My First Model in 34+ yrs...Revell 1/72 Macchi C.200 Saetta

[wappynutter]

Another update folks......
Decal time for the Saetta...
Everything laid out ready..




Starting on the underside...


...and topside..












Under artificial lights... Sorry....




We'll leave the plane to settle and crack on with the little bits...
Bench, makeshift bench for welding/cutting and a mechanic with welding/cutting gear..




Close up of the oil drum/plank mock work bench and the wheel chocks..




Styrene cut and sprayed with chrome to look like sheet metal to prop on the wall and bench..




Four figures!..... that's 2 pilots and 2 mechanics....


Weathering the Saetta now and I start with an oil wash/pin wash and a slight pastel chalk dusting...
The final couple of pictures are after the Vallejo matt varnish has been applied..


























So I think the Saetta is finished

On with some more of the diorama then eh?
Now we are still waiting for Greg and his how-to on the concrete so you will all have to look at my rubbish attempt at it..
I have lightly sanded the grey primer and scratched/carved some cracks in the concrete concourse... afterall it does see lots of heavy planes and vehicles on it...




Quick update on the mini compressor for the hanger. Extra styrene bits added then painted wooden bits and black tanks.. Then all washed with a white wash that I use on the concrete to give it a tonal variation...




Top view of the Hanger..




Wooden signage hangs above the shutter doors which reads Traino 13 which is Italian for Hanger 13..




Concrete whitewashed and pinwashed with black and now getting a flat coat along with the figures...






Does it look like concrete??? let me know what you think..


Figures all flatcoated now...




And finally I glue all the bits in the hanger.... Even a little broom I made for a paperclip and a piece of old carpet tile to give a bristle head..














That's it for now folks.....
Next time I will add a light to the hanger inside so once the roof is on I can switch it on to light up all the detail I put in there....
I will also crack on with the ground work and if I make the post just right we will get a final post for the finished diorama with the saetta parked on the concourse awaiting her Pilot...
As always Thank you for taking a look at my little build, Comments and questions are welcome guys.
Take care and Happy modelling..

[panzerman]

The plane and the diorama project looks great. The whole hanger concept is awesome....looking forward to the next update.
Bill.

[alextheblue]

Looking great wappy - love all the details, you sir are the scratch-building king!

[UKscalemodeller]

wanna do mine now

looks great Wappy

[wappynutter]

Right I'm back...
Thanks guys for your comments, Bill I thought the Hanger idea was cool too, wait till its finished...
Alex, scratch build king..... thanks but I wish I was that good.....See.. Frans, Coen etc.... for god-like modellers.. ha ha ha..
Ian, get ya Saetta out mate they are a dream to tinker with while working on something complex...

So where were we?? Oh yeah lighting the Hanger.
My idea is to place a small low voltage yellow L.E.D in the corner to cast an artificial type glow in the hanger.
Using a tea light and soldering a couple of wires in and removing the original light, I place the small yellow led in and wire it up..
Bad picture alert... Sorry..




...and lit..




Time to glue the roof on now the detailing is done inside..




While that dries I drop on to the ground work and start with a coat of soil mixed with PVA glue and a little water.
Once spread on I scatter my grass..




Around the building area and on the worn footpath areas I include some small, fine sand..












Tapes removed off the frame edges..


...and building in place..


...and lit...




Just needs gluing to the base....






Ground work dry now...


















Tree making for beginners.... lol.... old branch/flower from lilac tree in garden, spray glue and 2mm static grass sprinkled on ...
Ta-Da.. some trees..






Bushes added..




Pilots and fuel drums......




I have added some different types of grass and a couple of plants and extra bushes around the hanger, some weeds in the cracks of the concrete and am ready for a final reveal....

But not today...
Next time guys the entire build complete and finished, Saetta and Paper Hanger, complete with figures and extra details.
As always, Thanks for having a look......
All comments and questions welcomed...
Till next time, Keep on modelling.....

