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Warrior Model 1/48 Breda Ba.88 Lince (Lynx) by Vangelis Vassilopoulos |
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Despite the modern design and high-performance of the Breda Ba.88 prototype, the plane was
less than successful operationally. The aircraft made its debut in the spring of 1937 and
established several world speed records: approximately 325 mph (523 km/h) over 62 miles
(100 km), and almost 300 mph (482 km/h) over 612 miles (1,000 km). Later it flew almost
350 mph (563 km/h) and, with a 1-ton (1.01 tonne) cargo, almost 330 mph (531 km/h). The plane
was designed as a heavy fighter and ground attack aircraft, but when the armament was
installed problems of stability developed, and the plane's general performance suffered. A
total of 100 were built, but they served only brielfy in Libya in the summer of 1940 and were
then sent back to Italy. They were used as fixed installations on the ground to mislead
enemy reconnaissance. |
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I had been meaning to build a model of the Breda 88 aircraft since the first time I saw it in a book some 15 years ago or so. The picture showed only the front half of the airplane but it was enough for me. I only had to put trust on the Italian “finezza” for the other half and I was proven right! A few years later I got a word form a fellow modeler that there’s been a new release and that was it. A brand new 1/48th scale Breda 88 Warrior Model kit is laying on my workbench. Warrior’s yellow resin is of fine quality, with few bubble marks and casting flaws. Dimensions are on scale along with the overall shape except from the following three areas: the upper part of nose section, the fuselage panels around gunner’s position and the wing position. Here Warrior made a rather major mistake by casting the kit as a mid-wing version while the real airplane is of a high-wing design. This mistake can only be justified by the fact that Ba.88 wing is relatively thick and has a high angle of attack that brings the trailing edge join to the fuselage quite low. Anyway this mistake had to be efficiently corrected therefore a lot of time was spent on it. From all the kit’s resin parts only the fuselage halves, wings, engine cowlings/nacelles, spinners, wheels and tailplane were actually used. From all the white metal parts only the propellers and the tailwheel were actually used. All the rest was made either from scratch or from spares box parts (both plastic & photo-etched). The slats were actually bent aerofoil sectioned wings and were made as follows: after gluing the wing halves to each other a thin sheet of lead was pressed against the leading edge thus forming the right slat curve. The thin lead was cut to the correct size (while still lying against the leading edge) using the existing slat panel lines as template. Cyanoacrylate glue was then applied to the inner part of each slat in order to harden the lead a little bit. Liquid putty was applied also on the inner part thus forming the aerofoil shape. Finally the resin slats were scraped off of kit’s wing leading edges to make room for the new slats which were placed at the extended position. Kit’s Piaggio P.XI RC40s were replaced by Vector’s Gnome Rhone 14Ns (they were exactly the same). The right one is represented exposed up to the firewall with scratch built accessories. The model was airbrushed with a green primer and Alclad White Aluminum - after sanding and panel engraving. White Ensign Grigio Azzuro Chiaro (FS 26307) was sprayed on the underside and Gunze Verde Mimetico 3 (FS 34102) on the rest. The individual mottle pattern was free-hand airbrushed using toned down White Ensign Giallo Mimetico 3 (FS 23434). After chipping, decals and weathering with oil paint and pastel pigments the model was sprayed with matt enamel varnish. Finally it was polished with a piece of soft cloth and polishing cream. The dorsal Breda Safat 12,7’ machine gun is a resin product from L’ Arsenal but was extensively detailed with photo-etched parts from the spares box. It took me almost 3 years to build this model but I admit that it could have been completed a lot sooner. Anyway I very much enjoyed building it despite the difficulties during the process simply because its fine lines compensated me for each and every one of them. Now I have in my collection a representation of one of the most beautiful aircraft of WW II. |
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Aircraft: Breda 88 Manufacturer: Societa Italiana Ernesto Breda Type: Fighter Bomber Year: 1938 Engine: Two Piaggio P.XI RC 40, 14-cylinder radial, air-cooled, 1,000hp each Wingspan: 51 ft 2 in (15.60m) Length: 35 ft 5 in (10.79 m) Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.10 m) Weight: 14,900 lb (6,750 kg) (Loaded) Maximum Speed: 304 mph (490 km/h) Ceiling: 26,200 ft (8,000 m) Range: 1,019 miles (1,640 km) Armament: 4 machine guns; 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) of bombs |
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May, 2014 STORMO! © 2014 |