ICM 1/32 Fiat CR.42 Falco

[stona]

I've fixed the engine to the fuselage and built most of the nose around it, just a few cooling 'gills' to add. This was a good fit but slightly dodgy engineering. Attaching various parts to little protrusions on the rocker covers is fraught with danger!



Terrible photo, but you get the idea.

Next up will be the wings, all of them.

 

[stona]

A bit more progress.

I've got the fuselage/engine/lower wing assemble primed. The upper wing and all the struts and other bits and pieces are separate.



Having never built a biplane I'm going with the method I think will work best. I intend to paint this part separately from the upper wing and then do the final construction at the end. It means attaching the struts and upper wing with CA glue and it means I'll be cleaning paint of the attachments prior to glueing to make it work, but it seems a lot easier than trying to paint the model with the upper wing attached. The mottle requires the airbrush to be close and perpendicular to the surface of the model, impossible in some areas with both wings on. If I attempt it I will end up with inconsistent mottle and blurry edges/overspray.

I've applied my 'real man' principles. A real man could easily get in between the wings and between the upper wing and fuselage of the real aeroplane with a spray gun. I can't do it on the model with an airbrush

 

[stona]

Ooops!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking good Steve. I don’t think you could get the wings painted any other way.

 

[Jakko]

I've applied my 'real man' principles. A real man could easily get in between the wings and between the upper wing and fuselage of the real aeroplane with a spray gun.

That second sentence is not what I expected to follow from the first

 

[Neil Merryweather]

That second sentence is not what I expected to follow from the first

me too

 

[stona]

I have been making some slow progress with this!

The major construction is done and I have masked the tactical and some national markings before completing the underside painting, which didn't look that different to the primer. I have just applied the first layer of the first camouflage colour, which forms the base of this camouflage scheme.



This will receive some post-shading, followed by my version of the two colour Italian mottle.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Slow and steady wins the race Steve. Looking good though.

 

[colin m]

Good work Steve, nice to see a big bi-plane being built.

 

[stona]

This was fun!

I've ignored the instructions and gone with a composite of various schemes I've seen, particularly those on aircraft that came down in the UK and those operating against Malta in 1940.

 

[BarryW]

Wow, that looks great Steve. Superb job and great airbrush control.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Wonderful stuff. As Barry says, great airbrush control.

 

[yak face]

Looking stupendously good steve , excellent splodging that man !

 

[Mark1]

Nice.

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Yup

 

[papa 695]

Very nice

 

[adt70hk]

Steve very well done indeed.

ATB.

Andrew

 

[stona]

Decals have been applied this morning and are currently under their first treatment of Microsol.



There is no manufacturer mentioned on the decal sheet(s) so they maybe ICM's own. They are very much like Cartograph decals to deal with. The carrier film is very light, so not too much poking and prodding, but they laid down very well. That's just as well because on a first application they seem fairly impervious to a setting solution!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looks even better with stickers Steve!

 

[stona]

These aircraft all seem to have had a really flat finish, not the more satin finish of British and German aircraft. The only really flat varnish I had was the W&N Galleria flat varnish (which really is matt, unlike some I could mention) but that looks a bit the worse for wear, having sat in a cupboard for a long time. I've decided not to risk it and will continue in a couple of days when a new bottle arrives!