Sword's 1/72 Re.2002 Ariete

[sergio]

I like how you take

that looking good is the model I've never ridden a sword but I think this has given me the desire to do algunopara see that this is, in my case the RE-2000'm waiting pra them, as have many Italians, for now my wife has forbidden me to buy more models until you spend some that I have with the 4 that come most 200 in stock waiting to be assembled in a few months I close the tap for purchases to save for summer vacation this year I would like you to go to Normandy and england to visit some museums to take some photos and see some air event and go to some concert.

[VanceCrozier]

I like how you take

that looking good is the model I've never ridden a sword but I think this has given me the desire to do algunopara see that this is, in my case the RE-2000'm waiting pra them, as have many Italians, for now my wife has forbidden me to buy more models until you spend some that I have with the 4 that come most 200 in stock waiting to be assembled in a few months I close the tap for purchases to save for summer vacation this year I would like you to go to Normandy and england to visit some museums to take some photos and see some air event and go to some concert.

Oh no - you let her find out how many un-built kits you have?!???!

[VanceCrozier]

Alright, the over-sized bomb has been returned to the armoury, to be replaced by this 500-pounder leftover from a FW-190 D iirc. (looks bigger than it really is, sitting where it is.) I'm going on the theory that the Italians had access to some German ordnance? I'm also going on the "it looks like a bomb to me" method.

[LyleW]

Your airplane and your bomb! Like it..

[VanceCrozier]

Your airplane and your bomb! Like it..

Thanks Lyle! Think I've got something useful there now - so apparently THAT is why I kept a 1/72 bomb in a pull-out drawer for more than a decade!

[VanceCrozier]

Also drilled out the wing gun-ports as they were just barely visible dimples. Then I spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out the cowling guns. The kit supplies two TINY little slices of plastic to add where those MGs go, but they are hardly visible, and certainly don't look like a muzzle is poking out. Think I need to do a little drilling, add some thin brass rod.

[VanceCrozier]

I shoulda thrown a quarter beside this for comparison, this little slices are like 2.29mm long & 1mm high. Forget poor shape, I was likely to lose these things trying to use them anyway.




So, Sword actually had a tiny little slice in the cowling area to show where those two little bits were supposed to go. Used those as a starting point. Drilled DOWN at the back of those slices until I got good depth. Then I got out a brand-new Exacto blade and sliced a tiny little notch ahead of the hole I just drilled. Then I took that drill bit, laid it down in the notch I just made, held it against the plastic with a finger, spun it with the other hand. Worked away at that slowly until I ended up with a half-oval depression for the gun barrel.



Then I sliced up some stretched sprue, laid that in the opening, touch of Tamiya Extra Thin and voila,



Not fermis-esque scratchbuilding my any means, but I like adding little upgrades like this.


Basically the only spot that I'd ID as a gap, hit that with a little CA last night, along with the joins between the fuselage & wing roots, elevators.

[LyleW]

Nice work. Love the way they throw in the miniscule parts and in some cases dozens of them.

[VanceCrozier]

lol, I know right? This kit actually DOES have a lot of well-done, tiny details molded into the fuselage parts. Various little vents & bumps are actually very well-rendered. But those guns... I guess I can see why they did it that way. The openings & gun barrels actually span from one cowling panel, into the cowling ring. So they would've had to have a tiny groove, with surrounding panel line, that jumps from one part to the next. Likely would've created more problems trying to line that up.

[Manny1943]

I love SWORD kits and want to fall on them...