1/48 Classic Airframes CR-42

by Chas Bunch

--------------------

 

I built this excellent kit with a few enhancements that my research showed that the kit lacked - like the oil cooler inlets at the root of the bottom wing and trailing edge outlets. The Ali D'Italia CR 42 book was a great help, as it has excellent drawings in 1:48 scale showing everything you need to know.  I also drooped the elevators and offset the rudder.  I fabricated control horns for the rudder and ailerons and used invisible thread treated with aluminum metalizer for control cables - it looks more realistic than the photo-etch parts included in the kit.  I made the tapered gun blast tubes from aluminum tubing on my poor man's lathe (drill motor and file).  I used wire for engine pushrod tubes instead of the photo-etched part - (tubes are round, not flat). I also added ignition wiring, although it is almost invisible since the wiring harness ring is located at the rear of this engine and the wiring visible from the front is barely noticeable.  I made the pitot tubes on the outboard struts from 25 ga. hypo needle and fine wire.  The nav light lenses are small glass beads painted with Tamiya Clear red and green.  Rigging of the outboard struts was done with .008" guitar wire.  Paint is Model Master enamel and Alclad II on the front face of the prop.  I have since learned that the prop may have been pale blue instead of polished metal.  Such is life.

Click on images below to see larger images

This aircraft, coded 13-95 with serial MM5701 was forced down on a beach near Orfordness, England by a ruptured oil line during one of the few raids by the Regia Aeronautic during the Battle of Britain in November of 1940.  The pilot, Sargente Pietro Salvadori, was said to be relieved to become a POW.  His aircraft now resides at the RAF museum at Hendon.

Chas

Photos and text © by Chas Bunch