DBMiller's Folgore

[DBMiller]

Even though I have several in various states of finish I'm going to try this beautiful plane.



This is just the announcement - I'll post the full intro later - because I have a few things to clean up before I start.

Also, this guy is giving me looks. Really, really intense looks.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Is a good looking aircraft. That figure, not so good looking

[Tomcat64]

Now that's something a little out of the ordinary - looking forward to seeing that come together with the assistance of the Alien cocktail waiter

[DBMiller]

Macchi C202 Folgore

The Folgore doesn't have the all around elegant curves of the Spitfire or the near perfection of the Mustang but
what a beautiful profile! The cockpit so far back makes it a real hot rod - an Italian super car!



It lacked firepower and reliable radio (and several other components were problematic) but still did very well for the Italian air force.
One of the strangest features is the difference in wing length. The engine had so much torque that it tended to roll!
(see the Wiki entry below)

Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_C.202

"As with the C.200, to counteract the torque of the engine, Castoldi extended the left wing by 21 cm (8.5 inches);
this meant that the left wing developed more lift, offsetting the tendency of the aircraft to roll to the left
due to the rotation of the propeller."

Smithsonian
https://www.si.edu/object/aeronautica-m ... 9600332000



The Macchi C.202 in the National Air and Space Museum is one of only two remaining in the world.
The early history of this airplane is obscure, but it was among many Axis aircraft brought to this country
for evaluation at the Army's Air Technical Service Command at Wright Field, Ohio, and Freeman Field, Indiana.
After evaluation, it remained in storage for years.

In Italian but still fun.

[ElCapitan]

Looks awesome. I never knew that about the wing lengths...was it unique to this aircraft?

[Quax]

its a great subject - definitely pulling up the chair and the popcorn

Paul

[Tomcat64]

Like Rob said I didn't know about asymmetric wings to counteract the torque either - fascinating stuff

[Stokesy44]

Cracking subject.

Italian aviation was no slouch back in the day. Any RAF pilot who flew from Malta soon learned to respect them.

Looks a beauty

[bfrd]

I am embarrassed to say that this is a new plane for me. Looks awesome!

[DBMiller]

Leave it to me to mess up right at the start - and I haven't even opened the bag yet! I was surfing the web looking for interesting Folgore decals in case the very old Hasegawa set is no good. I found markings that I love - "STORMO! DECALS - MACCHI C.205V ITALIAN ACES - PART II" - so I ordered them.
Problem - they are for the c.205 Veltro (greyhound) not the c.202 Folgore (lightning). It's not like it wasn't right there in the description or anything!!!!!

The differences between the two are enough that it would bug the hell out of me to ignore them - especially the two large oil radiators under the exhaust pipes on the c.205. The other differences could, maybe, squeak by but I'd hate to run into fit trouble - so, I ordered another kit. What else was I to do? I'll use the 202 kit decals on the Folgore and hope for the best.

Kit photos soon.

[Miiqqula]

A couple of months ago, a private seller offered me this model ridiculously cheap, but I crammed it right away for no good reason

Will follow this build

[DBMiller]

Here is the kit. If all goes well I will be using the included decals. If not, I think I can use some of the decals that come with the set I ordered even if it is for a later version of the airframe.

Typical Hasegawa kit. Nice looking, no flash, etc.











The decals!



The parts!

[DBMiller]

I've started!
Here is the standard cockpit first step:



The tape covers the gun sight - it's a clear part.



Not a very good diagram for placement.



Sidewalls. Only two extra parts to glue here.



Some paint! Light green for the interior and steel for the seat.







Gear bay area with wing spar.





We lost our remaining kitty last year so I have no furry pal to share my build. Here is a special sea chanty in his honor.

[DBMiller]

Just a quick update on the cockpit.
I added some dirty wash to the nooks and crannies. I'll add some dry brushing when it's dry.

[Kevthemodeller]

Cracking subject.

Italian aviation was no slouch back in the day. Any RAF pilot who flew from Malta soon learned to respect them.

Looks a beauty

What he said looking forward to seeing this come together

[DBMiller]

This is so odd. I'm still working on this and really moving along! Dare I suggest I'll finish this one?

Seat glued in.



Wings and sidewalls painted and in - although the instructions show the gear wells to be the same light blue as the underside of the plane. I'll have to change that.





Fuselage halves together! The wings are not glued on yet - this is just to check the fuselage alignment.



Check this out! The left wing is longer than the right - just like on the real plane! I'd have bet Hasegawa wouldn't have bothered.





Added guns to the engine cowling. They stick out way too far - you can't see them at all on the real plane unless you look from directly above. I'll have to cut them back.

[Twokidsnosleep]

What is the wing length difference for??

[DBMiller]

What is the wing length difference for??

From my intro post:

One of the strangest features is the difference in wing length. The engine had so much torque that it tended to roll!
(see the Wiki entry below)

Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_C.202

"As with the C.200, to counteract the torque of the engine, Castoldi extended the left wing by 21 cm (8.5 inches);
this meant that the left wing developed more lift, offsetting the tendency of the aircraft to roll to the left
due to the rotation of the propeller."

