FIAT cr42 n nightfighter in 1/40 scale

[yak face]

Hi all ,heres my entry for Alans nightfighter GB . Its the SMER kit of the FIAT cr42 in 1/40 scale. This old tooling dates from 1959 and was originall released by a firm called plastic toy ( so scalemates tells me) This boxing is a recent SMER offering and comes with excellent decals , although i wont be able to use many in my conversion to the caccia notturne nightfighter version . Ill be hopefully getting stuck in on monday so heres the box and sprues for now , cheers tony

[AlanG]

Defo an unusual scale Tony. Also an aircraft i know nothing about. Every day is a learning day.

[BattleshipBob]

Very interesting Tony. Look forward to seeing this fly!

[Mickc1440]

Unusual so a definite watch

[papa 695]

Different Tony definitely one to watch.

[yak face]

Well im out of the starting blocks with this old timer . First couple of things to start are the cockpit and engine. The cockpit consists of a L shaped slab and a very strange looking pilot ( think the robot from ‘ The day the earth stood still’ in a sleeping bag and youre not far off!!) Obviously im going to have to scratchbuild everything but i like a challenge! The engine isnt all bad , being about the right shape but its messily tooled and basic , a bit of addition should make a world of difference. The kit actually supplies the pushrods for the engine cylinders but theyre all the wrong shape and covered in flash and mould seams so im replacing these with brass tubing.

[stillp]

think the robot from ‘ The day the earth stood still’ in a sleeping bag and youre not far off!![ATTACH=CONFIG]n1098814[/ATTACH]

:smiling5: :smiling5:

[Guest]

Cool. Once you've cleaned off all that flash you'll have enough plastic to make a second one!

Love the reference to Gort in a sleeping bag, I see what you mean :smiling2:

[yak face]

Bit more done today, ive had a good look round the airframe and theres a few sink marks that need a little filler , forgivable as this tooling is older than me ! Ive cleaned up and given the engine a coat of black , ive also hollowed out the ends of the cylinders and drilled holes ready for the pushrods - these will be brass rod as the kit ones were a bit poor. Before that ive got to add the ignition wires and their junction block . The two piece cockpit ( pilot, seat) needless to say is not getting used so ive started to build up a basic structure to add everything else to . I used the contour gauge to get a decent shape for the bulkheads and added a floor and some stringers to the fuselage sides . Next i think ill be adding the tubular framework and the instrument panels ( 2 of these , either side of the gunsight ) then its onto the rest such as seat , side consoles , rudder bar etc. Cheers tony

[yak face]

Latest progress- the engine has had the ignition wires added 7 for the front cylinders and seven short ones that go to the back row. The 14 pushrods are next to go on after ive painted the crankcase and gearbox grey. Ive been adding the tubular framework in the cockpit , theres a bit more to add yet before i start thinking about the seat , instrument panels and side consoles.

[Fernando N]

Interesting one Tony and neat looking upgrades to a very basic kit :thumb2: .

[flyjoe180]

Good thing you enjoy scratch building Tony! Looking very good so far

[Gern]

Nice to see you got all your mojo back Tony! Good stuff.

[papa 695]

Very nice work so far Tony

[Mickc1440]

Some top scratch work Tony.