Introduction
The following information is from the Royal Air Force Museum on the CR. 42 Falco
The CR42 was a delightful machine to fly and was the best biplane in service in 1940. Although the days of the biplane fighter were numbered it continued to take part in air operations until the end of 1943 and was built in greater numbers than any other Italian World War Two fighter.
This immensely strong and very manoeuvrable fighter first saw combat in the brief two week campaign over Southern France. Light losses against the French gave the Italians a mistaken impression that their tactics and aircraft were highly effective.
National pride and political prestige, rather than military necessity, led the Italian Dictator Mussolini to send a force of bombers and fighters to take part in the air battles against Great Britain. Arriving at airfields on the Channel coast in October 1940 they proved something of an embarrassment to the Luftwaffe who had resisted the move for some time. Bad weather and obsolescent equipment meant that the venture was nota success.
Little combat with British fighters took place over the BritishIsles but it did reveal the CR42's major weakness; its armament of two machineguns was no more than a World War One fighter and it was unable to inflictmajor damage on its opponents.
Sea Gladiator
The Gloster Sea Gladiator was the naval variant of the Gloster Gladiator, the final biplane fighter used by the British Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm. Although obsolete compared to modern monoplanes at the start of World War II, it performed admirably in the early years of the conflict and is most famous for its role in the defence of Malta.
Development and design
Base model: The Sea Gladiator was a modified version of the land-based Gladiator Mk II.
Purpose: It was developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm(FAA) to operate from aircraft carriers.
Naval features: To make it carrier-capable, the
Sea Gladiator
included a number of modifications:
An arrester hook for deck landings
Catapult attachment points for launch
A strengthened airframe to withstand the stress of carrieroperations
A fairing under the belly for a dinghy lifeboat
Operational history
Early World War II: At the outbreak of the war in September1939, 54 Sea Gladiators were in service with the FAA. They were used to protectBritish naval bases and were active in the Norwegian campaign and theMediterranean.
Malta's defence: The Sea Gladiator earned its legend during theSiege of Malta in 1940.
The myth: For several weeks, Malta's fighter defence wasprimarily a small detachment of FAA Sea Gladiators, leading to the well-known storyof three aircraft named Faith, Hope, and Charity.
The reality: The famous names were given by a Maltese newspaperafter the battle. In reality, more than three Sea Gladiators were used, thoughnot all were operational at the same time.
Surviving plane: The fuselage ofone of these defenders, "Faith" (serial number N5520), is preservedand on display at the National War Museum in Malta.
Obsolescence: While effective against some Italian biplanes, theSea Gladiator was significantly slower than modern monoplane fighters like theGerman Messerschmitt Bf 109. By 1941, the aircraft was largely phased out offront-line service as more advanced fighters became available.
Specifications (Sea Gladiator Mk I)
Engine:
Bristol Mercury VIIA air-cooled radial piston engine
Performance:
Top speed: Approximately 253 mph (407 km/h).
Ceiling: Around 33,000 feet.
Armament: Four .303-inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns.
Review
The packaging in this offering is what has become the standard from ICM, a substantial cardboard tray and integrated lid, plus an additional card lid with the artwork on it. This is I feel up to the rigours of the postal system and something that ICM deserve recognition for. The sprues for each model are packaged in their own re-sealable plastic bags, which also contains a clear sprue inside its own plastic bag. An examination of the contents reveals some very cleanly moulded parts. Access to the parts for removal from the sprue is good, and that will be appreciated for the finer mouldings. The mouldings included in this offering do have some flow marks present on the larger parts, but these do not look or feel to have caused issues on them.
Looking over the parts that make up this area of the model and comparing them with what I can see using online reference, tells me that what is provided by ICM appears to be correct. I will say that some of the detail could do with being crisper, but I suspect that any members who are concerned about this will be looking to the aftermarket to add the crisper detail and of course extra detail. I am again disappointed that ICM has made no effort with the seat harness detail, and it is a detail that must be included in a model of this scale as it will be obvious that it is missing to anyone who looks. The tubular structure of the aircraft has been replicated around the cockpit area and moulded on the interior halves of the fuselage is the skin attachment structure in this area. ICM has provided decals for replicating instrument dials.
