Here is the model that I started just before last weekend. The idea was to see if an acceptable result could be obtained within the timescale of an individual weekend.
The conclusion is yes, a model can be completed just within the hours available, but for me I would need to spend every waking hour on it and have no other life. Also, there is no time for extra detailing, or correcting some of the issues with the kit. I guess the better craftsmen in here would do more in a weekend, however after 8 days with a few days off, I am reasonably satisfied with the results.
Points I noted about this kit were as follows:
Silver/aluminium dope - handbrushing thin layers of Revell Aqua 99 Aluminium worked OK, the hand brushing gives a kind of fabric effect and the finish is not overly glossy. Also, this allowed the overpainting of the French roundels on the top wing, which I think worked very well.
Woodwork - didn't use oils so experimented with dragging various brown shade pencils over a base colour, then applying a very thin wash, then klear. Acrylic paint allowed this to dry quickly. I thought the pencils allowed the wood to give an appearance of colour variety, without showing graining per se - I do also think that in scale we are really modelling hte tree ring patterns in the wood, rather than grain lines which are difficult to see full scale.
Prop - I didn't laminate this to save time, but was happy with the finish. However after assembly I think the prop sits a little eccentrically. This could be the prop shaft not being quite straight? With more time I would have corrected this, but from most angles this looks OK.
Markings - my first Italian aircraft and fortunately I had some acrylic paints that matched the fin decal tricolore reasonably well. Again, revell aqua range brushes very well and covers in 3-4 thin coats.
Cowling - I used Mr Metal Chrome Silver. It brushed on OK, but would be better air brushed. Gave a reasonable contrast to the dope. I used Mr Metal Dark iron for the struts etc, although the guide called for "Aircraft Grey".
General fit - not too bad, although for several components there were no attachment lugs/slots - eg rudder, ammo chutes, windscreen etc. Also, there were very few rigging guide holes marked. The wing struts didn't sit flush on the wing surface, and the rear cabane strut leans forward due to the inaccurate windscreen placement. There was little extra detailing, no cockpit interior to speak of, and no separate control surfaces. All of these I could have made good had I spent more time, but the point was to build this quickly. I have been spoiled by the detailing and fit quality of WNW kits!
Finish - I did not bother with weathering, rib highlighting/shading etc. I thought about glossing the wings then dulling down with mattcote between the ribs, but the masking for this would have taken too long.
Rigging - simplicity itself and one of the most satisfying aspects. I drilled out holes where necessary including for the control lines entering the fuselage, and CA'd thin EZ Line at one end first, then cut the line just short before glueing the other end directly into the location hole giving just enough tension. I didn't bother to colour the rigging as the black stands out.
Overall I was reasonably pleased with this model - I have made better but also made worse! I'm no historian so I have no idea how accurate the Eduard kit is, but for a few days work and less effort than I would otherwise do, it has come out OK. A good exercise for me and more reasonable practice time, and another cleared out of the stash.
Here are a selection of pics - it is a dull day here so I still had to use flash.
