1/48 Smer Fiat CR-32

by Massimo La Civita

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Maybe one of the most elegant and effective biplane fighters ever built, Celestino Rosatelli's Fiat CR 32 saw action with Italian volunteers and nationalist forces during Spanish civil war with impressive results and was still in service with Regia Aeronautica in the early years of WWII, although obsolete.

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The kit is the venerable Smer (ex Artiplast), nothing more than a shapeless amount of plastic. It was extensively modified and improved, with no aftermarket. Scratchbuilt cockpit details, cut and repositioned control surfaces, refined propeller and balance weights on the upper wing, scratchbuilt struts, hollowed exhaust pipes, sanded and rescribed panel lines where necessary, stretched sprue rigging, and so on. Kit decals were used, except for tri-color rudder, which was painted.

Massimo

Photos and text © by Massimo La Civita