MSRP: $40.00 USD History
On the heels of the Cr.32’s success in the Spanish Civil War, the
Italians were under the impression that the biplane, along with its
maneuverability, had a place in future warfare. As history shows they
were wrong, well sort of. So development commenced on the CR.42, the last
Italian biplane of the war.
The very things that made the biplane vulnerable, such as slow speed
and open cockpits, were the things that made it ideal for some jobs. The
Luftwaffe took an interest in the CR.42 following experience with Soviet
night nuisance bombers. The Luftwaffe saw the CR.42 as the immediate fix
for a night attack aircraft for use against partisans in the Balkans.
This little biplane held the line until the Stuka could take over the
unenviable job of night low level bombing. Flying with Nacht Sclacht
Gruppe 9 (NSGr 9), the CR.42 was equipped with flame dampening exhausts,
disruptive paint and two bombs. It distinguished itself in combat and was
known for its strength and ability to take punishment. Following Italian
capitulation, other CR.42s were inherited by the Luftwaffe and used in
training schools.
The Model
This kit is for experienced modelers. This is not the kit for you if
this is your first biplane or first limited run kit. The kit is a
low-pressure limited run injection plastic kit molded in light gray. The
panel lines are nicely engraved. The kit has some wonderful resin parts
for the engine, some cockpit parts, and the exhausts. There are two frets
of photo etch, some of which are colored, which display the appropriate
use of the medium. If it is supposed to be flat it is on the PE sheet, if
it is supposed to be round it will be resin. There is a clear canopy
included. The decal sheet has markings for four aircraft. The
instructions are broken down into a small booklet with an errata sheet.
The instructions were from the initial release of the kit and the errata
sheet covers the new moldings. You have to be careful and study both
sheets, and sometimes the differences aren’t readily apparent, but nothing
too difficult. One other thing is a photo of the built up, unpainted
cockpit, which is very useful.
The cockpit and fuselage
The photo etch instrument panels are a three-piece affair. Tough for
the pilot to see but for the modeler the pre-painted panel is very nice
and easy to work with. I attached them with CA and when everything was
set I added a drop of Future to the lenses. This did two things - it gave
a “glass” look to the instruments but it also helped to attach the two
panels together. There is a lot of bending that has to take place in the
cockpit. A Hold & Fold is an essential tool. The cage that enclosed the
cockpit is very delicate. The cockpit is painted a light gray. The
seatbelt system can only be described in S&M circles. What were the
Italians thinking? Time to add the whole assembly to the fuselage
halves. Guess what? Yup it is a limited run kit so the fragile cockpit
cage did not fit. Time to break out the Dremel tool. I thinned the
cockpit sidewalls and floor until they were slightly translucent. There
is plenty of plastic to work with. The only drawback with this fix is
that the detail that was on the sidewalls is gone. I used some tape to
replace the formers. Once painted they look fine and besides they are
pretty well hidden in the small opening. If you didn’t replace them I’m
not sure you would notice.
The fuselage halves fit just fine now.
The lower wing and tail
The lower wing is a one-piece affair. This attaches without any big
trouble, except for the front. I ended up having to fill the front, but
now that it is done, you really didn’t need to do it, as the engine
cowling will cover the area. The fit of the wing is fine. A little
filler was needed here and there, but nothing objectionable.
The horizontal tails have no locating pins. I drilled out some holes
to attach the tails to the fuselage for strength. Very little filler was
needed to smooth things out.
Engine
The engine is a beautiful work of resin engineering. The cylinders are
separate from the crankcase. I painted the crankcase neutral gray and the
cylinders flat black, and dry brushed with Model Master Aluminum. The
photo etch rocker arms are added to the front of the engine. Everything
was given a wash of black and set aside.
The engine cowling is a two-piece affair. You have to be very careful
when you remove these from the sprue. There are bumps on the mating
surface that need to be carefully cleaned up. If you were careful there
is only a little bit of filler that is needed. Check your references as
to which spinner you need.
Attach the engine to the fuselage through the hole. This has a very
positive mounting.
Struts
When you remove the struts from the sprue make sure you label them.
This will become very important. Attach them with liquid glue or tube
glue. A little filler will be needed at the attachment points, but again
nothing exceptional. A technique to attach the struts is tape the upper
wing to the bench, then use Play-doh to level the aircraft over the upper
wing. Attach the struts to the bottom wing with tube glue and let gravity
help you in aligning the struts to the upper wing. I worked inside to
out. I’m sure there are other techniques out there, but as this was a
learning experience. I’m open to suggestions!
You’ll need to do some cutting for the tropical filter, if your
aircraft requires it like mine did. I left off the exhausts until after
painting the bottom.
The landing gear of my aircraft had the fairing that covers the wheels
and landing gear struts cut off. Unfortunately, the cut is not on a panel
line. The resin struts will go have to be put on after the cut has been
made. I tried to cut them the same but I’m not sure I was entirely
successful. I think it looks good though. I did have an issue that the
wheels were FLAT. No, not bulged, flat. I elected to just live with it,
but could have added plastic to get a more round tire. Attaching the
struts seemed pretty straight forward, but that was not the case. Once
attached to the model, the struts caused the kit to be canted to one
side. I corrected this by cutting the strut right at the joint and
sanding until it was even. This looked really good, which surprised me.