[Twokidsnosleep]

What is the wing length difference for??

From my intro post:

One of the strangest features is the difference in wing length. The engine had so much torque that it tended to roll!
(see the Wiki entry below)

Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_C.202

"As with the C.200, to counteract the torque of the engine, Castoldi extended the left wing by 21 cm (8.5 inches);
this meant that the left wing developed more lift, offsetting the tendency of the aircraft to roll to the left
due to the rotation of the propeller."

Apologies, I looped back and read but didn't see that info
Isn't that interesting
I do like a problem solver who thinks and fixes an issue quickly with novel approaches
Wonder why other high torque aircraft didn't have that problem?
A spitfire with that big V12 Merlin should have been doing loops to the left!

[SEBa111]

What is the wing length difference for??

From my intro post:

One of the strangest features is the difference in wing length. The engine had so much torque that it tended to roll!
(see the Wiki entry below)

Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_C.202

"As with the C.200, to counteract the torque of the engine, Castoldi extended the left wing by 21 cm (8.5 inches);
this meant that the left wing developed more lift, offsetting the tendency of the aircraft to roll to the left
due to the rotation of the propeller."

Apologies, I looped back and read but didn't see that info
Isn't that interesting
I do like a problem solver who thinks and fixes an issue quickly with novel approaches
Wonder why other high torque aircraft didn't have that problem?
A spitfire with that big V12 Merlin should have been doing loops to the left!

If I remember correctly, having one wing longer than the other produced all sort of wonderfull effects when stallling, leading to a very very hard recovery situation.

P.D: Military Aviation History has a video explaining exactly this, and its called "Why the M.C 202 is an OCD nightmare"

[DBMiller]

What is the wing length difference for??

Apologies, I looped back and read but didn't see that info
Isn't that interesting
I do like a problem solver who thinks and fixes an issue quickly with novel approaches
Wonder why other high torque aircraft didn't have that problem?
A spitfire with that big V12 Merlin should have been doing loops to the left!

It does seem like it would be an issue with any single propeller plane - especially the fighters. Maybe it was just overthinking the design instead of training the pilots to be careful!

[Tomcat64]

Great to see this under way and it's coming together really well too!

What have you done with the real DBMiller???

[DBMiller]

More gluing and - priming!

See this air intake? I glued it on backwards at first. Luckily I got to it just before it fully cured! I cut it off and re-glued it the right way round. It sure looked right according to the instructions at first - but looking at color references I spotted the error. Whew.



Guns fixed a bit.





Wings glued on. The rear has a gap but the front is pretty good. However - as careful as I thought I was there is still a step on between the left upper wing and the fuselage. It was perfect when I set it aside to dry. I know it was. Really.











Aft radiator on. Waiting for the cover.



First coat of primer!





See this bit circled? It is a part - not molded on. It is smaller than some of the molded parts yet it HAD to be made as an added piece. Why? I can't believe I didn't lose it right off the bat! There are a few other tiny parts that I should have fun with as well.







Shiny!

[Twokidsnosleep]

You are flying along...hopefully not rolling

[aur0ra145]

Cool little kit, I don't think the Italian planes get enough love.

[Kevthemodeller]

Coming along very nicely

[Tomcat64]

More great progress - that really is coming along very well!

[DBMiller]

Took a day off from building. Thought about the paint I have and the colors I need. I didn't want to mail order any because the time it took would break my flow and the sub-freezing weather worried me. I didn't want the paint to freeze on the way here!
I found a store sort of local - about 40 miles away - that sold RC cars and gaming supplies. They stocked Vallejo Model Color paints and I found several that were better than what I had.



This ocher color is much closer to the model on the box, even though the RLM 79 color listed in the instructions is more brown.
Anyway, I didn't like the brownish-tan color I had and this looks nice. Maybe I can use the other for shading.
The Vallejo pale greenish blue is better than the RLM 78 listed but I got both just because.
In any case, the desert must have played havoc on paint so I'll probably be just fine.

The denser color on the wing roots is from trying out the paint I had on hand first then painting over it.







I forgot these! So, a bit more priming to go.

[Stokesy44]

Blimey, this is rocking along. Nice priming and base colors

[DBMiller]

Great to see this under way and it's coming together really well too!

What have you done with the real DBMiller???

We're not saying just yet. It depends on how he behaves.

[DBMiller]

I haven't crashed yet! I've been working on building a new bookshelf in between painting parts.

Here is more blue and tan paint work.









Can't forget the other parts like I usually do!

[Quax]

looking very nice so far Mr Miller!

Paul

[Twokidsnosleep]

Good stuff
Show us the bookshelf too!

[DBMiller]

Good stuff
Show us the bookshelf too!

