sandbagger Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Hi all, I'm waiting for the display case to complete my model of the Nieuport 28C.1. Therefore I thought I'd start on a model that's been in my stash since it was first released. The resin model kit is one of the best made and presented 1:32nd scale WW1 aircraft kits around and is available from Richard at 'Aviattic'. This model will represent the Ansaldo A.1 ‘Balilla’, Serial No:16538 of pilot Tenente Leopoldo Eleuteri of No:70a Squadriglia, operating from Caccia, Padovano, during the October of 1918. He was the only pilot to shoot down one enemy aircraft whilst flying the 'Balilla'. 'Balilla' (little boy) was the nickname of Giovanni Battista Perasso, a Genoese boy who started the revolt of 1746 against the Habsburg forces that occupied the city in the War of the Austrian Succession. The legend is that while some Austrian soldiers were dragging an artillery piece along a muddy road in the Portoria neighbourhood of Genoa, the artillery piece got stuck in a moat. The soldiers forced onlookers and passers-by to dislodge it. Disgusted by the scene, Perasso allegedly grabbed a stone from the road and threw it at the Austrian patrol, calling on those around to join him. This act set in motion a sequence of events that eventually caused the Austrian garrison to be evicted from the city. Mike 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Nice seeing you tackle the Ansaldo. I thought a lot of times about buying one, but kept it for later when I'm grown up model wise. Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 Hi all, The web site at 'Aviattic' has a fully detailed build log (in Adobe PDF format) for the 'Balilla', which can be downloaded. It is extensive and details every part of the build. I have found a few moulded part numbers that don't match those in the build log, so these will corrected in my own build log. Section 1 covers the building of the S.P.A 6A engine, which I've now completed. Now onto the internals for the fuselage, which includes many minutely detailed photo-etch components, which will prove interesting to build, Mike 5 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 You engine details and painting is WORLD CLASS ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy the Sheep Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Going to follow this build. Italian subjects are a must to me! Andrea. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Fran Posted December 17, 2020 Administrators Share Posted December 17, 2020 Its not, at all, an easy kit! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARU 5137 Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Mike That Engine looks STUNNING. looking forward to your astounding build. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted December 20, 2020 Author Share Posted December 20, 2020 Hi all, I've been working on the preparation of the fuselage internals. The fuselage is moulded as a single piece, so has to be worked through the available openings. The forward bulkhead frame needed to be reduce in width as the front of the fuselage was too wide to fit the photo-etch front frame. The supplied photo-etch sheet is, to say the least, comprehensive and highly detailed with many tiny components. Fortunately some parts are also supplied as resin, if you don't want the 'challenge' of building the photo-etch parts. Fortunately it's not necessary to build the aileron and additional flight controls, as both would be completely hidden under the pilot's seat and can't be seen. However the engine controls can be seen so need to be built. The throttle quadrant alone is made up of 15 separate pieces. This model is definitely not for the photo-etch faint hearted. Anyway, now it's on to the painting phase, Mike 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Very nice !!....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 Hi all, Just a few progress shots of the internals of the fuselage. There's still a lot to do yet. Control rods and some wiring, seat harness, machine guns, engine fit, oil tank, gun synchronisation gear etc. Also the final finish and weathering. Mike 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Wow. Love the seat cushions....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Loving this . it may be a simple parallax issue with the close-up shot, but the the IP looks slightly skewed, with the right side slightly forward compared to the left. Hubert 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Wow, looking great, like Harv, I especially like the worn look of the leather on the seat. Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 1 hour ago, HubertB said: Loving this . it may be a simple parallax issue with the close-up shot, but the the IP looks slightly skewed, with the right side slightly forward compared to the left. Hubert Yeas it does look like it but its just the shot. I checked by standing it on its nose with an engineers square at each side and measuring the gaps between it and the fuselage sides. good observation though, Mike 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 On 12/23/2020 at 12:41 AM, sandbagger said: Hi all, Just a few progress shots of the internals of the fuselage. There's still a lot to do yet. Control rods and some wiring, seat harness, machine guns, engine fit, oil tank, gun synchronisation gear etc. Also the final finish and weathering. Mike That’s really world-class! Lost for words. Simply amazing! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted December 25, 2020 Author Share Posted December 25, 2020 Hi all, Dry fit for the engine and turtle deck, Mike 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 Hi all, The 'Aviattic' supplied wood effect fuselage and tail unit decals have now been applied. Not too easily carried out as the decals need to be accurately cut out from their sheets as they're not 'cookie' cut. They've all been gloss coated as the next step is to apply the 'HGW Models' nail head decals. Then it'll be adding the remaining decals and all of the photo-etch details, Mike 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 Hi all, All fuselage decals have now been applied, including rib tapes for the fin and undersides of the tail plane and elevators. Now it's onto the various photo-etch details for the fuselage and weathering etc, Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Oh wow ! Fantastic....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted January 2, 2021 Share Posted January 2, 2021 3 hours ago, harv said: Oh wow ! Fantastic....harv It is, and I can't get over the 'Wood Work"............... absolutely stunning ............... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Hi all, Just a quick update. The 'Aviattic' fuselage wood effect decals have circular access panels printed, but these look rather ‘flat’. Therefore to raise these panels and make them stand out more, I added extra decals. I'm now working my way through the fuselage photo-etch, Mike 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbagger Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 Hi all, The basic fuselage is now complete, apart from the windscreen and flying wire anchor points. The final display will be the aircraft undergoing engine maintenance, so the engine front twin cowl panel will be removed. I’ve added the coolant/vent pipe from the rear of the radiator header tank, made from 0.5 mm tube. Two bracing lines were fitted between the forward fuselage cabane struts and an inverted tubular ‘V’ frame, which was attached to the insides of the fuselage and over the top of the engine camshaft. This was made from formed 0.8 mm diameter tube with ’GasPatch’ resin 1:48th anchor points. A tubular retaining frame was fitted over the inverted ‘V’ frame and attached to the inside of the fuselage sides. This was made from annealed 0.375 mm diameter copper wire. I’ve changed the aircraft serial number by replacing the number 3 with the number 5. The supplied decal for the particular aircraft is 16538. However is seems the only ‘Balilla’ aircraft serial numbers recorded for No:70a Squadriglia were 16550, 16555, 16556 and 16558. Therefore my assumption is that this aircraft serial number was probably 16558, not 16538. Also this aircraft had two light coloured bar markings on the left of the turtle decal, just behind the cockpit. The exact colour of these bands is not known or if they were repeated on the other side of the turtle deck. Now onto the undercarriage before starting on the wings and rigging preparation, Mike 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Beautiful !.....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 20 hours ago, harv said: Beautiful !.....harv Absolutely amazing! Great to see! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Thirded ! Hubert 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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