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Fiat CR-42 Falco, by ICM - Completed


Dpgsbody55

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More progress on this model to report.  As mentioned above, the fuselage is now together, plus a little more.

 

First up, the instrument panels had to go in.  This is the right side.

 

IMt3l5.jpg

 

The left side looks similar, and also the pilot's head rest needs to be fitted now.  Then the cockpit assembly can go in.

 

AkAKhC.jpg

 

I set the right fuselage half onto this for alignment purposes as the attachment points are a little indefinite.  Once dry, the next step was to add the last of the seatbelts.  I don't see a way to get them in any sooner or later in the build, but at least they look consistent with the drawings above, courtesy of MikeMaben.  Here's the shoulder belts set in place as per the Eduard instructions.  These are attached to the headrest.  They look a little short to me, but I've put them together and attached the top belt mount to the individual shoulder belts at the point indicated, so this is how they turned out.

 

yxsiG0.jpg

 

Then the right side fuselage half can go on permanently.  Here's a few views of that.

 

jkJrF2.jpg

 

p6P9VS.jpg

 

VNWtsT.jpg

 

ivNtyL.jpg

 

The top forward part of the fuselage contains the gun sight and compass which are held in a bracket.  This bracket will sit between the left and right instrument panels.

 

5M4vjk.jpg

 

In place, in the next picture.  Test fitting showed that the rear of this top piece sat a little low, so I added a small piece of 0.5mm strip to the top of the firewall which fixed that issue nicely.  I've also added the reflector glass which I cut from a spare piece of clear acetate.  It's not very clear in the pictures, but you'll all know where to look.

 

mt99P0.jpg

 

cZbsIW.jpg

 

V6SPxx.jpg

 

Lastly, it's now starting to look a little more like a plane.  While waiting for bit's to dry, I built up the lower wings and tail planes, and these are now attached.

 

ZcoY9X.jpg

 

The wing attachment is the one weakness I've run into with this model.  ICM only provide a small mounting tab which does nothing to help set the wings at the right angle.  They also don't fit as tightly as I'd like, so a small amount of fettling was needed to get a clean joint.  These planes had only a very small amount of dihedral, so I set the wings carefully making sure the joints top and bottom were even, and at equal dihedral.  I hope I've got this bit right as it will make a mess of top wing attachment if I haven't.

 

However, the next stage is to build up the engine, as well as add the control surfaces for the tail.  But that will have to wait.  I'm going on a road trip up to the north of this state for the next three weeks so I imagine the next update will be at least four weeks away.  I'll be taking my laptop with me so I'll be looking in periodically and as interweb connections allow.  They're very spotty in that remote part of the world.  Stay well, everyone.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

Edited by Dpgsbody55
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  • 1 month later...

So I'm back from my holidays, having got back home last week after having a great time.  SWMBO and I did a road trip up to the northern half of our home state and got as far as Broome which took six days driving to get there.  We also stopped at other towns on the way back after Broome which is a place I can highly recommend, including among others, Exmouth where we indulged in a scenic whale watching flight and also Carnarvon and the space centre there.  Carnarvon was very much integral to the success of the Apollo 11 mission, but to give you an idea of just how remote the top half of the state was and still is, it was for this mission that sufficient coaxial cable and satellite capability existed for television to reach the town.  It was from here in 1969 also that the first live international tv broadcast occurred to England that re-united British immigrants with their families in the UK.  Something we take so much for granted, these days.  Even into the early '60's, the best way to get to the towns on our northern coast was by ship, as the roads north of Geraldton were largely dirt or mud, and not well maintained.

 

While we were away, on a few occassions, I managed to get a sufficiently good internet connection to enable me to check up on the latest on this site, but only on about 4 or 5 days.  It's still remote up there!!  Since I've been back, I've managed to get only a few hours at the modelling bench, mostly thanks to the weeds that grew like triffids in the garden.  :BANGHEAD2::BANGHEAD2::BANGHEAD2:  I hate gardening and "Er indoors" has a stuffed knee which leaves me to do all the gardening...... :BANGHEAD2:

 

The plane itself looks only a little different, as I've now assembled the tail control surfaces and glued them in place, as well as mask up the windscreen and glue that into place.  The wing joints have been attended to, but these needed very little work.  I've also sprayed the front of the model with rattle can aluminium where the engine attaches.

 

AiiRwZ.jpg

 

Next, the engine has been 99% assembled.  There is one part left to go on before mounting it, which is something to do with the engine oil system at the base of the prop reduction gear. At least, I'm assuming that's what it is, as there appears to be lines which are not spark plug leads going to some of the cylinders.  These lines are catered for in the Eduard etch set I have and may or may not get attached depending on how I can manoeuver these around the push rods and cylinders.  I've also drilled holes for the plug leads, which attach to a harness at the back of the engine, and not depicted in the ICM plastic.  Here's the back of the engine.

 

9Ao5n8.jpg

 

Visible are the push rods and inlet manifolds.  The ignition wiring harness would go on behind the kit supplied engine mount which I won't be replicating, but I think the plug wires will probably go on anyway as on the real engine, these are "cable tied" to the inlet tubes.  Next up is the front of the engine.