The fuselage of the model is provided in the usual manner of separate halves, plus detail panels. The fuselage itself has a mixture of cloth and metal surfaces, the metal surfaces have good shallow recessed panel lines. With the cloth aspects having a ribbing detail below the cloth, but I unfortunately cannot detect any texture. The glazing provided for the cockpit, is clear and has not been moulded overly thick, as so looks natural. At the end of the instruction booklet ICM has provided templates for protecting the glazing when painting. The tail structures both horizontal and vertical have separate flight control surfaces, and so can be set as the modeller desires. The wings of the model have been well tackled, having very good ribbed detail under the cloth coating that has been replicated, and positive locations for the wing support struts. The guide wires present on this aircraft, and their orientation have been covered at the end of the instruction booklet and is something that ICM have been doing a lot of lately with models of this type, and an aspect that I highly approve of. The control surfaces on the upper wing, again have been supplied separately, and so again can be set as the modeller requires.
The engine in this aircraft, is indicated to be a FiatA.74R1C air-cooled 14 cylinder radial engine. ICM has supplied both banks of radial cylinders, with reasonable detail of the cooling vanes, but the modeller looking to add a higher level of detail will need to consider adding the wire for the spark plugs. The oil tubes around the engine are well replicated. The engine exhausts are supplied in two halves, with the exit point on the engine cylinders correctly lining up with the pipes on the exhaust manifold. There is a port that sits on the rear of at least the right hand exhaust manifold which has not been replicated; I however believe that this will not be seen on the finished model anyway. There is also a significant amount of the engine which is not replicated at the rear, but again this cannot be seen under normal circumstances. The gear housing on the front of the engine is the correct shape and form, but you must make sure to correctly orientate it. The exhaust on this version of the CR42, is extended under the aircraft well beyond the pilots position, and has a hedgehog appearance on the last third, similar to that used on British bombers.
The undercarriage on this aircraft is fixed. The tail wheel sits in a simple bulge, and so a small portion of the tyre and wheel is seen, and so is perfectly replicated here. The main undercarriage legs are provided in two versions, with and without flared cowlings around the wheels and have no brake lines present. However the non flared cowling legs are shown as not used. I am very pleased to see that ICM have made the bomb racks something you need to add, rather than take away. I do think that these larger bi-plane models that ICM are releasing look better clean with just the offensive machines guns where possible.
The finishing options cover those for the original release:
CR. 42 Falco, 83rd Squadron, 18 Gruppo, 56th Stormo CT, Ursel, Belgium, November 1940
CR. 42 Falco,75th Squadron, 23 Gruppo Autonomo CT, Sicily, June 1941
Gloster Sea Gladiator
This offering is supplied in the now usual flip top cardboard box favoured by ICM with a second separate card lid with the artwork on it; as a modeller I do appreciate a well packaged offering and I feel ICM is one of the best in this respect. The artwork on the lid is very nicely done and will draw your eye to the box I believe. Inside the box is an instruction booklet with the decals protected between the pages. The sprues are packed inside a single re-sealable plastic bag with a further bag holding the clear parts.
An examination of the contents leaves me happy as while the plastic suffers from some flow lines they do not look or feel to have caused any issues with the finish of the parts. The clear parts of the model have a nice thinness to them and this has resulted in no obvious lens magnification that I could see across the parts; there is a clear piece marked as not for use and this is the front canopy for the original release. The decals have great colour but feel a little on the thick side which may result in issues during application.
Identification of a Mk II from a Mk I Gladiator:
Mk I
The engine is an 830 hp Mercury Mk X
Two bladed Watts propeller
Large prop spinner that can be removed
The MK II
The engine is an 830 hp Mercury Mk VIIIA
Fairey-Reed three-bladed propeller
Much smaller propeller spinner that is always in place
Mk II has a slightly alternate front canopy glazing
Vokes Air Filter used on both Mk I and II aircraft when serving in the desert; take note on which version you are building. This offering of the Mk II offers an alternate style of intake filter but I cannot find information on it in my reference.
