July 2023 Workbench

[Hu Rhu]

To match my Trumpeter USN kits I have invested in Warlord Games Blood Red Skies models for the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft. The planes are produced in soft resin which although lightweight can be a little bendy. Also they carry the odd mold line which needs to be cut off.

Aichi D3a 'Val'



They have a cutaway under the plane for their own custom bases but this can be easily filled in. It is also very easy to drill out a hole and fit a peg.



Nakajima BN5 'Kate'. The bad news is that this aircraft has a pre-molded torpedo, which has been offset to the right to allow their base to be fitted.





This will need to be cut away carefully. I might add a shapeways torpedo to the finished plane. However for the price of £4.50 a plane I think these are a good bargain. Now to get some paint on them.

[malachi]

shapeways will be replacing this Caproni

[hokusai]

To match my Trumpeter USN kits I have invested in Warlord Games Blood Red Skies models for the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft. The planes are produced in soft resin which although lightweight can be a little bendy. Also they carry the odd mold line which needs to be cut off.

Aichi D3a 'Val'


They have a cutaway under the plane for their own custom bases but this can be easily filled in. It is also very easy to drill out a hole and fit a peg.


Nakajima BN5 'Kate'. The bad news is that this aircraft has a pre-molded torpedo, which has been offset to the right to allow their base to be

This will need to be cut away carefully. I might add a shapeways torpedo to the finished plane. However for the price of £4.50 a plane I think these are a good bargain. Now to get some paint on them.

Are they to scale, Gary?

I am currently working on an big RA transporter, the SM 74. Hopefully to be ready for photo session soon.

[CrashCraig]

[QUOTE=malachi;586515]shapeways will be replacing this Caproni

Chris - Ouch! Makes me glad I bought the Gray PA12 version. Looking forward to your finished model once you get your order squared away.

[Hu Rhu]

Are they to scale, Gary?

As far as I can tell. I haven't got an Ares model to match them against but most of what I have read suggests that they are the correct scale.

[Hu Rhu]

Are they to scale, Gary?

As far as I can tell. I haven't got an Ares model to match them against but most of what I have read suggests that they are the correct scale.

[Baron Rolf]

To match my Trumpeter USN kits I have invested in Warlord Games Blood Red Skies models for the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft. The planes are produced in soft resin which although lightweight can be a little bendy. Also they carry the odd mold line which needs to be cut off.

Aichi D3a 'Val'



They have a cutaway under the plane for their own custom bases but this can be easily filled in. It is also very easy to drill out a hole and fit a peg.



Nakajima BN5 'Kate'. The bad news is that this aircraft has a pre-molded torpedo, which has been offset to the right to allow their base to be fitted.





This will need to be cut away carefully. I might add a shapeways torpedo to the finished plane. However for the price of £4.50 a plane I think these are a good bargain. Now to get some paint on them.

I look forward to seeing them painted up Gary.

[hokusai]

Just realized that warlord games is about to release Sparvieros. I will be patient a little longer, but if no announcement from Ares comes by the end of the year, I will go for them.

[Hu Rhu]

My completed Aichi D3A in various paint schemes.

[CrashCraig]

Looking sharp there Gary. I especially like the canopies.

[Baron Rolf]

Those look brilliant Gary . I have four aeroplanes to prep, prime and paint up too.

[Hu Rhu]

Those look brilliant Gary . I have four aeroplanes to prep, prime and paint up too.

Can't wait to see them.

[Diamondback]

Not Wings/Sails, but since the lady who owns my gunshop is closing and moving out-of-state I made her these as a "thanks for everything over the years" going-away present. (First photo is before installing the crystal "primers", second after.)

[Jager]

Very thoughtful of you, DB.
Karl

[hokusai]

SM-74. A slow-moving unarmed transporter to be used as a flying target. Model from Shapeways.



Only 3 such planes were built. They took service in 1935 with the "Ala Littoria" airline. With the outbreak of war they were militarized and took service mainly in North Africa, initially with the 616th, then the 604th squadiglia of the 145th gruppo.



None of the aircraft managed to survive wartime. They were not shot down, however. In October 1941 604-11 crashed into a mountain in Sicily, due to poor visibility. 604-8 was destroyed on the ground by bombing in Libya the same year. 604-9 was destroyed by an american bombing raid over Rome in July 1943.



According to a document at Savoia Marchetti all 3 planes were painted with brown/green blotches over sand-yellow. In some profiles one of them is often represented with green base color, probably due to (mis?)interpretation of b&w photos. Colors of RA planes is a special science impossible to master.
I used Vallejo 70913 sligthly toned down as base color. Decals are home made.