 

ZpwldT.jpg

 

You can see the tab at the base of the reduction gear housing that the last piece (other than the exhausts) will go onto, but the Eduard etch piece goes in between these, if I can get it in place.  Here's a pic of the actual Fiat A.74 engine fitted to these planes which shows these lines.

 

cvjXR6.jpg

 

The only other parts not attached are the engine rocker covers which I think don't get fitted if you also want to fit the cowling.  I may have a bob each way here and fit most of the cowling and just leave one section open to view, so the rockers will go on those exposed cylinder heads.

 

That's all for now.  Maybe next time I'll have a finished engine to show.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

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I have this kit as well and look forward to starting it! I also loved reading about your travels, and have been to all of those places just three years ago—all wonderful! For example, we had emus walking through our camp near Exmouth after a day of snorkeling in the Indian Ocean. Anyway I digress. Your build looks really good! That’s some impressive work on the engine.

 

Cheers,  Tom

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9 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Nice work, Michael! Sounds like a nice holiday, too.

 

Kev

 

Thanks Kev.  Yes, it was a good holiday and we met some interesting people on the way, including repeatedly bumping into a couple from Queensland between Roeburne and Carnarvon.  I'm starting to think about doing a lap of Highway 1 now, having done most of it from Cairns southwards round to Broome except for the bit between Woollongong and Lakes Entrance.  However, that will have to wait for a couple of years

 

1 hour ago, Uncarina said:

I have this kit as well and look forward to starting it! I also loved reading about your travels, and have been to all of those places just three years ago—all wonderful! For example, we had emus walking through our camp near Exmouth after a day of snorkeling in the Indian Ocean. Anyway I digress. Your build looks really good! That’s some impressive work on the engine.

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

Thanks Tom.  I'm hoping to make the engine look a bit more impressive before I'm done.  Glad you had a good trip here.  We had Emus wandering about Shark Bay as well.  Lot's of wild life roaming about here, and often on the roads which is why you don't drive on country roads at night on this side of the continent.  I live in the northern suburbs of Perth close to a large lake, and you'll always see kangaroos feeding if you go for a walk through the adjoining park in the early evening.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

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  • 2 weeks later...

Engine work continues.  If you look at the picture at the end of my last update, you'll see the lines I've been trying to replicate at the bottom of the reduction gear housing.  The Eduard etch kit supplies these but they have a number of issues.  Firstly, they're flat and secondly, I think they're too short.  I also think now that if I were to use them, the time to install would have been before I glued the reduction gear housing to the front of the engine.  That way, the bending into place would have been easier.  But I'd have needed to paint them after installation, and I'm sure that would have messed up the rest of the engine.

 

UnuH7u.jpg

 

So I made my own.  There are eight lines visible in the pics I've found, one to each front cylinder, and one through to the back of the engine.  Whether the back cylinders have these lines I'm not sure as I've not found any pictures suggesting their existence.  And anyway, I don't think they'd be visible, so a waste of time and wire.  I used 0.3mm soft wire, and after much cussing, squinting and an almighty headache, here's what I've got.

 

7Gbt1E.jpg

 

EWImiO.jpg

 

Since they'll be seen through the open front of the engine cowling, I thought it important to add these in, and I'm reasonably happy with the result.  But after doing these, the spark plug leads were much easier, though I'm not quite as happy with those results despite taking more time with these so as to remain headache free.  On the real thing, the plug leads are run along the inlet manifolds and held in place with metal ties.  I found it impossible to replicate these ties to my satisfaction, so I've left them off.  The other thing, which is more a consequence of the ICM kit design, is that there's no collector ring for the plug leads to attach to.  That ring is in a part of the engine that is hidden from view in the kit, as ICM have chosen to replicate the outer skin which covers that part of the engine but ducts cooling air out of the aircraft.  I'm OK with what ICM have done here as the alternative in providing the parts to replicate the entire engine and it's mounting would have made the kit more complicated and expensive.  In the end, I've drilled into the back of the engine and attached the ends of my plug leads here.  Here's the results viewed from the front:

 

XJJFI6.jpg

 

I've also added an etch engine plaque.  Here's the back, which I'm fairly confident won't be visible once the model is finished:

 

W63spy.jpg

 

The next step was to add the exhausts, which are not quite Tamiya quality.  I had to wrestle the exhaust tubes into most of the cylinders and I found that the best way to get a decent fit was to drill out the holes visible in each head from 0.9mm to 1.1mm, though three needed further drilling out to 1.2mm.  Here it is viewed from the front;

 

Yhy0E8.jpg

 

and again from the back.  No rocker covers yet.

 

EdTZ4r.jpg

 

I've also been painting the engine cowlings in the colour I love (:BANGHEAD2:) painting so much.  Here's a sample.

