Jump to content

1/48 Italeri Fiat CR.42, Swedish Air Force J 11


Recommended Posts

After my Swedish Vampire follows another perhaps pretty odd Swedish Air Force subject.

51952483838_fb0420bc19_c.jpg
During the late 30s, SwAF were desperately seeking for new fighters to replace the ageing Gloster Gladiators. Vultee Vanguards and Seversky EP-1s were on order, but most of the Severskys and all Vanguards were were cancelled after the breakout of the war. The only country willing to sell fighters were Italy. And so, the Gladiators were replaced by another biplane; The Fiat CR.42 (J 11 in Swedish service). This one was based at F 9 Wing in Gothenburg, sporting the fighting wasp, the symbol of the 3rd division.

51951469302_5324d4587c_c.jpg

Just a few years later, the Fiats were replaced by more modern fighters, such as the Reggiane Re.2000, and, especially, the Swedish "Wooden Wonder" FFVS J 22. And just ten years after the introduction of the Fiats, these pilots were flying De Havilland Vampires!

51952412686_e8abdcb2e4_c.jpg

The model is built almost OOB. I just had to modify the air intake below the propeller a little and added seatbelts and some details on the engine. Having built the 1/72 edition, I found this more difficult. The upper wing was a nightmare, but after hours of fettling and dry-fitting I made it. On the contrary, rigging was perhaps the simpliest possible for a biplane!

51951428757_e7e7e36fc0_c.jpg

I painted it with the wonderful Mr. Paint colours. Wonderful to use, but a challenge to get the right colour match. For instance, the Italian yellow looked far too yellow and had to be mixed with German Sandgelb.

51952483768_6fa0ea6a3b_c.jpg


But after all, a fun build of a seldom seen WWII fighter, and a nice colour spot in my collection!

  • Like 57
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks! You bet they were - especially since these were based in Kiruna in northern Lapland in the winter of 1942 - onet of the coldest winters in Sweden during the 20th century!

Here is a picture: http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/images/j11_5.jpg 

These were later painted in winter camouflage like this:

http://img.wp.scn.ru/camms/ar/123/pics/90_6.jpg 
 

Edited by Bjorn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...