Regia Aeronautica GB II (06/15/09 to 06/15/10)

Thanks for the comments guy's. Best thing about the rings is that I did not use half of the sheet so I have plenty left for another build. Not sure if for this GB though, I have two other monster builds for GB's that I have started and need to get going on. If time permits I would like to build another Italian bird. Would like to take on one of the more crazy schemes with multi colours. Maybe I can borrow Wingus to get ahead.

Steve

I dunno SC? Betwwen all those years in the Army and working the grave yard shift I think I forgot how to sleep?  Even when I lay off the caffeinne I still am wide awake at nights. I get tired about 5 or 6 PM so I guess I am on Guy's schedule or timezone. Keeps Wingus and Dingus on there pointing toes!

 Still on the edge about the Aircraft. I know I want a desert scheme. Don't see any of the fancy smoke rings on these and a lot of the more colorful birds were in Sicily or Russian areas.  Guess maybe Ill keep it simple. Sandy with Green blots?  I just have a liking for desert stuff in the North Afrika campaign. Then as now it really isn't the most colorful of choices though.

I got plenty more builds to cover some of the other schemes. I read page 1 and I got credit for a kit I haven't even built yet! Hows that for fast!  Bet it's you know who's fault!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/428397/south_park_blame_canada/

 Hey now I know why He calls me MAC!

Welp, - good thing I painted the rudder white  as I will be masking the crosses. Decals just are a little to creamy colored. (We wont see sunshine untill May here in the PNW) So the plan is to mask them and lay on the base color. Aaron the Chi.202 will be green with tan splotches

The third down from the top. Oh yeah I replied back to your PM if you have not seen it.

Ok!

What's the consensus? this look ok?  I was kinda basing it off this Pic Guy posted. Tripoli 1941. Of intrest is the nose cowling. The band seems more yellow than white when compared to the cross and fuse band. Whatcha think?

 Fitting to model a junk yard bird with this kit eh?

I like it, the spots look great. I am going to have to brush mine on as I dont have the right tip on my A/B for "mini dots" I think you should letter your bird with "153" just like in the picture.

Maybe the yellow color is from fuel overflow

Sean- Good choicec on the markings!

Aaron- I like your leopard Macchi!  Spots are very well done.  You are turning this sow's ear into a silk purse my friend!

Looks like the RAGB is THE place to be!  Great to see so many people working on models and having tons of fun. 

I'm kinda torn on the color of the cowl. Leaning toward yellow. The pic Frank posted of the one he plans is a dirty white. Not sure what theatre they are in looks deserty but so does Russia in the summer.

Then I noticed his pic of the PC model he posted. Hidden behind the stuff is a color profile of a yellow nosed white striped MC 200. Can't make out the lettering for it's theatre either!. Clearly Frank may have the key to sorting this out.  Who's watching him today? Isn't it time for him to eat or something?

probably snowed in again.

 I plan on doing the numbers in the pic Sean. There is no date except it being released in 1943. That whole pic is cool with all the diff types right there.  I saw it and thought man that is perfect for this build. Someday I outta make a vignet like that outta some of my old broken boxed relics.

 OK Frank! Waiting for your word to decide on the cowl color unless someone else knows.

No Dave it ain't purple! There he goes stirring up the pot again!

Hey ho all. Its me again. Aaron, shes looking so sweet. Your camo looks fantastic. Im just wondering how many you can whack out before mines done? I reckon at least a dozen.

Frank that 190 is awesome friend. If youve posted it on the main forum, im off there to say it again. Excellent.

Bondo, glad your enjoying your visits. Come on, crack a sprue with the lads. These Italian kits are a doddle. Ask Aaron. LOL

Steve, dont be a stranger. You know your other GB's wont be half as fun as this one. We'll miss you fella. Boo hoo. Dingus is sobbing as well. I think Wingus is at Aaron's.

Dave, its still your fault.

Sean, what are you doing eating Tofu? Your not one of those grass munching veggies are ya? Me too LOL. But dont tell this lot....Ooopps, too late.

...Guy

Man everybody left me!  OOOOOO! Let me make a list since I know Soul crusher and Frank have a CA and PC kit of this bird.

 Look at the pic? Cowlinging White or yellow?  I'm leaning toward yellow. I could be wrong?

OK if anyone has these kits handy. There is this little double direction bike horn thingie that mounts on the side. Pretty darn large and chunky on mine. If anyone can show what these parts look like in the sprue it would be a great help.