 

etXdzo.jpg

 

Once I've got them painted to my satisfaction, I'll attach them to the engine before mounting the whole lot on the model.  At the present moment, however, I'm inclined to paint the rest of the model, attach the undercarriage, then add the engine.  As to the engine itself, I also only have the rocker covers to attach, but I think it's a case of attaching rocker covers or cowling, not both.  This being the case, I'll attach them only to those cylinders not covered by cowling.

 

That's all for now.  The next update should be showing a complete engine assembly, with cowlings.  Then back to the plane itself.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

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On 10/19/2021 at 8:17 AM, Out2gtcha said:

Great work Michael!  I've really got to get myself one of these kits, as the old Italian planes fascinate me, and it seems ICMs new gen of LSPs fits really well. 

 

I can recommend them.  They're well detailed but not complex, and the part fit is generally very good.  This is my second ICM build and I have their Gladiator in my stash to build when I get over my fear of rigging.  There's very little on the CR-42 so this is a test run.

 

On 10/19/2021 at 9:31 AM, Uncarina said:

Great work Michael! I’m taking notes.

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

Please do.  I'm enjoying building something a little different from the usual.  I just wish there were more Italian WW2 planes available in LSP.

 

On 10/19/2021 at 11:18 AM, KiwiZac said:

Simply amazing plumbing on a beautiful engine! When's the first test run video?

 

When I can get the crankshaft to crank and the pistons to pi....   errr...  do what they do. :lol:

 

23 hours ago, Flight Line Media said:

Awesome work, Michael! I look forward to seeing this build completed.

 

Me too.  I'm presently debating as to what might be the best point in the build to start painting.  Put the top wing together last night and presently working on the undercarriage.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

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I spent a very frustrating couple of hours last night putting the engine cowling together, but got there in the end and after finally getting the yellow colour set down properly and varnished.  The rest of the plane itself will shortly be going into the paint booth after having a few more details added as well as completing the undercarriage.  So now I have a model that is in a number of pieces and waiting for paint before I assemble the lot into something that looks like a Fiat CR-42.

 

The plane itself hasn't changed much since last seen, but now has a little extra etch added. 

 

WFhJzP.jpg

 

And a tail wheel.

 

besMjh.jpg

 

I'm happy with the gap on this part, as on the real plane, this whole part swivelled with the wheel when the plane tuned on the ground.  Next up is the undercarriage.  The wheels in the kit are a bit plain, so they've been improved with a little more etch.

 

FbYe5E.jpg

 

These have now been painted, masked up and assembled into the wheel pants and will be painted soon.  The wheel pants are to be camouflaged, with the bottom surface painted grey.

 

lXey8K.jpg

 

And lastly, here's the engine, wrapped up in it's cowling.  The cowling comes as a number of parts which I decided earlier would be best painted separately then assembled once the paint was set and varnished.  I could have added them unpainted to the engine then mask the engine itself, but the slightest bit of overspray would ruin the engine.  The chances of successfully repairing any overspray would be negligable, hence my decision to paint each piece and assemble.  There are three pieces making up the reap part of the cowling, the front ring, four service cowlings that fit between the front and rear cowling, and four pieces representing the cowling flaps.  I assembled them in that order, but had a real struggle trying to get the front cowl set in place and maintain a consistent and proper gap all the way round to sit the four service cowlings in place.  Then the carbie air intake can go on if it all lines up.  Here's the end result.

 

RokUHQ.jpg

 

As the above picture shows, the front cylinder heads were interfering with the fitment of the front cowl ring, so some removal of plastic from that cowl ring as needed.  I'm not sure if this was because of poor fitment of the kit parts or a mistake I made in assembling the engine.

 

GpQrB3.jpg

 

99JAzZ.jpg

 

The rockers (above) were added after the cowling was built up, as I was not sure which cylinder heads were exposed by the open service cowlings here.  Also, the tail of the carbie intake will be painted grey to match the underside, and I may paint the upper part of the intake duct in gloss black.

 

i4icxs.jpg

 

I've not yet added the two side service cowls.  The left side definitely won't be added as you can see I've fitted the rocker covers there, but I haven't yet made a decision as to whether or not to display the right side open or closed.  I'll see how it looks once the model is finally assembled.  With the rocker covers in place, the service cowling won't fit, so it's one or the other.  I'm presently patching up the cowling where the individual parts are cut off the sprue and have dabbed on a coat of Mr Color Lufwaffe yellow which is very close to the Tamiya rattle can yellow some of which will be decanted into a bottle to finish said patching.  To the naked eye, you can't see such a difference in colour that the camera reveals as the cowls have been matt varnished and the Mr Color patch is gloss, so this will be resolved  after patching and varnishing.

 

So the next should show off all the sub assemblies painted.  That is it will be painted after I get the yellow rattle can overspray off the other parts on the sprue......

 

pvf4bX.jpg

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

Edited by Dpgsbody55
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10 hours ago, dennismcc said:

Looking very impessive, the engine and cowl look great, will be interested in how you tackle the final assembly.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

This is the first biplane I've ever built which will be airbrush painted, so when I figure it out, I'll let you know. :lol:

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

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