Macchi C.205 'Veltro' - (1:48 Tauro Model) Part 4

Detailing the Gun Bay Access Panels

In this post I will be describing the techniques I used to scratch-build the Macchi's nose-gun bay access panels.

Some might ask why I would go through all the trouble and not use the kit parts in the first place.  There are primarily two reasons for this: firstly the detail on the kit parts could do with some improvement; secondly and more importantly,  I will be displaying the model with the gun bays open.  Using the kit parts would mean that the thickness of the plastic would appear over-scale and even though I could easily sand these down I would still be left with the first problem, i.e. the poor detail.

I also think that scratch-building is one of the most enjoyable (and challenging) aspects of scale modelling, and I like a challenge :)

Tools and Materials Used

• Thin aluminium sheet;
• Soft aluminium from an old cream tube;
• Assorted needle files;
• Pin vise with .25mm drill bit;
• Metal block;
• Scalpels with  No 11 and No 10 blades;
• Assorted sculpting tools;
• Curved tweezers;
• Superglue 

Materials used in this post

Let's get started...

Creating the Access Panels

Using the kit parts as a template I cut out the new panels from the aluminium sheet and using a ruler and pencil, mark out where the rivets should go.

Marking out the rivet lines

Using the original part as a guide, rivet holes are drilled through the panel using a 0.25mm twist drill bit.

Adding rivet holes

Finally, I smooth the panel down and round off its corners using a flat needle file. The entire process was repeated for the second panel.

Adding the air scoops and vents

Now for the challenging bit.  The port access panel features a forward facing air scoop and two rear facing vents, whilst the starboard panel features four rear-facing vents,

I start off with the larger air scoop for the port panel, and wrap the original kit part in a strip of soft aluminium from an old cream tube to use it as a template.

Creating the air scoop

Wrapping the kit part this way will ensure that the aluminium doesn't move whilst I'm shaping it.  Also, the softer material from the tube is more suited for these 'larger' or 'sharper' curves and will conform to the contours much easier than the stiffer aluminium sheet.

Using the point of a sharp No 11 blade I cut a small slit where the front of the scoop will be and using a sculpting tool and the curved tweezers I start bending the aluminium to shape.

Here's the result

The finished air-scoop

The excess material you can see at the base of the scoop in the image above helps the scoop adhere better to the panel and was eventually be sanded down.

Here it is mated to the panel:

The air-scoop is added to the panel

Next up the more fiddly air vents.  These are less prominent than the air scoop but are still raised enough to show a gap in this scale.

Unfortunately this time I could not use the kit parts as a template because the vents are not as well defined as the air scoop.  Instead, I decided to use the point of a half-round needle file as a template.

Testing the technique on a piece of  aluminium

 At first I was going to use the same soft aluminium used for the air scoop however I soon found out that this was too brittle in this particular case.  I then tried a bit of thicker aluminium sheet (see image above) and found that I could better bend these to the required shape   The fact that the vents have a much shallower curvature than the air scoop meant that I could in fact use the thicker material and still get a smooth curve.

I fashioned around ten of these vents and selected the best six, two for the port-side access panel and four for the starboard-side and fixed them to the panels using super glue.

I'm pretty happy with the end result:

Vents added to the port-side panel

Finally, once the glue was fully cured, I sanded down the edges using a flat needle file and bent the panels along their narrow edge over the handle of a craft knife.

I then checked the curvature of each panel against the fuselage.

Test fitting to the model to verify the curvature - port...

... and starboard

That concludes this post.  All in all it was a challenging, but highly enjoyable task and I'm quite happy with the end result.  The edges around the vents still show somewhat, but nothing a bit of sanding and putty will not fix.

Stay tuned for more.

Macchi C.205 'Veltro' - (1:48 Tauro Model) Part 3

Detailing the Engine

Historical Background

The Macchi C.205 featured a licence-built version of the German Daimler Benz DB 605 liquid cooled, supercharged inverted V-12 engine.  These were built by Fiat and designated as the RA.1050 R C.58 Tifone (Typhoon).  This aircraft was one of the three Italian "Series 5" fighters that were built around this engine, the other two being the Reggiane Re.2005 and the Fiat G.55.

The Model

As hinted previously in this build, the engine in the kit has some nice detail and features a separate supercharger/compressor assembly, separate exhaust outlets as well as various ancillaries.  Ever since I got this kit I knew I would be displaying it with the engine exposed and a lot of it will be visible.  I therefore decided to add some further detail to enhance the final look.

Starting from the top, the first area to receive treatment was the crank case cover.  Reference photos of the real engine clearly show an array of very evident bolts that fasten this cover to the engine block.  My first attempt was to glue thin plastic strips onto the cover and using a sharp blade I cut out the 'bolts'.

Fashioning the bolts out of plastic strips

As you can see from the image above, this resulted in a quite untidy look with unevenly spaced and sized bolts.  In short I was not happy with the result so I switched to plan-B.

Plan-B consisted of fashioning a new crank case cover from aluminium and applying a neat trick I picked up from my good friend Brian Cauchi.  I first marked out where the bolts would go using a fine pencil, then, using a blunt point, I started to make small depressions in the aluminium.  The trick is to do this over a 'soft' surface like a cutting mat.

