces, such as on the unpainted fuselage of an Albatros or Roland fighter. However, they are more or less invisible on a darker background, such as the wood effect decals used on this version of the 'Balilla'. Therefore instead of using the decals, I used a 'Rosie the Riveter' (0.75 mm) to create by hand the nail lines, using the decal illustration as a guide. Then wearing a cotton glove, dipped a finger into Dark Earth pigment powder ('Flory Models') and rub the pigment over the fuselage. Finally a light sealing coat of 'Alclad' Aqua Gloss (ALC-600) was airbrushed over the fuselage, Mike 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 Hi all, All fuselage decals have now been applied, including rib tapes for the fin and undersides of the tail plane and elevators. Now it's onto the various photo-etch details for the fuselage and weathering etc, Mike 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Hi all, Just a quick update. The 'Aviattic' fuselage wood effect decals have circular access panels printed, but these look rather ‘flat’. Therefore to raise these panels and make them stand out more, I added extra decals. I'm now working my way through the fuselage photo-etch, Mike 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 Hi all, The basic fuselage is now complete, apart from the windscreen and flying wire anchor points. The final display will be the aircraft undergoing engine maintenance, so the engine front twin cowl panel will be removed. I’ve added the coolant/vent pipe from the rear of the radiator header tank, made from 0.5 mm tube. Two bracing lines were fitted between the forward fuselage cabane struts and an inverted tubular ‘V’ frame, which was attached to the insides of the fuselage and over the top of the engine camshaft. This was made from formed 0.8 mm diameter tube with ’GasPatch’ resin 1:48th anchor points. A tubular retaining frame was fitted over the inverted ‘V’ frame and attached to the inside of the fuselage sides. This was made from annealed 0.375 mm diameter copper wire. I’ve changed the aircraft serial number by replacing the number 3 with the number 5. The supplied decal for the particular aircraft is 16538. However is seems the only ‘Balilla’ aircraft serial numbers recorded for No:70a Squadriglia were 16550, 16555, 16556 and 16558. Therefore my assumption is that this aircraft serial number was probably 16558, not 16538. Also this aircraft had two light coloured bar markings on the left of the turtle decal, just behind the cockpit. The exact colour of these bands is not known or if they were repeated on the other side of the turtle deck. Now onto the undercarriage before starting on the wings and rigging preparation, Mike 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Beautiful work. AW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 Hi all, Some modellers think photo-etch 'is your friend' :eek2: Here are the wing and strut rigging attachments plus the aileron control levers. All are photo-etch and with self-aligning 'hinged' anchor plates for attaching the rigging lines. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 Hi all, I've finally applied all of the required decals. Accurate cutting out of the decals is necessary for the wing coverings and alignment of edges is necessary. Slight overhang of dried decal was gently sanded away. Weather, although slight, was done using 'Flory Models' Dark Dirt fine clay wash, sealed with 'Alclad' Semi-Matte lacquer. Now it's onto fitting the photo-etch rigging anchors before pre-rigging is carried out. Mike 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtof P Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 Excellent work! I'm very impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TempestV Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 This is stunning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Thank you for sharing this with us. Both the model and the build are amazing. It's hard to tell where the museum pictures stop and the model pictures begin in the post above. I like the darker wood colours and the wood decals are the most realistic I've seen. I'm pretty sure that my parents had wallpaper like the upper wing in the kitchen when I was a lad though... Regards, Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 Adrian, You were lucky then - we had black and white gingham curtains 🥴 Hi all, An example of pre-rigging a twin flying wire anchor for the lower wing roots. A combination of 0.08 mm and 0.15 mm diameter mono-filament and 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm blackened brass tubes. All together there will be sixteen various types of hinged rigging anchors to pre-rig before the wings are fitted, Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 Hi all, Well that's the pre-rigging of the anchor points done now. Mike 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 17, 2021 Author Share Posted January 17, 2021 Hi all, Just a few updates. The lower wings with the twin flying wire anchors are fitted. Also two 'plates' have been made from spare photo-etch and fitted to the wing roots. These plates may have been step plates or access covers to the rigging anchors. I've assembled the landing gear (wheels only test fitted), but its yet to be weathered etc. The 'bungee' suspension cord is EZ white (heavy) line and bracing wires added but not yet tightened. I've added between the front and rear struts the axle restraining cables, made from 0.4 mm annealed copper wire. Mike 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 Love the rigging. Presumably to tighten it, you feed it through the tube at the end with the larger loop (top in your undercarriage pic) and then glue it and trim it? Regards, Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 18, 2021 Author Share Posted January 18, 2021 (edited) Hi Adrian, Yes that's it. The line is 0.12 mm diameter and the 0.5 mm diameter tube has an internal bore of 0.3 mm diameter, so can take two lines through it. The line is passed through the tube then through the anchor point then back through the tube. The tube is slid up to, but not touching the anchor point and thin CA adhesive applied to the lines at the opposite end of the tube. Then just trim away the residual tag of line. Doing it this way secures the line to the tube, but also allows the line to move and self-align in the anchor point, Mike Edited January 18, 2021 by Sandbagger 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 The Balilla is one of my favourite aircraft and this is a superb build on top of that. Really lovely work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger Posted January 18, 2021 Author Share Posted January 18, 2021 (edited) Hi all, Unfortunately at this stage of the build I've realised that two of the four interplane struts have no reinforcing rods, which are needed as otherwise the resin strut will bend and break easily. Normally I would make replacement struts from brass tube, but the end fittings of these struts are square in section, which would be difficult to replicate. The customer service from Richard at 'Aviattic' is second to none so I'm hoping he'll be able to find replacements for me. While I'm waiting for replacement struts I've started on the figures. The pilot figure is the ‘Copper State Models’ Italian flying ace (F32-030). The mechanic is the ‘Model Kasten’ mechanic from Set B., as is the ladder. I've altered the mechanic figure from German to a more generic figure and replaced the head with head H1 from the ‘Hornet’ bare heads-mature faces (HH/8) set. I may reshape the head as it seems rather tall? To stop the figure from falling off the ladder, I've pinned the right arm into the ladder to plank. Mike Edited January 19, 2021 by Sandbagger 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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