Paint
After washing the model with Dawn dish detergent, I primed the aircraft
with Tamiya Primer. As usual I did have some cleanup to do, but
eventually it was time to add paint. I preshaded the model with Flat
Black, but to be honest it was a wasted step, as the camouflage would
obliterate the effect on the top and bottom.
This aircraft has many interpretations of its paint scheme. I didn’t
like a single one of them. After reading “Ghost Bombers” I found out that
NSGr 9 painted their aircraft in an overspray of RLM 79. They kept this
practice up even after switching to the Stuka, and continued it until the
end of the war. I painted the bottom of the aircraft Italian light grey,
Classic Airframes suggests RLM 76. I disagree, but no one can prove
either of us wrong. After that dried, I painted the lizard scheme on top
which is Italian Dark Green (Verda Mimetico 3) with spots of a sand color
(Gialio Mimetico 3). I used Polly-S for my Italian colors.
Once the basic Italian camouflage was done it was time to add a German
touch to it. I added some hard-edged patterns in a Gunze mixed RLM 75 on
the whole airframe. The bottom had small patches and the fuselage and top
of the wings had larger ones. Classic Airframes has only the bottom of
the wings camouflaged but this didn’t make sense to me so I camouflaged
the entire underside. The other color on the bottom seemed very stark in
contrast to the RLM 75 so I elected to use Gunze RLM 70. Again the bottom
had small patches and the top and fuselage had larger patches. Also there
were squiggle lines to aid the transition of the camouflage from the light
bottom to the top.
After looking at the picture I determined that the upper surface was
extensively over sprayed with the exception of the engine cowling, which
may have been a replacement. Using Gunze RLM 79, I proceeded to curl my
toes and over sprayed all my nice paint job. This was an exercise in
airbrush control. I applied the color in a random pattern. When it was
done I was not happy especially with the upper wing. I ended up
repainting the upper wing back to the Italian standard then the RLM 75 and
70. Then I repainted the RLM 79. The 79 flowed really well so I
reapplied the 79 over the fuselage as well. Now I was happy. A coat of
Tamiya Clear from a spray can prepared the model for the decals.
The decals were perfect. They were in register, opaque and very thin.
They also responded well with Micro Sol and Set. I sealed with another
coat of Tamiya Clear and then a coat of Model Master Flat; the model
looked really good and abused.
Top wing and final assembly
As this is only my second biplane ever I was a little nervous about
that upper wing. I contacted some friends who build world-class biplanes
and got their thoughts on how to do it. They recommended two methods.
One was to flip the aircraft over and attach the wing. The other was to
use Play-doh to align the wings. I ended up flipping the aircraft over.
I recommend that you fill the holes for the struts in the upper wing and
then just center it yourself. The top wing was attached to the struts
with liquid glue. Had I been smarter I would have used tube glue. I wish
I could say that it went together with no flaws but that was not the
case. Most of the struts fit well but two of the outer struts did not fit
at all. I ended up having to break off the two offending struts and
extended them with plastic and superglue. After reattaching them the rest
of the wing went together ok. I had to sand the attachment points and
that meant touching up the upper wing camouflage on the bottom, but it was
not too hard.
The exhausts were painted Model Master Magnesium and then dry brushed
with Model Master Burnt Metal at the front and the bend. Then some
pastels were added for color. The exhausts were added with superglue.
Other small parts were added and the rigging, made from .005 wire, was
attached with white glue. Thank God there were only four wires. Some
small pieces of photo etch were added to the wings, and everything was
done.
Conclusions
This was my first Classic Airframes kit and only my second biplane ever
so it can be done. I learned a lot while building it. It is for an
experienced modeler, but not too difficult for someone who wants to
stretch their skills. On the down side I could only think of two things,
having to thin the inside of the fuselage and the struts not fitting (I
may be at fault here). On the plus side, is an interesting multimedia
aircraft with great markings, and an exceptional looking cockpit. There
were times I was frustrated but it was more with me than with the kit.
The kit was very nicely done.
I will build another Classic Airframes biplane in the future, maybe the
He-51, and that is about as good an endorsement as I can offer any kit.
If you are looking for a rewarding challenge this kit is just what you are
looking for to expand your skills.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Classic Airframes for the review copy.
References
Ghost Bombers:The Moonlight War of NSG 9, Nick Beale, Classic
Publications, 2001, ISBN 1-903223-15-6
Fiat CR 32/CR 42 in action, George Punka, Squadron/Signal Publications,
2000, ISBN 0-89747-411-2
Fiat CR 42, Ali D’Italia #1, La Bancarella Aeronautica, 1995
Model Airplane International Issue #2 September 2005
Sky Model Issue #3 Quarterly Volume II |