Size comparison some other RA models

[CrashCraig]

Excellent paint job Fabrizo.”

[BellMW54]

The Nakajima BN5 'Kate'. The bad news is that this aircraft has a pre-molded torpedo, which has been offset to the right to allow their base to be fitted.





This will need to be cut away carefully. I might add a shapeways torpedo to the finished plane. However for the price of £4.50 a plane I think these are a good bargain. Now to get some paint on them.

Yeah, I also noted the misplaced torpedo but wasn't really sure how to deal with it; especially if I were to use Warlord's bases for a "revised" Blood Red Skies a'la Wings of Glory game system (I sat down one afternoon and play-tested a quick 3 on 3 BRS scenario and determined I needed to redress the whole IGYG issue. It just doesn't work!). thanks for the heads up about Shapeways.

[BellMW54]

My completed Aichi D3A in various paint schemes.

What Craig and Mark said. TWO thumbs up!

[flash]

SM-74. A slow-moving unarmed transporter to be used as a flying target. Model from Shapeways...

Very nice Fabrizio, that's a large lumbering target for sure - will we see it in the Painting showcase soon ?

[Flying Helmut]

Super Italian transport!

[Guntruck]

Excellent job Fabrizio

[Diamondback]

Very thoughtful of you, DB.
Karl

Update: Handed off the earrings at the "thanks for the memories" BBQ this morning; Michele loved them so much she had to put 'em on right there.

[camelbeagle]

Fabrizo, those are awesome looking! Amazing job!

Diamondback, those earring are awesome!

[Diamondback]

Fabrizo, those are awesome looking! Amazing job!

Diamondback, those earring are awesome!

Thanks, but they're really quite simple--the hardest part is managing to NOT lop your fingers off with the hacksaw when you're cutting the heads off the brass. Two 4mm crystals, two earring posts, two minutes with the jeweler's or industrial epoxy and two hours for glue to cure. I actually stole the idea from a neighbor who makes them for her friends out of her shot-out hunting brass.

[milcoll73]

great work Fabrizio!!!

[milcoll73]

nice work on the earrings diamondback! though .50 cal wouldve been cooler lol.

[Diamondback]

nice work on the earrings diamondback! though .50 cal wouldve been cooler lol.

Once-fired .50 brass is kinda problematic and shot out scrap hard to get... these two rounds were fired by her from her favorite carry gun, so they were more appropriate for a uniquely personal touch. (I like each pair I make to be reflective of the person they're made for... one of my non-Ares clients asked me to make a pair for his wife and I'm waiting on him to get me two cases from her brass, hopefully nickel-plated to go with the turquoise stones she prefers.)

Then, once I finish the 1911 I'm building and it has the first 20 cases of test brass shot-out beyond use I'm going to make earrings, tie tacks/bars and money clips out of those as mementoes for the people who've worked over two decades to help me pull this thing off. It's a 7" Longslide firing the magnum .450 SMC round, should look pretty close to this:

Intended finish is two-tone, dark metallic teal with silvertone (chrome/nickel/etc) flats polished so bright you could use 'em as a shaving mirror, with pearl grips. This design study doesn't include the ~1.5" of compensator on the end of the barrel, the optic and mount on the top rear of the slide or the light/laser unit mounted around the triggerguard.

[milcoll73]

Once-fired .50 brass is kinda problematic and shot out scrap hard to get... these two rounds were fired by her from her favorite carry gun, so they were more appropriate for a uniquely personal touch. (I like each pair I make to be reflective of the person they're made for... one of my non-Ares clients asked me to make a pair for his wife and I'm waiting on him to get me two cases from her brass, hopefully nickel-plated to go with the turquoise stones she prefers.)

Then, once I finish the 1911 I'm building and it has the first 20 cases of test brass shot-out beyond use I'm going to make earrings, tie tacks/bars and money clips out of those as mementoes for the people who've worked over two decades to help me pull this thing off. It's a 7" Longslide firing the magnum .450 SMC round, should look pretty close to this:

Intended finish is two-tone, dark metallic teal with silvertone (chrome/nickel/etc) flats polished so bright you could use 'em as a shaving mirror, with pearl grips. This design study doesn't include the ~1.5" of compensator on the end of the barrel, the optic and mount on the top rear of the slide or the light/laser unit mounted around the triggerguard.

so its got a real personal connection. nice.
nice .45.

[OldGuy59]

Way late...

Attempted to improve the line drawing a bit, but this is for Fabrizio's SM.74:



Close enough?

[hokusai]

Way late...
Attempted to improve the line drawing a bit, but this is for Fabrizio's SM.74:
Close enough?

Yes, Mike, thanks