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

sfcmac wrote:

Nonesense! I beleieve all pics and postings have been made with accordance to the Rules with perhaps the exception of Guy's builds! Man that looks sweet Guy! You did it with an open pit which I wasn't expecting and the camo turned out great? Is there any history of those closed canopy birds in combat or was it the one rejected cuz the pilots wanted the open air feel still? Oh if if I could reach that far I'd give ya a brit bashing just to slow you down!   I still have to add it and your Fiat to page 1. I'm a slacker I know! Jeremy I have posted pics around from work before but I can't find the threads in a search so I will send you a copy in a PM of some work pics I have shown here before. A lot of fellows on the forum are into trains as well so once apon a time I had a thread where I posted engine pics but dern if I can remember what I called it?

I would gladly visit that thread!!! If you knew what it was!!!!

Poor old Sarge, its his age you know. Memory starts to...err....umm...fade  

As for the MC 200, thx everyone for commenting.  I think the 1st of the 200's came with enclosed cockpits but the pilots didnt like it one bit. (Not very bright if you ask me) They reckoned it felt claustraphobic so the enclosed pits were done away with. Just intime for the open cockp[itted version to be sent to Russia...mmmm....toasty.

The pics i took were a little off. To be honest thats the worst part of my game the photography. Ive modified the settings by using a custom white balance, Woo hoo, hark at her i hear you all cry. Probably wont work but ill post some more anyhoo. Give me half an hour and im on it.

...Guy

#Edit# I had a delivery today, which brings me to the next build. I was sort of leaning toward the Piaggio the delivery was a vacformed fuselage of a 2 seater 109 G2. Ive seen a picture of one of these 2 seaters in RA colours. Sound like a plan? 

Luftwoller wrote:

I had a delivery today, which brings me to the next build. I was sort of leaning toward the Piaggio the delivery was a vacformed fuselage of a 2 seater 109 G2. Ive seen a picture of one of these 2 seaters in RA colours. Sound like a plan?

That will be a cool build Guy!

Done with the paint on the fuselage. I'm not much of a freehander but she came out lookin' alright.

Trying to hide on me!

Yes Guy sub-par photos from our fearless leader will not be accepted! Now crack on and get to fixin them photos! A dual seater G-2 would be a really cool build.

Jeremy the camo looks great. Very well done. Tell the missus I said you deserve another meatball sandwich. Oh and I will take one too if she does'nt mind  For a Trumpeter kit it looks like you are making easy work of it.

I must admit I decided to play Brothers in Arms on the PS3 last night instead of working on the Fiat. Tonight I am going to sit down and try and make some progress. I need some of Guy's mojo to get me back in the model building grove.

                                                                                        Soulcrusher

Jeremy, thats freeking awesome, buddy. The camo came out superb. Those SM 79's had such an awesome array of camo patterns, you could build the same subject forever. Do it. Eccept next time do the Italieri 1/72. Much less hassles LOL

Crusher. My photos have been modified. Whatcha reckon,

Mucho Bellissimo.

As for the 2 seater. The official designation was BF 109G-12 /R3, I think they were modified G-4's as they had no bulges on the engine cowl and the larger wheels. Any other advice would be great. Im going to use a G-6 as my donor as these have most of the right bits.

...Guy

That looks much better Guy. I also have found a nice large sheet of white board is the way to go when taking pics. It really lets the camera focus on the model and not any clutter in the background. I have a inexpensive Canon A520 digital camera and no special light but with a little work I can still take a decent pic. One trick is I always try to make sure the light source is behind me when taking pics. That way you do not get shadows. I have to move the model everytime I want to change angles but controling the direction of the light source is a simple and easy step that makes a big difference. That and a big sheet of thin white atrist board. The close up shot of the nose really shows off the detail and it looks great. We'll make a photographer out of you yet Guy. Now I can see the Macchi and it looks great. Well done there Guy.

                                                                                           Soulcrusher

Thanks for the compliments fellas. Means alot coming from the master Italian camo artists in here.

A quick mockup of the engines and cowls left me kinda disturbed. Seems like the cowl openings are way too big which makes it painfully obvious that there are no exhaust pipes leading to the manifold ring(?).

I'm not sure what to do about that. Make exhaust pipes? Any suggestions?

Guy - Did you paint your exhaust with copper color?

Luftwoller wrote:

jmabx wrote:

I'm not sure what to do about that. Make exhaust pipes?

Thanks for the quick response Bondo!

I don't have any solder big enough to work so I tried to fudge it and used some .040 styrene rod. I glued short lengths of it into the exhaust ports at an angle and then cut them flush with the tops of the heads with a pair of scissors. It's not perfect and far from accurate but it looks so much better. I'm sticking with it! Now... only 36 more to go.

Looks pretty good to me Jeremy. I think the cut off sprue looks a good way to go. Clever detail paint work will make it shine a treat. As for the paint i used on my engine cowl, well it was Alclad copper. Not a bad hue from my eye.

...Guy

Jeremy, that looks ten times better than the way it was!!!! Remember, 'representation not duplication' is sometimes the key.

I have often wondered about those engines. Are those license built Bristol Pegasus'??? They look VERY much alike.

simpilot34 wrote:

Jeremy, that looks ten times better than the way it was!!!! Remember, 'representation not duplication' is sometimes the key. I have often wondered about those engines. Are those license built Bristol Pegasus'??? They look VERY much alike.