Wouldn't mine taking a peak at your alls profiles amd painting guide either.

Just a wish list if anyone has a MA 200 laying around.  Thanks.

Aaron- I'm working on it!

That thingie you mention is the airspeed venturi.

I'm putting together some pics for you (and no, none of Wingus!).

 Thanks Frank ! Do I sound excited? Don't mean to make everybody drop what their doing or nothing. EEKS.  I have been checking out some links and the Stormo sight you posted for info as well. Maybe there was some rhyme or reason to it like how the 109's had yellow cowlings and white tails extc. You think you know a subject? Build a model and find out how little you know is my experience!

 Thanks to all!

Ok Aaron, here's what I have for you...

Here is a photo of the two profiles on my PCM instruction guide.  The top aircraft has no numbers perse, but a tiny "C L" below the shield on the white stripe.  It has a yellow cowling.

The second aircraft is coded "374-3" (374=black 3=red) and it has the white strips around the cowl.  It's stripe begins immediately behind the oil cooler on the front of the cowl and ends just before the end of the cowl cylinder bumps.  Looks like a pain to mask that one! 

Here's a photo of the resin venturi on my 1/48 kit sitting near where it would be located on the real aircraft.

And finally, here's a photo of a Macchi I took at the USAF museum in Dayton, Oh a couple of years ago.

Hope that helps Aaron!  Now, I am back to bodypainting Wingus in her snazzy desert camo.

P.S. It's all Dave's fault.

Aaron - I found this one

And I cant find your address

Is Dave on Holiday ?

Aaron the picture is not that good and it is hard to tell but if I had to guess I would say that cowl is painted the same as the rest of the upper camo. The white tailband is for Med Theater of operations only. Yellow was usally found on the Russian front. I have no pics of Mc 200's with both. I have seen some pics of Cr 42's with the white fuselage band and yellow cowls but not on any other Regia Aeronautica aircraft that I have pics of. If I had to guess from the pic that definetly looks like either North Africa or Sicily fron the plant life and soil.                        I though the piece mounted on the right hand side of the fuselage was a generator similar to those found on the Sm 79 models but I have no parts decription info just a number on the destruction sheet. I am going to see if I can find out for sure by digging through some more references that I have. Anywho here are a couple of color profiles for you to feast on.

                                                                                     Soulcrusher

Very big Help Frank Thanks for taking the time to do that!  But still no propeller? Shucks! Body painting in desert camo?  Oh I get it!

 Not a whole lot of info on markings or this MC-200 at all!  I gotta get to Dayton!  This whole experience has been tramatic to me.  I ain't even gonna  type whose fault this was!

I'll post a pic instead!

Lock up your daughters !

Man you guys are on it! Thanks for the help!

Luftwoller wrote:

Bondo, glad your enjoying your visits. Come on, crack a sprue with the lads. These Italian kits are a doddle. Ask Aaron. LOL

Cant Z.501 Gabbiano "Seagull".

Italeri 1/72 CANT Z.501 Gabbiano

sfcmac wrote:

Look at the pic? Cowlinging White or yellow?  I'm leaning toward yellow. I could be wrong?

YOU ARE WRONG MACNEAL!!!

sfcmac wrote:

Wouldn't mine taking a peak at your alls profiles amd painting guide either.

Found a profile on the internet showing the true colour 

bondoman wrote:

Luftwoller wrote: Bondo, glad your enjoying your visits. Come on, crack a sprue with the lads. These Italian kits are a doddle. Ask Aaron. LOL Yes, but he's a doddle master. I just picked this up on eBay, so I'd be pleased to join. Cant Z.501 Gabbiano "Seagull". Italeri 1/72 CANT Z.501 Gabbiano

OOooo... nice choice Bondo.   Glad you decided to come and play with us.  Don't pay any attention to Mac.  It's all his fault!

sfcmac wrote:

I ain't even gonna  type whose fault this was! I'll post a pic instead!

Couldn't agree more Aaron!   Glad to see you accepting responsibility for your own actions.

Hurray Dave is back! and feeling fiesty! Hurray!   He is always in a happy mood!

 Bondo that is one pretty sea plane!  It's all ready done though?

Guy did you send Dave your photoshop?

Well at least he picked the picture where I am 22 years old!

I guess Dave is not on Holiday after all ! 

