LF Models 1/48 Ambrosini S.A.I. 207 Light Weight Fighters by Chris Busbridge

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The Ambrosini S.A.I. 207 was developed in the last dramatic phases of the war. It was a light interceptor built entirely of wood and was an extremely good aeroplane for the engine power it had. The S.A.I. Ambrosini 207 was based on the 107, which in turn was developed from the S7 light weight tourer and was powered by an Isotta Fraschini Delta RC40 engine fitted with two synchronised Breda Safat 12.7mm machine guns. First flown in October 1940, this small light-weight all-wooden aircraft was fast and even reached 560 mph in a dive, proving that it's designer, ing. Stefanutti, had crafted a carefully worked out, clean and aerodynamic aircraft. However, with its increased weight compared to the 107, the loading on its 5-spar wing led to various handling problems. This and its restricted armament, lead to the decision to halt further development in favour of the bigger and better armed 403. Only 12 pre-production 207s were built and were constantly plagued by problems associated with its all wood construction. Although a few (6) did get put into service, they were frequently returned for essential repairs and were actually awaiting repairs at the time of the Armistice. This is LF Models first ever 1/48 resin kit and is the only 207 ever produced in this scale. A clue to the standard of the kit is the box illustration, which depicts a 207 with a P-40. With more research, they would have known that this would have have been rather unlikely! It includes a photo-etch sheet, white metal undercarriage and propellor parts, a small decal sheet and vacform canopy. The engraved panel lines for the control surfaces are indistinct, the cockpit and wheel wells are poorly defined, but the most disappointing aspect of this kit are the fuselage halves themselves. Although in profile it appears to be quite accurate, apart from the shape of the fin, its cross section is certainly not. To correct this involved a fair amount of work. First off, I removed the sidewall detail in the cockpit, removed some resin from the inside of the nose area, added some Milliput on the inside around the cockpit rear view cutouts and even more around the base of the fin. After joining the two fuselage halves together, the base of the nose was widened by adding plasticard strips along the base of the sides, using Milliput to fair it all in. The radius of the wing fillets were increased with more Milliput, the cutouts behind the cockpit made larger & deeper. A waist was also sanded along the base of the fin into the rear fuselage to create a vestigial spine. A new rudder was made from scratch and the fin altered in shape. The dihedral of the wing was increased and the roof of the wheel well removed and the sides cleaned up. The cockpit detail was added before attaching the wing, which has had a new roof added to the wheel well. The panel lines for the control surfaces were scribed deeper to get better definition. The stabilisers were butt joined onto the fuselage and faired in with Milliput. More Milliput was used to fair the nose of the aircraft into the spinner and the shape of the large vent in the nose improved. The smaller vents and scoops on the top of the fuselage were added, after the top seam was filled and evened up. The canopy was binned and a replacement found. The nearest proved to be a spare CA RE.2000 canopy, the front windscreen trimmed to fit the fuselage contours. The tailwheel parts were modified, the main units cleaned up and installed. The scheme is the late war VOS2 and GAC combination. All decals were sourced from spares, apart from the SAI Ambrosini lettering on the fin, the only one used from LF Models sheet. In summary, a poor kit that with effort can be made to look 'almost' right. Although built without much in the way of three view drawings, the Aerofan articles contained enough good quality photos to help you along. It is also possible to convert LF's 207 into a 403 and involves not quite as much work! I will be presenting such an article in the near future.

Technical Data Aircraft: Ambrosini S.A.I. 207 Manufacturer: Societa Aeronautica Italiana Ing. A. Ambrosini & C. Type: Fighter Year: 1943 Engine: Isotta-Fraschini Delta RC 40, 12-cylinder V, air-cooled, 750 hp Wingspan: 29 ft 6 in (9.00 m) Length: 26 ft 4 in (8.02 m) Height: 9 ft 5 in (2.88 m) Weight: 5,330 lb (2,415 kg) (Loaded) Maximum Speed: 388 mph (625 km/h) Ceiling: 39,400 ft (12,000 m) Range: 528 miles (850 km) Armament: 2 machine guns Crew: 1 References: Angelucci E. and P. Matricardi, "World Aircraft - World War II - Part I", Sampson Low, Bershire House, UK, 1978 Additional Images:

October, 2005 STORMO! © 2005