This being a Sea Gladiator an arrestor hook and dingy pack is now included with the model. It should be noted that the Fleet Air Arm continued to fly the Gloster Gladiator after its withdrawal from front line service, and it was very common to see aircraft without the arrestor hook and dingy pack installed.
The interior of the model is almost identical to the original release and that is correct so far as I can see, but ICM has correctly altered the instrument display to the correct layout for the Mk II Gladiator and I am pleased that this change was picked up on. The release handles on the doors both left and right are a very weak on detail and will benefit from some work if a door is to be shown open. Something to remember is that the door on the left was the one usually opened unless damaged. A big weakness here and one that I wish ICM had addressed in this release is the harness detail for the pilot, I know they are more than capable to do this but it has been left to the modeller to scratch build or search the aftermarket. As I said in the build I did of the Mk I the detail provided is correct, but leaves room for further improvement depending on the ability of the modeller.
The detail on the fuselage panel detail is exceptionally accurate along the sides and top of the fuselage. I am really impressed with the effort that ICM has put into the detail on the fuselage. You will need to do some filling of the mating surfaces, but that is not exactly an unheard-of issue with any manufacturer. As this model is basically the same model as the Mk I with some modifications the fitting of the fuselage in the front of the cockpit is pain and it will fight you, plus due to the plastic being thin it could be easily distorted by pressure. Once you get it closed up my previous experience is that the result is generally pleasing and accurate; the addition of some Mr. Surfacer 500 and light sanding will correct the issues found here.
The wings are a thing of beauty in this release from ICM. The profiles from above and head on look to be a perfect match. The detail provided is exceptionally accurate with the modeller just needing to consider the placement of the aerial mounting on the upper wing. I recommend pre-drilling the wings ready for tensioning cables that will ideally be added by the modeller and I am very pleased to see that the four wing supports furthest from the fuselage have well designed recesses for the support to sit in and create a really strong bonding area. The finesse of the wings does mean that great care is needed when removing the parts from the sprue, and I did find that cutting the locators off at the end of the wings in the previous release resulted in cleaner joints. I did find getting the support arms attached to the fuselage a fight in the previous model and I do not see any changes to make that aspect easier. The tail of the aircraft has also been well tackled well and is again accurate as regards my reference. I again like that ICM has provided all of the control surfaces as separate parts allowing the modeller to place as desired on the model.
The undercarriage has great detail provided by ICM including the tread of the tyre; I will say I would have liked to see the wheels supplied weighted as an option in the model. The tail wheel has to be added when you close up the fuselage and could be easily damaged. I was pleased to see that ICM supplied the tail wheel separate from the support leg.
The engine in this model is a stunning all plastic offering which despite having one difference to the original release builds into a stunning feature of the model that can be reasonable well displayed. When building the model I do suggest that the exhausts are added after the engine is attached to the fuselage as I struggled getting these well placed in the original release when it comes to getting them between the legs of the undercarriage. The fixed pitch Fairey-Reed three-bladed propeller has been nicely done in this release and gives the Gladiator a very different look.
ICM has provided two angled drawings in the instruction sheet as a guide to stringing the model and I have to say this is far superior to the approach in the original release which was not as clear as these provide. Another very nice inclusion from ICM in this release is the cut out guide for making a set of canopy masks.
ICM has provided four finishing options straight from the box and these all have the same finish from above and the sides, one of the four options does have an alternate finish when viewed from below. In order to cover the finishes ICM has supplied side views of all of the variants and shown the flight surfaces from above and below that give the modeller clear guidance on painting the model. The four options are:
Gloster Sea Gladiator Mk II, No 804 Squadron, RNAS Hatston, Orkney Islands, October 1940
Gloster Sea Gladiator Mk II, No 804 Squadron, HMS Furious, May 1940
Gloster Sea Gladiator Mk II, No 813 Squadron, HMS Eagle, Summer 1940
Gloster Sea Gladiator Mk II, Hal Far, Malta, June 1940
The directed finishing option for both models is:
Fiat CR. 42 Falco, 9 Gruppo, 4 Stormo CT. Flown by Ernesto Botto, Sicily, Summer 1940
Gloster Sea Gladiator Mk II, Hal Far, Malta, June 1940