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1:32 scale Ansaldo A.1 'Balilla'


sandbagger

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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

 

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Edited by sandbagger
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jdTed06.jpgHi Mike,  

I'm certainly a fan of your talented builds on LSP.  I hope I'm not intruding by posting a few pictures I took while working in Roma a few years ago.  The Museum in Vigna di Valle is one of my favorites.  I hope these might help you?  f3UuCIV.jpg

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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

 

engdone1.jpg

 

engdone2.jpg

 

engdone3.jpg

 

engdone4.jpg

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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

 

pitprep1.jpg

 

pitprep2.jpg

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Yes, this kit really goes all-out, but it's really hard to fault the level of detail in it.  Looks great coming together, you're not the first person to report about the front bulkhead being too wide for the photo-etch, so looks like it's a kit issue to watch out for.

 

 

 

Matt 

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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

 

pitprep3.jpg

 

pitprep4.jpg

 

pitprep5.jpg

 

pitprep6.jpg

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