Another ICM Fiat CR.42 CN Italian nightfighter

[dutik]

Greetings!

 

While we are close to the deadline I still want to throw my hat in the ring:

 

 

The reason is twofold:

First I am taking part at the "Made in Ukraine" GB over there at Kitmaker network. This GB is not about the hardware of ukrainian forces, but about every kit made in Ukraine. Any scale, any topic. You understand, this is another small effort to support ukrainian modelling manufacturers as well as the Ukrainians themselves. Maybe I will not finish the build until the end of November, but I am sure to meet the Kitmakers Network deadline at the end of December

 

Second reason is that I take part at another challenge at another modelling forum. My task is to succesfully take part at two GBs. If -if- I am able to finish this kit right now in November I have fulfilled this task

 

So this is a twopronged attack

 

What do we have here?

 

- ICMs excellent kit of the CR.42. Fit is gorgeous

- Eduards PE set for the CR.42. You don't need it. Most interior parts will become inviisible, ignition wires are better made from wire instead of flat PE, but there are some useful exterior parts in the bag: Fins for the bombs (OK, we don't need them for the nightfighter), actuators for the moving surfaces, some filler caps and other small stuff. Also a nice and prominent placard for the engine front. I've got it, so I'll use it.

- Eduards masks. Of course.

- Eduard seatbelts. An absolutly must-have, because there are no seatbelts provided in the kit. Nothing, even no belts prited onto the instructions to cut them out, which is odd, because ICM printed the pattern for the windshield masks onto the instructions. Eduards prepainted seatbelts are very nice and will enhance the look of the model in a great way.

- CMKs main wheels. Actually you may choose between two different sets: Non-bulged (Fiat G.50) and bulged (Fiat CR.42). The wheels are exactly the same, except for the bulges. Also much, much better than ICMs wheels. If you build a spatless CR.42 they are a must! And also nice at a model with spats on. Highly recommended!

- Lifecolor italian colours. Verde mimetico and all the others.

 

Regards!

- dutik

Edited November 14, 2022 by dutik

[dutik]

Flesh to the bones:

 

 

The cockpit is a gem Excellent fit and well-engineered parts breakdown. It's a maze of tubings, but thanks to ICM you only have two large side parts and a number of smaller crossbar installations. Also excellent location points, so alignment is no problem here. But - but! - don't forget to paint all parts first, or you will not be able to reach all areas. Painted the cockpit RAF Medium Sea Grey (Tamiya) and addet highlights with a light blue-gray Vallejo color. Wash is waterbased Vallejo (large bottle), so I didn't have to apply a clear coat before the wash. Chipping made by Vallejo silver paint applied with a sponge.

The Eduard PE is fiddly (oh, what a surprise ) but looks nice when applied. When using Eduards PE align the antislip floarboards right and left of the seat right to the seat pan, not the outer rim of the floor. The instructions don't show this very well. I've also cheated a bit: There is some styrene under the pulleys at the floor (to the left and right of the seat pan) as well as below the right dashboard. Just to have something to glue the PE onto the kit parts.

 

Regards!

- dutik

Edited November 14, 2022 by dutik

[Iain]

Great start Dutik...

 

Look forward to seeing this one progress!

 

Iain

[Fanes]

Fantastic - another Falco!

[dutik]

Immediatly before closing the fuselage:

 

 

Front is to the left.

 

 

The PE adds a lot. You can even read the dials. At least until now, before the fuselage will be buttoned up. The only drawback are the upright ribs to the right interfering with the lower righthand desk. I had to cut out a bit from one of the ribs to make the tub fit. Eduard was so kind to add some spare handles, levers and so on to replace small parts that got tweezer launched during the build. Which of course happened. But no problem - there are enough to get the job done

 

I'll add the seatbelts after closing the fuselage. The headrest is not rigid enough as long as glued only to one fuselage half, even with some extra support provided by styrene bits. I have to apply some pressure while gluing the seatbelts on as well as I want to avoid of the seatbelts popping off when I have to squeeze the fuselage halves together while gluing them together. So after the fuselage has been closed. What I did a few minutes ago. Now it is resting at the workbench over night to let the glue cure fully.

 

Engine is under construcktion now.

 

Regards!

- dutik

[Out2gtcha]

Great start! 

 

I do so love the new gen ICM kits, they are indeed amazing. I also need some Italian fighters too....

 

 

Looking forward to more! 