Thank you sir!

When I was looking up pictures for reference, 3/4ths of the pics that came up were of the Pegasus. Wkipedia claims that the Alfa Romeo 126-RC34 was "based" on the Bristol Pegasus but mentions nothing about being license built.

From what I gather, the engines supplied with the kit are not correct for an SM-79 II. Perhaps I'm mistaken but the engines should be Piaggio P.XI RC.40.

Can anyone either verify or correct this info?

Here's my 2 bits on the engines. The original bomber design had the Alfa 126 9 cylinder single row radials, which was supposedly based on the Bristol Pegasus. Like in the Swordfish.

The SM torp planes tho had the Piaggios, like Jeremy's model, and mind you the poor bugger has two more to go; bring on the meatball paninis: which is a big 14 cylinder madonna (mother to you) and bears no resemblance to the Bristol mills of the same set-up, like the Hercules and Taurus, for one reason, and one reason only! That's the test question of the night.

Oh, based on the Allies you say? Well, did you know that the Stuka prototypes buzzed around behind... you guessed correct sir! The Rolls Royce Kestrel! Capitalism has no limits, sir!

bondoman wrote:

Oh, based on the Allies you say? Well, did you know that the Stuka prototypes buzzed around behind... you guessed correct sir! The Rolls Royce Kestrel! Capitalism has no limits, sir!

Just looks funny with the exhaust sittin' way up high like that... love the twin tails though.

As for the test question... I'm prepared to flunk this one.  

Engines... finally!

Jeremy those engines look stunning. Your detailing work looks spot on. Oooh and shes got some decals on. Dont you put a gloss coat on 1st?

Oh and Bondo, im stumped too im afraid.

...Guy

Thanks Guy!

If you say they look good then they must because you're ace and all.

Decals are over a coat of Future.

The engines look great Jeremy. Now where is my  meatball sandwich?

                                                                                         Soulcrusher

Sorry, SC, no meatballs tonight... I'll get on that girl to make us some though!

Strip steak and corn on the cob tonight... yum, yum! Steak so big it didn't fit on the plate!

And thanks for the compliment!

Couple o' quick questions for those in the know.

In the picture below, I noticed that the starboard engine has the exhaust coming out of the opposite side as the kit. The kits exhaust pipes all run out the port side. Does one exit on the opposite side of the others?

Also, it seems that most of the pictures show a light color around the windows on the lower half of the fuselage behind the wing. Does anyone know what color the window frames should be? White, silver, grey, etc?

First person to answer these questions and help a fellow out will receive:

An authentic picture of me dressed as a blonde french maid!

Can't go wrong!

Excellent looking engines Jeremy!!!! Really coming along now!!!!

My answer is Black, i don't want to get it right this time!!!!

I so want that picture!

The exhaust on the starboard engine should be on the starboard side. It was on the port on the prototypes, but ruined the night vision of the gunner in the belly gondola. The window frames are natural aluminum.

No one of you seems to know what's the main diffy between a Bristol 14 jug engine and a Piaggio of the same #, or a Pratt, or a Wright, or a BMW for that frigging matter. Good God men what is the one salient feature of Bristol radials that made them so reliable, so dependable; and no, not those exhaust collector rings that you all paint, incorrectly, copper? 

A reminder (that's the Bristol, and why don't those heads have rocker arm covers?), and a puzzle.

simpilot34 wrote:

Because it's a sleeve valve engine.

My original point was that the Piaggio that Jeremy showed  for his S79 torpedo bomber resembles a Bristol 14 cylinder engine in no meaningful way, except for that collector ring.

IE the pushrods were not a part of Bristol technology for a while before that point.

I cannot think of a case where the Axis countries used sleeve valve engines after the war started. A very dependable technology, too.

Now, to this collector ring business, since the Stranraer from hell has to be right; the visible cowling lip is made of aluminum. The actual collector ring is a manifold you can't see, just behind it.

Ditto all this stringbag stuff. But back to the pasta airforce. The forward lip is discolored by heat, its aluminum, and it was painted in the original roll out. 

Where the locomotive comes off the rails is that like in most things, models get based on "restorations" which are crap.

I go with a metallic gray.

OBTW my second source is my Father in Law who owned two Beaufighters and spent countless hours making them fly. Now he's color blind and also didn't pay a lot of attention to what he climbed into, flew and escaped etc from, but he will tell me that they were burnt metal colored.

Sir Bondo is correct. Only the early SM 79's had that type of exhaust collector rings on the startbooard engine that faced inward toward the fulselage. I do not know if Trumpeter did this because it was easier to mold all three engines the same instead of a different mold for the port engine or out of just plain stupidity. They excell at both so its a toss up. So where are the pics now Jeremy?

                                                                                                   Soulcrusher

Bondo, i always thought they were copper? I wouldnt have thought that alluminium would be up to the job in any form. For 1 it would seriously deform due to the heat and possibly even melt and for 2ndly it would discolour like heck if on the deck of a carrier with 3 weeks at sea (As in the Swordy)...I could be wrong, probably am....Now wheres that picture Jezza/

...Guy