Adding the bolts

The following picture shows the end result when the aluminium is turned the right way-up.

The finished crank case cover showing the raised 'bolts'

To fix the new crank case cover to the engine I obviously had to shave off the existing detail which was then re-done from bits of scrap plastic sprue.  There are a couple of more details to add to this area but they can be applied after painting.

From here I turned my attention to the underside of the engine, specifically the air compressor and reduction gear-box:

Adding plumbing to the underside of the engine (apologies for poor quality)

The air compressor will be mostly hidden when the engine is installed, however it could still do with a little modification to make it appear closer to the real thing.

A section of the air compressor tubing is cut off...

... and replaced with thinner plastic rod

Next in the list were the spark plug leads.  I had already added the ends of these using thin copper wire however I decided to retro-fit some further detail.  I bent the wires back to scrape off the molded detail and proceeded with adding my own:

Starboard side showing the new leads...

... and the port side receives similar treatment

That's it for now.  In the next post I will tackle the back of the engine vis-a-vis connections to the firewall.

Macchi C.205 'Veltro' - (1:48 Tauro Model) Part 2

Welcome back.

In this second post on the Macchi build we will look at adding more detail to the firewall area.  Reference photographs show how busy this area is with all sorts of cables and pipes, most of which will be clearly visible through the wheel wells.

When adding this type of complex detail it is always a good idea to work in layers and plan ahead. W start by adding the detail that's in the background (closer to the firewall) and work our way outwards.  First of is a wiring loom that runs across the firewall itself.

This was done by twisting together four strands of very thin copper wire held together with a thin strip of aluminium sheet using superglue.  Once dry the excess aluminum is cut using a sharp blade:

After test-fitting the wire to the fire wall it is glued in place again using superglue.

The trick is to work in sections.  First the right-hand side end is glued in place.  Then the wire is bent to the desired position and glued again where it will change direction.  The process is repeated as many times as necessary.

Next some structural detail is added using thin plastic strips.

The next step is to prepare the largest bits of plumbing as these are very evident and will take up most of the space.  They will also dictate what other bits of detail will be allowed in this area.

The flexible piping is simulated by coiling thin copper wire around lengths of other wires of varying thicknesses.  Detail such as clips is added in a similar fashion to the wiring loom above.

These 'pipes' are bent to the desired position, using photographs for reference

At this stage it is very important to determine the sequence in which these bits of plumbing will be glued.  Their relative thickness implies that they are hard to bend around each-other so it is a good idea to jot down this sequence as you are dry-fitting the parts to see which should go in first.

Progress at this stage is somewhat slow, it literally takes hours to prepare and test fit the parts including the numerous corrections until the bends are just right!

That's all for now... thanks for watching.

Macchi C.205 'Veltro' - (1:48 Tauro Model)

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Hi, welcome to my blog. My name is Wayne Zammit and I'm a proud member of IPMS Malta.

In this first series of posts I will be presenting my build of Tauro Model's Macchi C.205. This kit hails from the early 1990's but I only purchased it a couple of months ago from a local kit swap for the princely sum of €4! My first impression as I opened the box was both positive and negative. On the up-side, the kit is bursting with detail such as a complete DB 605 engine, movable control surfaces and various removable access panels. On the other hand, most of these lovely bits of detail were plagued with lots of flash and a number of sink marks. Having said that I do love a challenge and I'm convinced that with a good dose of TLC, this kit will turn out into a pretty decent model of this well respected fighter.

The Build

 First off - the Engine. The DB605 engine is a little kit in itself as it is made up of no less than 26 parts! I started off by gluing the 2 engine block halves together and then adding the reduction gearbox and prop shaft. The fit was less than ideal but was easily fixed with some sanding and plastic-strips. I then cleaned the cylinder blocks and added some copper wire detail. The supercharger was next. This was detailed with thin plastic wire to add the ribbing. Finally I closed off the block by fixing the crank case cover.  Here's the result so far:

I left the rest of the parts on the sprue for now as adding them at this stage would hinder painting. These will be cleaned and painted separately and fixed to the engine at a later stage.

My next job was he cockpit, starting with the port side.  The kit detail is decent but I decided to improve upon it by adding some scratch-built parts.  I used one of the bulkheads as a template to cut plastic strips into the correct shape.  Holes were drilled as necessary and the plastic supports were glued to the fuselage.  Copper wire was added to add more detail.

I turned my attention to the other side of the cockpit were similar detail was added.

I'm still looking for some good reference photos of the cockpit floor so I left the cockpit for the time being and started working on the firewall and engine mounts.  I first glued the firewall to the port fuselage half and dry-fitted the engine mounts.  My next job was to add support struts between the two engine mounts using bits of plastic rod, a pair of tweezers and a steady hand!

 The bottom are of the firewall behind the engine is a pretty busy place, full of plumbing and wiring which will be clearly visible through the wheel wells.  I coiled thin copper wire around lengths of copper and plastic rods of different thickness to create the flexible piping.  You can see a couple of these being test-fitted in the picture above.

That's it for this post.  Stay tuned for more progress on this challenging but enjoyable build.  In the mean time, here's a sneak-peek of the current progress.