The Italians
produced some truly superb aircraft during World War Two and many fine aircraft
during the 30's as well. Ordered as a replacement for the SM. 81's the
BR.20 entered service late in 1936. Several problems with engine overheating,
vibration and insufficient armament were addressed to some extent as production
continued. The new BR.20M or "Modificato" did not reach units until
February 1940 with the major visible change being a more streamlined nose with
an improved turret. While the BR.20 was a capable airplane during the Spanish
Civil War, in which in participated, its age was begining to show by 1940. With
its fairly slow speed and lack of needed firepower it became very vulnerable to
enemy fighter aircraft. It saw plenty of action though and its unfortunate the
type is not well known. The Japanese operated them against China and the
Italians employed them during the battles for France, Greece, Yugoslavia, Malta,
and North Africa. The North African operation is the period in which my model is
depicted.
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|
The Italeri model I used here is
quite old and the box my kit was in was the original issue. The kit still holds
up well despite its age. Though all detail is raised with plenty of rivets, it
is well done and not too heavy. The cockpit detail is basic so I used Eduard's
Photo Etch set for this aircraft. The detail added is considerable and
definately worth the investment.
The fit of the kit
is good though plan on quite a bit of sanding and some filler for the fuselage
and to attach the clear molded nose section. I sanded off most of the fuslage
detail and re-scribed it using three view drawings from Wudawinctwo Militaria's
great book on the BR.20 as a guide. I did not re-scribe the wings though I did
light sand them to make the rivets very subdued. That with some shading went a
long way to making the wings look good I thought. I also sanded and re-scribed
the tail section components. Along the way I added scratch wheel well details,
aileron control cables, antennae wires, and hollowed out the exhaust pipes.
After considerable researching I chose to use Polly Scale Italy Camo Yellow as
the base for the topsides with a mottle pattern of Polly Scale RLM 62, which is
a close match for Italian Medium Green. The undersides were painted with
ModelMaster Italian Blue/Gray. Props should be natural aluminum with the
"backsides" painted black. There are plenty of incorrect profiles out
there so be sure to check photo references. My copy of "Camoflage and
Markings, Italian Air Forces, 1935-1945" by Richard J. Caruana was a huge
help!
The model was post shaded using a
very thinned mix of Polly Scale Black and ModelMaster Raw Umber. The exhaust is
very thinned Black with a bit of Rust added. After a good coat of Future the
Tauro Decals were added which went on very well using a bit of Micro-set and
Micro-sol. The model depicts an aircraft operating with 1st Squad, 11th Groupo,
13th Bomber Stormo in North Africa during 1941. I hope you enjoy it and I would
recommend this project to those who admires these lesser known Italian types!
Joe
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|
|
|