Maybe! It's tough building something new in a house that is over a hundred years old and very little is square!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Good stuff
Show us the bookshelf too!

Maybe! It's tough building something new in a house that is over a hundred years old and very little is square!

They call that character

[DBMiller]

So, update on the extra decals (wrong model Macchi) and the new kit (correct model Macchi).
I got the kit and it looks to be the Hasegawa sprues boxed by Italari. The only differences is the extra bits for under nose oil filters (coolers?) And the decals. Oh, the decals! They include a full set, plus extras, of the 'smoke ring' pattern that I like but refuse to paint! Since I won't be using them on the new Macchi they will be going on my current build! I've already tried out one of the extras on a test kit and they lay down very smooth!





The new decals with the version I plan to use (the bottom one with the sand camo).





Also, a few posts back I noted that the instructions call for the cock pit interior to be green but the rest of the interior to be the light blue. This new kit calls for all the interiors to be light green! Do I try to change mine back or just leave it? This is something I need to decide soon!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The fuselage stripe comes as a decal but it seemed easy enough to mask and avoid the 'decal look'. Also started painting the nose cone white.

[BigWall]

It's coming along nicely!

[DBMiller]

More masking and painting. Man, these photos really show up my sloppy work! The masking isn't as smooth or straight as I thought and the painting isn't as clean! Oh, well, just more work for me!

Here is the white done (I thought) on the spinner and fuselage stripe.







Here is the main canopy masked with the green interior color added. I can't wait to unmask this to see how bad it is! The front wind screen - it is so small I don't know how I'm going to mask it! I'll save it for last.



Reverse masking for the tail markings. I added the cross then masked around it to get the shape. There is a decal but I don't want the white to look translucent so I added white paint for underneath. The poor masking should be hidden, mostly, under the decal.







That is some seriously bad masking!

[aur0ra145]

Those are all decals? Dang!

[DBMiller]

Those are all decals? Dang!

Do you mean the 'smoke rings' or the white stripes? The rings are decals and the white is paint. I'll be putting the tail decal on over the paint. With any luck what I painted will be close to the decal size. I measured but I'm of the "I cut it twice and it's still too short" school of craftmanship.

[aur0ra145]

Those are all decals? Dang!

Do you mean the 'smoke rings' or the white stripes? The rings are decals and the white is paint. I'll be putting the tail decal on over the paint. With any luck what I painted will be close to the decal size. I measured but I'm of the "I cut it twice and it's still too short" school of craftmanship.

The smoke rings, there are so many.

[Stokesy44]

Nice looking paint job. Ambitious stuff, those decals!

[Tomcat64]

Very tidy work masking off the white sections - that looks really crisp

I didn't know they did the "Sand & Spaghetti" squiggles as decals - that's definitely a cure for insomnia!

[DBMiller]

Getting closer to the scary part - finishing!
Aside from some minor touch ups the painting is done. I still have to glue on some parts before decaling and I have to unmask the canopy to see how bad that came out! Every time I look at my photos on the screen I see more mistakes that I may (or not) have to fix. The horizontal stabilizers need some touch up with the blue paint. The vertical still needs work to fix my bad masking for the white stripes. I think the rest of the fuselage holds up OK except for one little ding I saw.

Here is the main wing masking for the leading edge.





Done- along with the horizontal stabilizer over spray. Also, I decided to re-paint the gear wells and gear light green. It looks better than the blue (which may have been a mistake in the instructions).







The rest of the parts! Props painted black with yellow tips. Gear doors done. Canopy done (fingers crossed!).



The tail cross still needs work. I may just brush paint the tan if it shows up too much after the decals are on. That radiator underneath still needs two parts added but otherwise it is ready for gloss!

[BigWall]

Coming down to the wire! It's looking great!

[Quax]

Looks great Mr Miller! Those ring decals are going to look superb but do strange things to your vision!
Paul

[DBMiller]

Minor update today.
Work on the tail because of the seam between the horizontal stabilizers and fuselage. Over sanded the filler and had more repainting than I wanted. Came out OK though.







Props glued in - nose cone next up!



Wind screen painted by hand. Not so good. I may have to order the masks and do it over. It's so small!



Working on landing gear. The strut has to go from the connecter on the main gear leg to the little hole inside those ridges (see where the tooth pick is pointing). It doesn't really go there to easily so this will take some care.

[BigWall]

It's coming along nicely and looking great!

[DBMiller]

I figured out how the extension struts attached! They go UNDER the other struts - not over!





While I was starting to attach the gear doors I discovered a problem.

I attached the main gear on the wrong sides. Break time.
Then I carefully worked them out and put them back correctly. I had to cut the little tabs that held the struts but the super glue I used on the main gear broke free with careful rocking. Whew.







Well, that was an adventure.

[Casper]

looking great Mr Miller
I find canopies or clear parts this small a nightmare to paint and very difficult to get a crisp edge, pre-cut masks are the best option I think.
Didn't notice the struts were over instead of under until you pointed it out.
casp