Fiat CR.42 Group Build

[No.1]

Clean hole Any option to put mesh inside or no need for that?

[Profa]

Scott, I'd suggest you swedish book from Mikael Forslund Produktion - J11. Fiat CR.42 - plenty of good pics of CR.42s in swedish service, along with some nice contemporary colour pics of operational machines.
Here attached is what I found regarding oil cooler inlet - it seems it was covered with some sort of flap, since on most of the pictures it is closed (like blinded). Only one picture shows some kind of opened flap.
Also visit walk around galleries http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2007/02/stuff_eng_detail_cr42_2.htm and http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/cr42ws_1.htm, there are pics of museum samples with the same type of inlet covering...

[Second Air Force]

Thanks for the replies on the oil cooler openings y'all.

I'll be installing the small doors in there, especially so since I'm building a winterized bird. I don't have access to a pilot's handbook or technical manual, but from the photos it looks like the door pivots in the center like the throttle plate on a carburetor to allow air through the cooler when needed. In one of Walter Scheibling's walkaround photos of the Hendon airplane you can see what looks like the bearing or bushing that the shaft would turn on.

Profa, thanks for the book title--I'll see if I can find one or order it direct from Mr. Forslund.

[Second Air Force]

Two more photos--I finished fitting the wing-to-fuselage joint and did a final cleanup on the oil cooler openings, then installed the shutter doors.

Fiat CR.42 Group Build

This second one is of the engine, and it is really, really a nice model in itself, made up of fifteen resin parts and a PE pushrod set. Not only is it well detailed but it goes together very nicely. All I added was a little plumbing and wiring.

Fiat CR.42 Group Build

[No.1]

Look perfect for me

[Sall]

Look perfect for me

+1!

[draken35]

I "+1" too!!!

[Second Air Force]

I am to the point where painting should start. Even with extra coffee, today just wasn't a painting day , so I decided to explore the fit of the upper wing. Everything I've read about the CA kit says the struts aren't right or the wing dihedral is wrong, etc. I did find that the upper wing of my example had more dihedral than it should have. I simply (very carefully) straightened it out by clamping half of the wing in my vise and applying some pressure. Then I slid the completed engine in place, laid the resin skis out, and propped the wing on the fuselage to see how it will look. I still haven't started exploring the actual struts--not the day for that either.

Fiat CR.42 Group Build

Fiat CR.42 Group Build

[Paul Andrews]

I can see we have some extremely good model makers here - nice to see the CR.42 as a popular subject for a group build, I've always liked this little biplane. Keep it up.

[Second Air Force]

Jump in, Paul! We'd love to see another Falco project on this thread.

[draken35]

Even for a day off, nice study of the next steps, Scott!

[Sall]

Nice Scott.

[Profa]

Todays' cockpit and fuselage assembly seemed like a walk in the park, but tight fit made a nightmare out of it - it took me quite some time and corrections to set everything straight, hunting detached tiny PE parts in the process...
At the end (now) I didn't have any strength to finish the job and glue fuselage halves... Last pics of both builds show current state, and tomorrow I'll continue...

[Sall]

I like your cockpits!

[draken35]

Nice work, Profa!