Author Topic: Spin 1:48 Ansaldo SVA 5 (Read 4994 times)

smperry · « **on:** March 23, 2020, 03:27:00 PM »

This resin and PE kit was started years ago and I got as far as the fuselage being closed and painted. With the Shelf of Doom Cookup getting underway over on the WWI Modeling List, I chose this one to finish. I'm posting progress here mainly to get used to working with IMGUR and images. Comments compliments and heckles all welcome.

Here is the unfinished kit as it has been for at least 10 yrs.

The flying surfaces were primed with Tamiya White, painted my own mix of Acrylic/Pledge CDL, masked and sprayed with Testors red and green and finally given a coat of pledge. Upper surfaces still in primer. I'm not attempting any pre-shading on this one. I may try post shading with some watercolor pencil softened with a damp swab.

The rudder decal went all Wicked Witch of the West when I put it in water. So I went to the trouble to paint some clear decal material. The strips just curled right up so I broke down, masked and sprayed the rudder managing to get the green stripe too wide, Remasked and attempted to cover green enamel with white acryl/Pledge.

Lo and behold, the white covered the green and it came out better than the decal would have. That thanks to Tamiya yellow tape which I recently discovered. Normally I use Parafilm. Rethinking that now.

I found a bit of foam and tore tiny chunks out to make it uneven and then used it to dab green paint all over my nice CDL elevator. The molded hinges got some black paint. I didn't articulate the control surfaces as I didn't want to get bogged down on that and I liked the little hinges which would have been destroyed. After a coat of Pledge, the hinge line will get an oil wash to make it stand out.

And this is how it sits for now. More progress after I knock a few things off Momma's Hunny Do list
sp

RAGIII · « **Reply #1 on:** March 23, 2020, 10:07:20 PM »

excellent work! I love the scheme and how you did the elevators! The acrylic you use for CDL is, I assume, something like Delta Ceramicote?
RAGIII

AndRoby67 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 23, 2020, 10:15:43 PM »

Hi!
First of all, compliments for the courage to build this kind of kit!
I see that you are reproducing SVA 5 11721 from 87a Squadriglia. The original one is still preserved in our Air Force Museum located near Bracciano's lake.
The one in the museum is "late style" SVA 5, with long nosed radiator, while you are modelling the first version, the one that made famous mission over Vienna.
I'm sorry to say now, but in those days central white section on rudder was left CDL, it was normal practice in Ansaldo factory. Like having the black lettering SVA only on port side of rudder. There is an accurate color profile of it on rear cover of Windsock Datafile 40.
I see that the fuselage sides decals missed thin yellow border to roundels too, maybe with thin brush you may add this.
Hope useful!
Roberto

smperry · « **Reply #3 on:** March 23, 2020, 11:22:45 PM »

RAGIII

Thanks. Yes the CDL is whatever brand of cheap artist's acrylic they sell at Walmart. Cream or ivory I think and I may have lightened it with a little white. Thinned for the airbrush with Pledge.

Roberto
I was hoping you would chime in here, I can definitely fix the rudder, the white covered some green, so I'm sure the CDL will cover white. Just a matter of popping the rudder loose from the stab and masking. There looks like 2 SVA markings on the decal sheet so I will try coating these ancient decals with film and see if I can't get one to work without falling apart. I have no references other than the hand drawn instruction sheet, so is the SVA lettering on the port rudder or port fin? I may have some Italian roundels in the decal stash Hopefully I can find one the right size and play with putting a yellow ring around them, otherwise I may have to live without as my freehand skills are poor. Thanks so much for pointing these things out. I can live with not shading the wing ribs or weathering, but these points are important and I can address them. I recall reading about the Vienna raid and wanted to do that version and now, (Thunk, sound of hand hitting forehead), as I write this, I recall I read it in the big book on Italian aces and their planes which is buried in a stack of books in the corner. I will go dig it out and reread. Thanks again.
sp

smperry · « **Reply #4 on:** March 24, 2020, 01:41:20 AM »

Roberto
I dug up the book and evidently it wasn't the one where I read about the raid on Vienna. It only had one photo and caption of the machine in question. Port side, but not showing the rudder. It did have a funny looking wing walk over the root of the lower wing. I then did a web search on the raid and found a U tube film made after the raid. Showed more Capronis and Spads than SVAs, although the final shot was a modern color still photo of the machine you mentioned in the museum. That was a starboard side shot and showed a large black numeral 1 on the white fin. It also showed the wood side panels extended forward all the way to the bronze radiator. That will have to be corrected as I had them painted a metal color. I got a kick out of the film as it was silent and someone had dubbed a Mozart tune which played the whole film. This is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OsC755GnjE Fifty thousand leaflets, I wonder what the fine for littering in Vienna was in 1918?
sp

smperry · « **Reply #5 on:** March 24, 2020, 03:12:48 AM »

Roberto
Which way?

