GROUND ATTACK GB

Rob S.

Yeah, I totally agree with you guys, that bomb may be too big eh? That poor plane would suffer to get that sucker off the ground!!

Yes, I believe you are correct sir!! I'll be digging though the stash this evening for something smaller to sling underneath. I may end up modifying a German bomb from a -109, I know I have some, and rolling some styrene or tin for the Italian-style stabilizer.

Yeah, I totally agree with you guys, that bomb may be too big eh? That poor plane would suffer to get that sucker off the ground!!

modelcrazy

Vance,

Here you go, try this. I'm not sure if it will help but It's my go to site for everything Regia Aeronautica and the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana.

http://www.stormomagazine.com/

Ahhh - NICE! I do remember having spotted this site ages ago, had completely forgotten about it. Makes me wonder what else I've forgotten?? Thanks!

Vance,

Here you go, try this. I'm not sure if it will help but It's my go to site for everything Regia Aeronautica and the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana.

http://www.stormomagazine.com/

Can't see the link you've mentioned modelcrazy! References are always appreciated, this machine seemed to pose for a lot of photos WITHOUT its payload.

Check out that link. It might show something.

Of course, my reference is saying 650kg for the centerline, that's 1400 pounds & change... I need to find some pics of this machine bombed-up.

Yep, I was eye-balling out of the stash - now that it's sitting BESIDE that machine, looks a little hefty.  :(

Vance,

That bomb looks like a 1500 pounder.

Interior details before closing her up:




All kinds of room on the fuselage underside, so I ignored the suggested assembly sequence, got the fuselage halves mated up & cleaned up, then dropped the cockpit and instrument panel in from underneath. (that much less opportunity for sanding dust etc to get inside the office!) Dry-fit the glass, all seems good there.


So… how small are these 1/72 kits?? Italian coinage for scale!






Cockpit in place & sealed up. As good as the detail is, there is likely room for more detail to be added. That being said, the cockpit opening is NOT all that big, and the sidewalls bulge out, hard to see much in there.


Tiniest of steps at the rear fuselage-to-wing join, will need a little putty.


Everything dry-fit really well so I assembled the wings, then added the assembled fuselage. Seemed a little tight, so I sanded out the fuselage portion a touch, changed the arc to better fit the join at the wing.


A little touchup to the rear control surfaces & I'll be ready for primer.

Need to do some math & measuring. The bomb seems a touch large to me now that it is sitting side-by-side with the assembled model.

That Hind is looking good Rob, love seeing the open access panels, it would be a shame to hide those details.

Thanks Steve..yeah, it is a challenge 

Nomad,

You're really coming along on that Thud, looks good.

Rob,

Your Hind is really taking on it's fiendish shape.
I had a similar problem with the fit on the 1/48 scale. Although it just didn't have the detail yours does. Trumpeter has a 1/35 Mi-24 that I would like to get one day. it looks very detailed as well.

Lookin fantastic 

Good Work Doug...great progress. I got some work in today on the Hind. As well engineered this Hind is, in 1/72 scale, they are trying to pack a ton of detail in a small space, thus, I'm having fit issues. I had to do some surgery inside the port for the rotor hub to get the fuselage halves to fuse. It was quite an ordeal, but, I got it to mate, but, will take some filler. The fuselage is in quite a few pieces and will take a bit more work tomorrow, but, I got the two major halves in place and the base of the cockpit:

The open hatches will reveal all the work done on the inner bits:

More later...Thanks for lookin'!

Well here is the armament and fuel tanks and some of the smaller parts primed and ready for paint. Also I had some gaps with the wings and had to fill them. Just waiting for the putty to cure and back to sanding.

Doug

Awesome job Vance. Just awesome.

Doug

On that, I found something else that may have indicated that it could be a fire supression system, but, can't confirm.

Interestingly hydrolics is not really under great pressurein the resevoir. Only in the lines, pumps and rams.

Just think of your car's resevoir on the brake fluid, it doesn't overflow if you depress the peddal :-)

Those round tanks are most likely for a very high pressure gas, hence the spherical shape.

Theuns

Theuns,

Compressed air, hmmmm. You're probably rightt. They look like pressure storage tanks for something.

VanceCrozier

Trying to find out if the Italian machines still used chains for the lap-belt portion or not?

Take a look at this website. It's my go to site for the  Regia Aeronautica and the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. Like I said, I like Italian WW 2 planes.

http://www.stormomagazine.com/

I like the kit bashing you've done with the bomb. I'm NOT a rivet counter. You should see some of my stuff. I try to keep to the actual build, but if I'm missing something...well...lets just say I not unfamiliar with your process.

Great job

I built a P-66 "Vanguard" from Sword a few years back, in 1:72 scale.  I seem to remember I also was a good build.  I like the yours looks too, and I'm looking forward to the finished project

Excellent work!!!  

Rob S.

Yeah, I second that. I don't know Sword at all, but, I like odd or unusual aircraft.

This is my first crack at a Sword kit myself, and I'm pretty impressed so far. Good detail, low parts count, good fit on this particular machine at least. The price is decent as well (although I think I got mine on sale?), and they seem to have some of the lesser-known aircraft that I'm interested in.

Being in that limited-run zone, there are no locating pins, which seems to be a big complaint among some folks. But, the parts are engineered in such a way as to make the pins unnecessary. The tails of the fuselage halves sorta notch into each other in only a certain way then you just need to make sure the halves don't have a step. Cockpit parts, are left with gaps & boxes etc that can really only go in a certain way, etc It seems really well thought out. Based on this one sample, I'd by another from these folks.

So, the missing bomb has been addressed. Checked through the stash, looking for some odd-shaped bombs I remembered having from an Airfix Mirage F1 kit, thinking I could add those stabilizer tubes to, found this:



I think it is a 250-pounder from a 1/48 Hasegawa kit, that came with Russian markings. Painted up:



Rivet-counters beware! But this machine supposedly carried a heavy bomb on the centerline, looks the part to me. The daughter has declared that her name is to be scribbled on the bomb, groundcrew-style.



Yeah, sure, why not?

Shoulder harnesses from masking tape & eye-wrecking-ly tiny bits of wire:



Trying to find out if the Italian machines still used chains for the lap-belt portion or not?

Anybody notice a strong family resemblance to the Seversky P35??

Outstanding job Rob. The detail you put into the engines is just great.

Doug

I think they might be storage for compressed air. Allot of easten block aircract use compressed air to drive some of the systems.

Hydrolics are usually not housed in such containers. You would have various ram pistons and 1-2 resevoirs.

Theuns

That could be it. I did a cursory look online, but, didn't turn up much. Yeah, this kit has everything wide open. And, the best part is everything is visible, so, it's worth the extra work.

Rob,

That kit has tons more detail than it's big brother. I'm probably off my gourd, but the red containers look like they may have something to do with hydraulics.

Here's today's progress..getting there.

Here's the roof of the troop compartment and engine compartment upper part:

Wish I knew what these red 'globes' are, but, they stand out nicely:

Rear troop/engine compartment wall:

Troop compartment support rig:

Full assembly:

Engines installed and I added some additional wiring (Red):

One onboard:

Engines installed:

That's it for tonite...going night skiing..will get back at it tomorrow!!

Looking good there Vance. Really like your detail. Can't wait to see the rest of the build.

Doug

Yeah, I second that. I don't know Sword at all, but, I like odd or unusual aircraft.