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Blink and you'll miss it -- 1/72 Fiat G.50, Airfix 1/72


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"Blink and you'll miss it" because I hope this goes quickly.  Having just come off two Yak-38 builds with extensive kit rework and scratch built detailing which together took about 12 weeks, I picked something with a low part count and that I don't feel compelled to super-detail.  Since the cockpit opening is so small, I don't feel an urge to work on the cockpit besides assembly. I'm just going to build and not over-think it, which will be a welcome break! :D

 

I did some research earlier in the week and figured out that the paint scheme that Airfix gives you is not correct for this aircraft (most probably).  I figured out through research and some discussion here:  https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235114273-fiat-g50-352-squadron-camo-question/ that it should be green and brown stripes (for lack of a better term) over tan.  Something like the build at this page:  http://hsfeatures.com/features04/fiatg50ws_1.htm  Although I don't know mine will look as good.

 

So here's the box:

 

nK99Tyv.jpg

 

and the sprues, after I started cleaning up parts:

 

Oa11WPu.jpg

 

This is a "Vintage Classics" release and the date molded on the inside of the wing is 1967!  I wasn't expecting it to be terrific.  It is workable -- the fit isn't terrible, but not outstanding either.  Some minor flash to clean up.  I am looking forward to this one, and I hope you are too!

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I only worked on this a couple hours yesterday, but as expected I had the body together by the end of it.

 

First I painted the interior.  I used RAF interior green, although it looks like the non-corrosive paint the Italians used was lighter than this.

 

Q0mPbnq.jpg

 

Even though the interior will be hard to see, I couldn't help myself and did a little silver drybrushing (which you really can't see at this angle) and made some tape seat belts that I painted with a Mr. Color Tan I have around.

 

uqXoMjt.jpg

 

Dry fitting revealed that the alignment pegs and corresponding holes were off by a fraction causing one half to be misaligned with the other half.  I cut the pegs off and made some tabs out of styrene to help strengthen the seams.

 

Ta da!  This didn't take long:

 

jTWarxw.jpg

 

But the devil is in the details and it took a bit longer than I expected to clean it up to a state I was happy with.  Actually I'm still working on that.  First, the fit of the wings on the body was so tight that it was pushing the wings out and down, removing the dihedral.  I filed the body until the wings fit on just snug without any change in dihedral.  Then, I found that the starboard wing root fit wonderfully, but the port had a step in it.  I filed on the lower part of the body until the wing root on the port side was acceptable.

 

This area behind the wing on the underside makes a bit of an inward "V" and has a step in it.  As careful as I was when gluing, I couldn't figure out how to avoid it.

 

W0Gu1kn.jpg

 

This is the area I'm still working on this morning.

 

There was a bit of a step between the guns,

 

3NGgsg6.jpg

 

But that was a surprisingly fast fix. 

 

Some trimming was needed around the wings:

 

K61dVoF.jpg

 

Worst of all was the step in the area behind the seat:

 

sJmzaST.jpg

 

A little putty evened that out, but it will need re-painting.

 

My hope is to paint today.  Ideally finish the top camo, but we'll see how long the seam fixing on the bottom takes.

 

 

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So the time for painting has come.  I had to fair the port wing root with putty because there still was a little step in it.

 

Ra2WUae.jpg

 

...and the bottom needed a lot of putty. :(

 

ISNhc4E.jpg

 

As I mentioned, the area between the guns came out OK

 

sFtG6WI.jpg

 

So here it is after spraying primer

 

CxyK6cM.jpg

 

Cy4hMix.jpg

 

All of the puttied areas turned out OK, so I'm happy with them.  I have an hour before a family obligation, so I'm going to try and get a little color on it before then!

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Lovely choice of kit. The detail in the office on the one you shared was mind boggling. 😳

 I’m glad you didn’t go to soo much effort as you really wouldn’t see it. 

great work on the seams, the only thing that kept jumping out was the step by the front combing in the cockpit. Does that get covered? I’m assuming it does as you’ve fixed everything else.

Looking fantastic already. I’ll enjoy watching this one come together.

 

 Johnny.

 

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18 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Lovely choice of kit. The detail in the office on the one you shared was mind boggling. 😳

 I’m glad you didn’t go to soo much effort as you really wouldn’t see it. 

great work on the seams, the only thing that kept jumping out was the step by the front combing in the cockpit. Does that get covered? I’m assuming it does as you’ve fixed everything else.

Looking fantastic already. I’ll enjoy watching this one come together.

 

 Johnny.

 

 

Thanks Johnny -- may not be as interesting as some of your threads... but I'll try! :D   I already took care of trimming the combing so it was even.  Thanks for pointing that out though... It would've been embarrassing to let that one get through to the end!

