**** DONE: GB-36 1/48 Macchi C.202 Folgore - Axis Manufactured Aircraft of WWII

[turbo]

Many thanks for the comments guys. I can't go too much further with this build until I've built the engine plug, so time to get cracking on that. Similar to the Dora, the Folgore had a maze of hoses and wiring emanating from the engine that was visible in the undercarriage bay.

I originally wanted to do this build OOB, but the kit detail in this area is very sparse so I just couldn't let it go once I started thinking about. As I posted earlier, I picked up the Eduard undercarriage bay upgrade set - here it is unboxed.

The detail is beautiful but it is all very small so will be fiddly work. As you can see in post #90, I began by black-basing the plug, my standard practice for any interior area. It was then sprayed Verde Anticorrosione, taking advantage of the black-basing to create shadows and depth.

I decided to do an oil wash and some drybrushing at this point as subsequent addition of components will make much of the plug inaccessible. There will likely be several rounds of washing, highlighting, and weathering as more detail is added. A couple of the first hoses have been added and painted but not weathered yet. The Italian colour codes for mechanical and pneumatic equipment are yellow for fuel, green for coolant, brown for oil, and blue for air. I've left the plug on its resin casting block to use as a handle as test-fitting shows it should fit into the interior of the fuselage without having to be removed.

Thanks for stopping by folks.

 

[Wurger]

 

[fubar57]

Nice looking plug Kirby

 

[Airframes]

Looks the biz, and will make a noticeable difference to the wheel bays.

 

[parsifal]

nice work Kirby. would have been fiddly alright

 

[turbo]

Thanks guys, a few more components being added on, hopefully an update tonight...

 

[JKim]

Ah, the engine plug makes its appearance! Looks nice and complicated. Can't wait to see the other doodads once they are attached.

 

[Crimea_River]

A worth while addition and well executed.

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[Wayne Little]

Done good man...!

 

[turbo]

Thanks very much guys!

Small update, painstaking detail work at the moment! The frame was removed from its block and a couple of tiny PE doowhackies added. Anyone know what they are? You can see one in the reference photo in post #101 above.

The assembly was painted with Citadel Ironbreaker, given an oil wash and installed along with the blue hose that brings air from the intake to the supercharger.

Starting to look busier now, but still more to be added . To give myself a break, I turned my attention to the wing spar. Naturally, there's PE for this too so the first step was to remove raised detail from the kit part.

The PE replacement part was then installed and holes drilled to receive the frame attachment points and the coolant hoses going to and from the radiator. Then some more tiny PE brackets, so that would be break over!

I'll keep plugging away (see what I did there - Terry, where's my coat?).

 

[Crimea_River]

Those thingies appear to be a couple of bell cranks that connect to a small cylinder of some sort. Actuating wires probably go to the pit is my guess.

BTW, that reference pic in #101 is upside down.

 

[Airframes]

Bl**dy fiiddly work, but great stuff Kirby.
I agree with Andy, those thingymajigs are crank whatsits, possibly for opening / closing a valve or similar.
Just noticed - in the reference pic, there appears to be a hose missing - see the hose connecting tube at top right in the pic. Judging by the size and style, possibly part of the coolant system ?

 

[turbo]

Thanks Andy and Terry. Yeah Terry, I was looking at that as it would sort of be where the blue hose on the plug runs to. If it is a hose attachment point, it seems it can only vent to the leading edge of the wing. And since the blue hoses carry air, is it air cooling something? I have plans of the aircraft so might see if they shed any light.

 

[turbo]

OK, mysteries solved, I think.

From what I can tell from Google translator, the doowhackies are the undercarriage locking and release mechanism.

Just noticed - in the reference pic, there appears to be a hose missing - see the hose connecting tube at top right in the pic. Judging by the size and style, possibly part of the coolant system ?

Terry, you are right. The hose connector fitting you pointed out is part 1158/2-5 below which vents to the leading edge of the wing. The blue hose in my tub (missing in the reference photo) is part 11581 and Google translator tells me it is the cooling conduit for the fuel filters (part 1156, the yellow things in the tub).

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[Airframes]

Great info, glad you found the answers Kirby.

 

[Crimea_River]

I always like to solve such mysteries as well. I was guessing that the hose might have been for gun heating.

 

[fubar57]

Looks good sir

 

[JKim]

Nice detective work guys!

 

[turbo]

Bit of a surgical update. I'm in the phase I probably find most tedious, a lot of fiddly construction work for modifications. Due to the ludicrous amount of PE that's going on this kit, it's taking quite some time!

Anyway, early series Folgores did not have an antenna mast immediately behind the cockpit, but rather a smaller attachment point further aft.

So this was going to necessitate filling of the locator hole for the mast.

Hadn't tried this before, but inspiration hit me as I was looking at the hole. I took a length of plastic rod, melted the end of it with Contacta glue and jammed it into the hole with a few twists. It was then left to dry.

Once dry, it was clipped off at the base and then sanded flat.

Not a bad result I think! There was another hole on the ventral side of the fuselage which received the same treatment, but I haven't bothered to show that.

Just about every bit of detail on this kit has a replacement PE part, including the triangular structural element underneath the wheel bay. As part of the undercarriage bay upgrade, the moulded kit representation needed to be removed. In keeping with this model's theme, I recently purchased this Tamiya PE saw set for just this kind of work.

The PE saws are very thin (0.1 mm) so make a very fine cut. They are also flexible so useful for cutting around irregular shapes and in difficult locations like this, but you need to be careful not to bend them.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope to be getting on with something more exciting soon...