[Nige201980]

that is BRILLIANT work mate

[wappynutter]

Thanks Nige, its a little rough but you'll like the finished photographs...
I should name it "when paper meets plastic" ......
The lighting build at the rear could be neater and I should have used a pen around the paper edges but these are all little bits I can do later..
The early morning sortie from a repair hanger in Italy was my idea and I think I about managed it..
Thanks again matey !

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Wow Whappy! Awesome build matey!
Realy like the lit hangar
I always wanted to put lighting into one of my builds, who knows... maybe sometimes...

The concrete does look real! Great wheatering too!
Reading this thread, made me almost run out of

You should be proud of this build, it's awesome!

[Rob]

This is modelling at its best - great imagination, wonderful details and top skills.

[wappynutter]

Thank you Frans.......

I don't know what to say....ermmm... Except you can share my popcorn mate, sorry the posts and pictures took so long.....


Here ya go... Don't eat it all at once, save some for my Panzer build.... Lol....
Glad you like the Hanger and Saetta...
Thanks again for the positive comments and praise, it means a lot....
Hope to see lighting on your next build then sir???

...and thanks Rob mate, its not the best but hopefully one day I can be a great modeller like Frans and yourself.... Never done a figure.... Maybe I should give it a go? Your Bill Sykes and Bullseye build was simply amazing..
Cheers guys.....

[Radzy]

Andy, my friend, HATS OFF! That is top class what you did, with plane and with dio!
The idea with lights inside is brilliant, gives a great .. climax I would say to whole dio

I'd rather grab another than continue making my next models, this is a real pleasure to watch your skills and ideas.

Cheers,
Radek

[wappynutter]

Thanks Radek, means a lot sir...
Glad you enjoy my crazy build posts...
I don't think I could ever just build a kit.... My brain keeps buzzing ideas around it... Even as I sleep.
Will post the finished pictures up at the start of the week... Will maybe wrap the Panzer II build up next week as well..
Thanks again for the kind comments mate..
Grab some and stay a while......

[Paul]

Andy.. that look freekin awesome mate, love all the small details, great job dude.

[wappynutter]

Thanks Paul mate.....
Glad you like it..
Its what i like to call "extreme budget modelling...with detailing included". Lol...
Thanks again..

[wappynutter]

# May contain lots of pictures #

Okay so as promised I am going to wrap this up!
Everything is now painted, positioned and glued... apart from the plane... I wanna be able to take it off for storage or moving..

So lets start with some easy shots and work up to the good ones..... Hope you like them?

Light fitting..


Plane on...




Suns up now!




Time to fly!!!




No idea what the Mechanics saying to the fighter Pilot.... I don't speak Italian..


Trees and bushes....




















From above......




Fuelled up and ready.....








Lights again...










Hand in shot for scale reference....








Sorry I just love taking different shots of little builds... Not just my own, I like to see lots of pictures of you guy's builds too.
These next few are taken with the better camera, still not great but focus should be sharper...
























Well that's it my friends.... My first model kit build since 79/80.
Okay so I added some extras and even dipped my toes in the paper modelling pond, but I'm here now.... back with the plastic.
As some of you know over the past couple of years now I have built nothing but scratch built Sci-fi, hopefully with this and the Panzer build about complete, I can be tempted to continue building "kits" with you guys..
I have after all just brought an M5 in 1/72.. a Scammel tank transport in 1/76, a Matilda II in 1/76 and a Bofors 40mm gun and tractor unit in 1/76 too.
I feel a North African diorama or two coming on!

Hope you all enjoyed the build, Thanks to all the REAL modellers on ISM who through their builds, posts and YouTube videos, have taught and encouraged me to pick up a sprue, trim off the parts, and have a go....
Happy modelling guys....
Wrapping up the Panzer this week too so keep your eyes peeled for the final posts there and the final reveal pics..