 

18 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Great start on this one and very quick progress too.

Chris

 

There's something like 18 parts to this kit, so quick progress is inevitable :)

 

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So, color me frustrated... I was excited to get the base tan (ish) coat on the top surfaces yesterday.  But, the family function we had planned started earlier than I thought.  Doh!

 

I first painted white for the white stripe on the fuselage.  I generally don't do decals for things like wide stripes because, frankly, painting is easier.  Unless its a weird color I can't match, of course.  After the white was applied, I masked the stripe and re-painted the black primer around it.  Then I remembered to take a picture. 🙄

 

jpi2K77.jpg

 

Then I painted the gray on the bottom, which is as far as I got yesterday

 

Hd6LSwV.jpg

 

I was all excited to paint the top surfaces tonight... then I remembered the masking that needs to take place.  Masking the world's smallest canopy.  😕 It took a long time. 

 

JFASkPJ.jpg

 

kUlkkTa.jpg

 

I also masked the leading edge where the top color wraps around...

 

8vYhdfL.jpg

 

...and that's as far as I got!

 

So hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to paint the top color. 🤞

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18 hours ago, T-21 said:

The engine and cowling is underscale are you using an alternative ?

I had read that in several reviews.  I can only find one aftermarket engine/cowl and it is 2 to 3 times the cost of the kit.  Plus overseas shipping.... so I'm probably going to stick with the kit parts.  The way I plan to attach them, they will be easy to replace if I can get my hands on an alternative that isn't outrageously priced.

 

12 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Glad you sorted the combing. “Not as interesting “ you say???

Well.. I just wish I wrote with some more... i don't know... "Pizzazz"?  Ten hour workdays don't leave me much time to be witty... so I'm usually reduced to "just the facts".

 

12 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Well I’m enjoying the build so there. 😍

Well, I'm sure glad!

 

6 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Looking good,looking forward to the upper colours going on.

Chris 

Me too!!!! Fingers crossed!!! :P

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2 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looking good! Can’t wait for the (top) colours to go on.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

Then your wish is my command!  :D

 

(Warning... the pictures' color balance is a little funny because the first few were taken outside where I was working in the daylight, and the rest are inside)

 

First I mottled Middlestone on the black.  I had to freehand it because my stencils are in the room where our niece's son was sleeping.  Which is OK... keeps the skills up!

 

jQdp7RK.jpg

 

Then I mottled some Yellow for a different tone, and some white for sunbleaching

 

kl3VAth.jpg

 

While the yellow was out, I painted the undersized cowl

 

hXKKL7L.jpg

 

Then I finished with a top coat of middlestone

 

UyWKjka.jpg

 

uloCCMg.jpg

 

Then I cleaned the airbrush and thought I'd try one mottle.  Well.. it's like potato chips, you can't stop at just one!

 

4Utw0pv.jpg

 

5vuBkQc.jpg

 

Keep in mind there will be brown mottle stripes as well.  I had to free hand them, but it's not so bad if you have patience, low pressure on the compressor and a thin mixture.  Oh, and get close!

 

Surprisingly that only took a half hour, so I suppose I could finish all the green tomorrow.  We'll see though...

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That looks super! I didn’t know where you were going with the sand/green/white combo so I was relieved when I realised it was just preshading for the sand! The green mottles on top look fabulous, looking forward to the rest of it.

 

Regards, 

Adrian

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On 8/31/2022 at 5:30 AM, AdrianMF said:

That looks super! I didn’t know where you were going with the sand/green/white combo so I was relieved when I realised it was just preshading for the sand! The green mottles on top look fabulous, looking forward to the rest of it.

 

Regards, 

Adrian

 

Ha!  I looked back at the post, and yeah... I didn't explain why I was doing what I was doing. I can see how people were thinking I might be off my rocker... 🤪

 

Work continues....

 

9OxV9dh.jpg

 

RipIgzC.jpg

 

I got more done than I thought last night.  I wasn't able to upload these pictures because we had an internet outage last night.  I hope to finish painting tonight.

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1 hour ago, opus999 said:

 

Ha!  I looked back at the post, and yeah... I didn't explain why I was doing what I was doing. I can see how people were thinking I might be off my rocker... 🤪

 

Work continues....

 

9OxV9dh.jpg

 

RipIgzC.jpg

 

I got more done than I thought last night.  I wasn't able to upload these pictures because we had an internet outage last night.  I hope to finish painting tonight.

Lookin' lovely!

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About an hour of work, and the main painting is finished!

 

hO5OlHo.jpg

 

I had a nice photo of the port side of a Sq. 352 G.50, which I used to guide my painting.

 

hoWfcF6.jpg

 

fgS9PAE.jpg

 

1st layer of gloss coat tonight before bed!

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