What a Day, took a lunch break -popped a Wallace & Gromit tape in the VCR and I heard was crunch crunch and I am pretty sure a burp. Blasted JVC VCR Well I opened it up(the VCR) spied a spool of very fine copper wire and I robbed the little motor out of it. Works really good hooked to aTriple A Battery. Something in the future is going to have a powered prop. Perhaps a 1/32 Stuka

Man I like that Purple cowl band, I am going to repaint mine.

sfcmac wrote:

Hurray Dave is back! and feeling fiesty! Hurray!   He is always in a happy mood!  Bondo that is one pretty sea plane!  It's all ready done though? Guy did you send Dave your photoshop? Well at least he picked the picture where I am 22 years old!

Just to put it in perspective:

H6K Mavis for IJN/IJA GB- 50%

AN-12 for Heavy Lifter GB- 25%

Shackleton for NME GB- 10%

PBY-5A for Halloween GB- 0%

I try to finish all my GB commitments so this is a little ways away. I've got to start buying smaller models!

SLow progress today compared to the "Mac Machine" . Still lots of paint work due to come. "Alex"  wanted a pic of himself in the Chi-202

Dave - when you going to post pics of your pilot ?

Summit wrote:

Dave - when you going to post pics of your pilot ?

When I get around to painting it.  Still trying to figure out how to do fishnet stockings in 1/72.  

Honestly, I've got my hands full at home and at work right now so modeling time is at a minimum.  Was also under the weather yesterday and watched movies all day instead of modeling. 

The Chi 202 is looking really nice BTW.

Well Sean it is already looking the part!  I got a couple old broke VCR's somewhere laying about that is a good idea.  Just gotta be careful in some of those things like Old TV's and power supplies as I have been told the old capaciters in them can carry quite a shock still years after being unplugged.  Well If it's true guess I'd be the one to find out!

Took a little nap as I have work tonight. Call me odd but I don't like being tired on 15,000 tons of anything that moves.

I have been searching and reading a bunch. There is a woeful lack of info in my books and the internet about what colors were used for what. Almost as if a unit level standard existed. Some Units with white nosed aircraft had a mix of no color and also yellow.  Started when Italy participated in the Battle of Britian to identify them to each other and the Germans.

I have even read that group commanders/ section leaders and squadron leaders marked there Aircraft with nose markings to identify there rank/position while in the air.

Everyone knows the German theatre colors of white in the Med and yellow in the Russian theatre which was follwed by her allies as well. However the nose colors are also varied in the luftwaffe albeit more standardized by orders and unit. The Italians seemed to lack such unifomity above smaller unit levels and thus harder to pin down.

All this reading has brought me back to square one which is .... You got me.

I blew up and expanded the pic. See some faded marks where British intelligence marked above the 153 for ID ref of unit.  Still not looking white which leaves tan or yellow.  Very hard with no known color ref in the pic but the color although appearing close seems to be different and all but impossible to tell for certain.

Still leaning towards yellow. Sort of a silly thing to be hung up on but it has opened some marking questions in my mind that I think are worth investigating further for the learning part of the GB's sake.

I think I'll just let it dry a bit until I get a better book or am convinced that I am convinced. I'll give another look tomorrow!

 Did not see any ref to Dave's color at all.  Better watch that feller!

Bondo that is a beautiful seaplane. The Fuselage shape is so much like the Catalina looking at it. Very cool!  

razordws wrote:

Summit wrote: Dave - when you going to post pics of your pilot ? When I get around to painting it.  Still trying to figure out how to do fishnet stockings in 1/72.

great!  Now I'm gonna have nightmares of some hairy italian guy in fishnets, and IT'S ALL DAVE'S FAULT! LOL...

Sean- Alex looks right at home in his Macchi, though I think if you repaint yours with the purple nose you oughta paint his helmet and purse to match.

I'm so happy! I may have to jump ship from the NAW GB, or not as I'm a commissioned officer. Hey by the way, what's up there? As the newbie I cannot say, but aren't there stripes to go around?

Because I'm Italian by, um sleeping in the same bed rights, I'll buy you all a primi corso.

This is going to make me a happy Paisan! This man is my new best friend. His grandmother and my wife's grandmother were sisters, one left Aquaviva in 1906 and the other stayed. He (Ercole, as in Hercules) owns farms, vineyards and a couple of nice buildings in town.

Ms. Bondos Grandma went to Buffalo and there's a whole other story.