1/48 Karaya Ansaldo A.1 Balilla 

by Tomasz Gronczewski

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  Poland Independence Day 2005  

 

Ansaldo A.1 Balilla was one of more controversial scout aircraft of the Great War. First planes were delivered to Italian Squadriglias in the summer 1918. By the end of the Great War 166 Balillas had been accepted to the active duty. After the Great War Poland became the major Balilla user. Both Ansaldo-built as well as Plage & Laskiewicz  license built Balillas were supposed to be backbone of the Polish fighter units. First A.1s arrived early enough to reinforce Polish aviation in the height of the Polish Soviet War. They flew their first combat sorties with Polish-American 7th Fighter Squadron during Polish blitz offensive toward Kiev in May 1920. American pilots welcomed the new aircraft with great enthusiasm. Their main advantage was the combat radius, twice as long as their well worn Oeffag D.IIIs. The model represents the Ansaldo-built Balilla no. 16746/16.8. According to the legend under James Deneen's painting this aircraft was flown by George M. "Buck" Crawford.

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Ansaldo A.1 in 1/48th scale released in the beginning of 2005 by Karaya is one of the most beautiful resin models I have ever touched. I was impressed especially by two things: external surfaces were so even that one could swear they had been cnc-cut, and the finesse of the details was unbeatable. The fit of all parts (may be with an exception of the seat backrest) was exceptional. Many parts including fuselage halves had mounting pins - a true rarity among resin kits.

The full build article in Polish can be found here:
http://www.pme.org.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=42
English translation of the article follows here:
http://www.pme.org.pl/images/stories/tomasz/galleries/balilla_crawford/balilla_build.htm.

Tomasz

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Photos and text © by Tomasz Gronczewski