FIAT cr42 n nightfighter in 1/40 scale

yak face

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After much farting about under the magnifying lamp ive finally got the belts done . I must hsve spent hours and hours searching the net for pictures of the seat belts and how they fasten but could only find the three pics on the ipms stockholm site . These arent bad but are a bit limited so i just had to make them as close to these pics as i could and use a bit of artistic licence. The seat has now been fitted to the pit and heres a few pics before its closed up and virtually invisible!! The fuselage is together and hopefully the build will pick up a bit of pace now, cheers tony43A4DC37-67F2-48C6-B158-E3DDD7A47E7B.jpeg1C41F7FF-7CE8-45C1-A81D-831AC134EC8F.jpegF2C5DF7D-1FCC-4BBD-B752-5C02AE5D07D2.jpeg0BB843AA-2D85-47AE-872A-0B650F1801FE.jpeg77C899E8-D126-4D42-B9A4-10D6B18E26EC.jpegEAE5F48C-7522-4E30-8734-9C01FF9E6F68.jpegFD627508-C856-4680-A1BF-30EE9720C997.jpeg249E5D64-9480-4630-949A-A47EAE3809DB.jpeg52C448FC-1795-4F69-9A93-F1C7336D10EE.jpeg
 

yak face

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Tailplanes are on , and ive scribed and sawn the rudder . This has also had a slot drilled ready for the actuator to be made and fitted. The same has been done on the top wing for the ailerons. The aircraft has a pair of prominent oil cooler exits on the underside of the lower wing fillet trailing edge . Of course the kit didnt portray these in any way so they had to be made . I heated a piece if plastic card over a candle then pressed a conical rotary tool bit into it to form a cone shape . This was then cut out and glued on . Next up is fitting the undercarriage legs , cheers tony2061AE3B-2FD6-46E3-8405-6122B7CB3866.jpeg4D6B5451-08E2-4B6C-A2CA-B8E3D2C16E6E.jpeg9A68A87A-8263-4BB9-8DF5-577F3FC721A4.jpeg19EACDA8-0C76-4055-8182-03EB27842475.jpeg
 

yak face

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Yep, coming along nicely Tony. Those belts look great.
Cheers joe , although looking at them in mega close up on here I might give them another coat of buff paint to smooth out the woven effect a bit ,it’s going to be tricky though as I’ll have to do it through the cockpit opening! Cheers tony
 

yak face

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Little bit more progress - the tailplanes are on with a smear of Vallejo acrylic putty over the joint and I’ve glued the undercarriage legs on. Once these have set I can fit the engine , cowling and windscreen , give it all a quick fettle ,then it can be primed . The raised rivets will be knocked back a bit with a light sanding and the primer coat will highlight anything else that needs attention. Once this is done I can then turn to test fitting the interplane struts and top wing . The top wing will be painted separately from the fuselage and attached last off .C293CD48-B962-4751-BA89-47DA09049C5C.jpeg
 

BattleshipBob

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Lovely work Tony, way outside my skills lol.

Excellent detail, everywhere!!

Bob
 

yak face

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Been adding the linkages to the trim tabs on the elevators from brass wire F66134D4-987D-46E3-9058-5027AA145D9D.jpeg57613313-6889-459F-9796-A69091CF4302.jpeg06F01EF7-27F4-4C15-BDE3-E655559A14B6.jpegand also made the horn linkages for the rudder , the wires will be added later. Ive now given it a coat of Halfords primer and sorted any bits that showed up , then sanded the rivets back a bit and gave it another one.Next i think I’ll attach the windscreen then have a look at the exhausts and collector ring.
 

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Hi Tony
I'm gobsmacked. Brilliant stuff. Inventive stuff. Using the nail jewels has worked a treat and your comment about sanding off your finger prints gave the missus and I a laugh. The belts look good - that tape worked well. The whole thing is coming together nicely and as Ian said it is fun watching this develop.
Jim
 

yak face

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I’ve cleaned up the windscreen a bit as it wasn’t the clearest moulding and dipped it In klear. While this is drying I’ve started to look at making the exhausts. The night fighter had the stubs extended to reduce the visible exhaust glow and keep it out of the pilots vision , there being at least three different designs . The aircraft I intend doing had them extended to just behind the wing trailing edge with a straight pipe turning down at the exit. After a bit of experimentation these were made using styrene tube heated carefully over a candle and bent to shape then cleaned up. The collector ring for the exhaust is just visible in pictures behind the cooling gills so I made this from a piece of sprue heated and bent around the nose section. This has had a couple of holes drilled in it and a pair of metal pins glued in to take the exhausts after final painting .8F87E5EB-42EB-4D00-AC14-0133E4855E0F.jpegB480FE34-46D9-4181-9905-ADBFE5AE5A98.jpeg97E4B276-1AD5-452C-80CF-30BB48ACDC0F.jpegB3A35291-5C64-441C-91ED-A0B4E79BDE77.jpeg2889F525-22FB-404A-B9A6-1A1844A03CA9.jpeg
 