[T3hGuppy]

OMG Wappy! stop it your making the rest of us look bad lol

Another cracking job dude. Lots of points of interest and looks a bigger scale than it actually is.

Carn't wait for your next build.

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

BURP!

Sorry.... to much



Andy, what can I say.... LOVE IT!

The Paper modelling is awesome and that plane is brilliant!
To think that this is your first model after so long...

And that hand! WOW! So realistic build! Painting flesh is a hard thing to do, and you nailed it! (Paul, Lee, We REALY need this smilie...)

Haha! Just pulling your leg Andy. I loved this build and I really enjoyed all those pics!
You even gave me an idea, that lightning is going to happen sometimes. Always wanted to make a truck with his headlights on and some german standing in that light... for..... and....
My modelling mojo is flowing again!

You sir, are a great modeller too, and I hope to see more of your build soon!

Cheers!

[Radzy]

Andy, I will say it again... HATS OFF ... mainly because I can't find words even in Polish to describe how excellent your dio is!

That is really top class and as Guppy said... only your hand really shows how small the scale is !!!.

If you don't mind me asking - can you give me some hint how you made trees & bushes ?

Cheers,
Radek

[Nige201980]

Andy as i said on facebook this is truly stunning mate every thing about it is just right and the setting i can just see that in real live with the pilot and the mechanic having a chin wag before he set of on a mission brilliant mate.

[wappynutter]

Cheers guys for the positive comments, I feel well pleased with this build and all the praise you guys have given it, and me!
Guppy mate, thanks, and yeah its only a tiny dio really, just made it interesting for you guys to look at..

Frans ..... sir I am very thankful for your kind words indeed..... I am not worthy from such a master modeller...

Nigel, Thanks buddy, yeah I imagine he's telling some tall story about this and that to the pilots stood there until one of them has had to go on patrol... early morning chinwag discussing the work on the plane, or the action its seen no doubt..

Radek matey the trees are simple my friend.
In my garden I have what I think is a Lilac tree/bush that has all but died off for the winter now but I will show you a picture or two..
These are the ends of the branches... a flower grows and it leave a tree shaped piece when the flowers die off...






Okay here's one I took off the tree and lacquered while it was still green. I used these to make conifer type trees on my Solar Car diorama base..




It resembles a small scale tree I think. I am also very tight and hate to spend money on scenic trees available online.
So after harvesting this branch/flower I get some spray glue.. Mount glue type will work. I again use the kind purchased in the £1 shop..


I take the branch outside and spray with the glue then come inside and holding the now wet with glue branch over some old newspaper, sprinkle with some 2mm static grass, Autumn mix from War World Scenics..£2.30 delivered per small bag. I posted this product in the Postman thread a couple of weeks ago..




After sprinkling on I shake off the excess, if needing more I re apply the grass until the tree has a good coating.
I think the finish isn't too bad for the scale required. I have seen trees like this, tall thin evergreen trees in my local woods..
Hope this helps some how..
I have some more tree making videos I found online while researching methods to make my own. I will post them with the other tree videos I found earlier this year.
Thanks again guys.
Take care and Happy modelling...

[Radzy]

Oh thanks Andy
That gives me lots of ideas... I need to invade my parents' garden now ... my mom will not be happy when she sees some bushes when spring comes...

And it's so simple and straightforward... and I was trying hard using some wires, paper mass or something... lol...

For the third time ... hats off Andy, hats off.

Thanks and can't wait to see your next project!

Cheers,
Radek

[HWGuderian23]

Cool dio Andy ! To lighten the interior of the hangar was a fabulous idea mate and I'm really impressed. Very inspiring project .

[wappynutter]

Thanks Marcus...
Yeah I just decided that I would need to add a light else may as well not have spent time making all the tiny workshop bits because once the roof was on they wouldn't be visible..
Thanks again kind sir..

[HWGuderian23]

Always a pleasure mate!