The starboard side photo I found of the machine in the museum has a big 1 on the fin and S.V.A. on the fuselage sides ahead of the cockpit with 11721 below it. There are also what appear to be missions and dates in small black lettering in the side of the nose. I'm guessing these may have been added post war. Any comments or advice.
sp

AndRoby67 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 24, 2020, 05:07:34 AM »

Hi!
Hope I'm not in late. Black lettering SVA was applied on rudder, S on green, V on CDL and A on red as I wrote only port side.
11721 had long career before find his home in the museum. After the war, almost all of our single seaters received new treatments for national colors on fin/rudder/tailplane. Stripes were enlarged in space, so for the SVA's green was placed on fin, with rudder divided in two section, of course white and red.
That's why after restoration it sports white central stripe and not CDL.
At the time of the Vienna's flight, no black lettering on nose remembering missions, it was post war feature. 87a Squadriglia was divided in three Section, they were recognizable by different colors on fin and fixed part of tailplane. This is the reason of white fin on 11721. Individual number inside Section was painted on fin, 11721 was, of course, aircraft number 1 in the White Section. There is a photo in Datafile 40 that shows lineup of 87a in the field. 11721 is amongst them, with black 1 on white fixed part of tailplane, unlucky I can't see in what direction. Elevators and upper surface of main wing are comouflaged, upper surface on under wings not. Camo was applied on the field by brushes, not sprayed, it seems a "tangle of worms". I think green only was used for camo, red brown was added later on A.1 Balillas. All struts left factory painted medium grey.
Hope useful!
Roberto

lone modeller · « **Reply #7 on:** March 24, 2020, 05:18:14 AM »

Not only is this an interesting build log explaining how you are resusctating an old model, but we get a history lesson thrown in as well by a very well informed member of the forum.

It is what makes this site so special.

Stephen.

smperry · « **Reply #8 on:** March 24, 2020, 05:42:29 AM »

You sure got that right. One of the reasons I chose this model. If someone knowledgeable is willing to share what they have learned, I'm all ears and very appreciative even when it means doing over something I thought already done. All part of the fun this forum brings, especially in an otherwise not so fun time.
sp

smperry · « **Reply #9 on:** March 24, 2020, 10:48:52 AM »

Here are the tailfeathers ready to be mounted on the fuselage. Rigging is heat stretched sprue painted with Metalizer steel. Drops of glue and bronze paint are supposed to be turnbuckles. Still in a quandary about possible decals, but they can be added later.
sp

RAGIII · « **Reply #10 on:** March 24, 2020, 11:15:21 AM »

I Love the Old School Sprue and paint rigging and Turnbuckles! My kind of Modeling

RAGIII

AndRoby67 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 25, 2020, 01:20:09 AM »

Hi!
I'm not sure if there are turnbuckles where you put them. In this case, restored 11721 is a good source, there are many photos of it. There also 11777 restored in Trento and here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPKMSChTTUQ) 11720 built as replica.
Bye!
Roberto

smperry · « **Reply #12 on:** March 25, 2020, 01:42:34 AM »

Roberto
I have no idea why I put them there. Shouldn't they be close to the stabilizer where they are easier to adjust. Doh! No big deal to replace the wires and put the turnbuckles (turnblobs) lower or not at all (gotta go check the photo again)

That SVA you mentioned on the port side of the rudder. Is it painted horizontally across all 3 stripes or is it painted vertically down the middle CDL stripe?
sp

smperry · « **Reply #13 on:** March 25, 2020, 08:10:11 AM »

The SVA 5 was known as a fairly rugged aircraft, but it simply does not lend itself well to being modeled in resin. The issue is the wing panel attachments. The top wing panels to each other and the lower panels to the fuselage sides. The strength of the steel full size attachments does not translate to 1:48 scale resin. This bodes ill considering my full scale ham handedness. Some kind of reinforcement is in order.

It's Sandbagger Mike to the rescue. Over on his current build thread I asked about wandering drill bits and Mike took the time to explain how he used a very fine scriber to locate and mark with a starter hole exactly where the bit needs to go. So I gently sanded the resin spar ends flat and got out a seldom used scriber and darn if it didn't work perfectly. The brass tube is 0.6 mm and the spar end is about 1mm square in cross section. Thanks again Mike.

The upper wing was cast as one piece, but broke almost immediately. I'm thinking the drill and tube treatment might work here too. We shall see.

Still excited about making this work...once....5 more to go...
Guess I will relax a bit before having at it again.
sp

lone modeller · « **Reply #14 on:** March 25, 2020, 08:14:30 AM »

Like Rick I also like the old fashioned techniques for modelling. I also admire the modern methods that youare using too - in all an excellent build.

Stephen.