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Excellent work Tony. Coming along fantastically.
 

yak face

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Cheers Alan , bit more done tonight . I’ve got the engine and cowling fitted after painting the nose section and giving the collector ring a rusty wash . The 66F8718D-8556-4556-85D3-952D041C65EA.jpeg4EB2089F-C525-4DEA-B8EB-3D4C65B490F5.jpegDA287284-EB76-459A-8A37-F4CB1FD067AD.jpeg479E8235-82C9-42E3-ACFF-18488E604539.jpegFC59124D-DF21-41C4-8F0D-921113D4431C.jpegintake under the nose can be tackled now . This goes under the cowling and runs along under the fuselage to behind the undercarriage legs. This is the reason I didn’t bother too much with the seam on the underneath of the front fuselage as it will be covered up. Problem is it’s slightly too short and the end is a square section , it should finish flush with the front of the cowling and have a semi circular section at the front end. I’ve glued a piece of large diameter styrene tube on to the front and when this is set I can shape it and cut it . I’ve also put the first struts on and fitted the windscreen . The screen was a strange one , having the raised lines for the frame on the INSIDE! I’ve painted these the cockpit colour and will have to sort the outside ones later, probably after painting.
 

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Ive been looking at the kit propellor , a thick ,very simplified hub and wide paddle like blades2A09DBF4-F86D-4913-9C05-E25BFC4FC0A2.jpegE00EF3ED-04A5-4291-8F09-6333D5A7C8B9.jpeg . I started by cutting about 2 mm off the back of the hub and shaping this between the blades. The front of the hub isnt a problem as this sits inside a recess on the spinner and wont be seen .After looking at photos of museum examples the blades were sanded to the correct shape . I may add a bit more to the hub yet , i just need to get a good close up photo to see what its like .F886EA78-990A-4936-8DA5-DFFD29BB94DB.jpeg
 

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Got the carburettor intake shaped and fitted and added a couple of extra bits ( vent pipe , circular thingy ). Ive also fitted the struts that connect the undercarriage legs to the intake , these were made from shaped plastic rod as the kit ones were a bit chunky and too round. I’ll be giving this a coat of primer to blend it in then im hoping to start on the interplane struts. Im undecided over whether to attach the top wing before painting or after , theres virtually no rigging on this aircraft so thats not an issue , its just whether im going to struggle to get the paint between the wings. AF6C1E7B-81E1-4871-81A0-F9EF076C411F.jpeg
 
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I've no experience in such things but your first instinct above was to paint the top wing separately. I usually find that going with my gut pays off.

Drooling over the added details by the way, can't wait to see the finished article.
 

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Hi Tony
Skill and patience to turn this into a great model. Amazed at what you have achieved.
Jim
 

yak face

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A few more little bits added today. Ive given the exhausts a plastic card collar near the end and drilled this for the stays which i made from bent brass rod. I also used this for the aerial attachment point on the fuselage top , the other end on the fin will just be glued into a hole ive drilled. Brass tube was again used for the twin pitot which was fitted into a hole drilled into the port front outer strutI. 7742C087-A107-466C-913D-B2C63FE7FC9E.jpeg183B029C-FE85-45FE-B879-5A782946B962.jpeg33EF5C52-B514-4814-8B77-27A4D144A9D9.jpeg7CA1E3A2-20D8-4695-B48A-7747F04E6D74.jpeg675AE94F-25F3-41D1-8EE9-F7BD35C1D591.jpegDA71D3B1-B861-4951-99AC-302C0F693AB4.jpeg've been test fitting and adjusting the top wing with lots of fettling to get a correct position . Once im happy with this the main airframe can begin painting. First thing up is the white band round the fuselage and while im at it i might spray the rudder white too and mask off the cross on the tail instead of using the kit decal. The top wing will be painted seperately and then ive got the tricky job of making masks for the fasces roundels, four of them!
 
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