[Dpgsbody55]

Looks good.  I did the same as you, adding the seat belts after closing up the fuselage.  It was a little fiddly, but not too bad, and turned out well.  I really enjoyed this kit.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[dutik]

ICM missed the spark plugs. The hole on top of the cylinderheads is for the fuel injection. @Fanes got it right with his wonderful build. I take my time to drill the holes and build up the ignition wires now. Not to forget to add the fuel lines.

 

Also found another area that needs a little bit of extra detailling. The covers at the roots of the tail surfaces show a number of large and prominent rivets, missing on the kit parts. I will fix this too. Every else looks fine right OOTB.

 

BTW, Vladimir "Popski", founder of Popskis Private Army (the smallest independent unit of the whole British 8th Army in WW2) described in his memoires, how two CR.42 ripped up a whole LRDG column he wa assigned to. The Fiats just picked one truck afther another, making breaks only to refuel and rearm at an nearby Italian airfield  that got raided by LRDG the night before. Mayby the pilots having an espresso or another too   The LRDG lost 8 trucks out of 11 and some crews got wounded too... Just by two unopposed obsolete CR.42 aircraft.

 

Regards

- dutik

 

p.s. Popski also had the chuzpe to write a letter to the Italian Commander in Libya signed as: Officer in Command, Forward HQ of British Forces in the Cyrenaica

[dutik]

Fit of the lower wings and tailplanes is good. Did not face problems here compared to other modelers. It is all about the alignment tabs. They are a bit too long and do not fit into the slots of the fuselage. Just cut off a little bit of front and rear end of the tab and the fit will be fine. I had just a very small gap at one wingroot that got filled with a small piece of strip styrene. It is also located in the whole for the wing struts so it will remian invisible.

 

 

 

Added a bit of putty to the ends of the tailplanes because I want to show the moving surfaces deflected. If you want to glue the moving surfaces in neutral position there is no need to do so.

 

Prepared some more parts:

 

 

Enjoy!

- dutik

[dutik]

Ready for some coats of paint:

 

 

At least a part of the aircraft.

 

Regards

- dutik

 

Err, yes. The primer revealed a number of flaws. So back to putty and sanding...

Edited November 27, 2022 by dutik

[dutik]

 

Axis war efforts were always "too little, too late". Well, I think I caught that spirit in the best possible way, so I'd call this a full success. Finished!

 

 

Not bad so far. I've managed to build a whole airframe and started painting too within just a month! Amazing!  

Much faster than any other of my building efforts. I'll stick to it and get it ready within December. December 2022

White paint is Real color, while I'll use Lifecolors italian paint range for the camouflage.

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

@LSP_Kevin

If you have to close the GB please move this one into the ordinary Work in Progress thread. I want to go on with this build.

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

Thank you, @LSP_Kevin

 

Sitrep:

Still looking for suitable mini hexnuts to go ahead with the engine. Spark plugs are one thing, but fuel lines were also secured by nuts to the cylinderheads and not simply plugged in. Not to mention the connection between different fuel line parts. But I've mostly used up my stores of hollow resin hexnuts, which are also no longer available (CMK back then, I guess). Only solid ones available, with a bolt inside. Not useful here. I also feel not inclined to cut hex strip styrene in slices and to drill holes inside. That's monkey business. So looking for an european supplier of miniature hexagonal nuts. Preferably inside EU (yep, I know about the US located suppliers, but shipping and VAT are prohibitive). Well, M1 nuts are a rare breed. I've got some of them, but they have wrench sizes larger than 2 mm. Money wasted, too large for a tiny kit engine. Waiting now for another batch from another supplier who offeres wrench sizes down to 1 mm. We shall see if they will suit my demands...

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

Got 'em!

 

 

A whole selection of miniatur brass hexnuts made in Germany.

 

 

www.minischrauben.com

 

Nut widths of 1,5, 1,3, 1,0 millimeters. There are also large hexnuts, but I was looking for the very small sizes for the detailling of lines, fuel lines, brake lines, oxigen lines, you name it. Glamour shot:

 

 

The mini hex nut (1,3mm here) is located at the cylinderhead an the 3 o'clock position. Time to go ahead with the remaining ignition wires and then the fuel lines for each cylinder head

 

Regards

- dutik

[Dpgsbody55]

Nice to see this one still progressing.  I'm looking forward to see what you do with the engine. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael