Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | PART 4
Honestly, the overwhelming majority of the work on the Fiat G.55 came prior to and during painting. The small number of G.55s the Italians managed to build were kept in pretty solid condition, and since the historical photos show little evidence for it, I decided to avoid anything beyond light weathering.
Decals
After a coat of Alclad Klear Kote gloss, the kit’s excellent Cartograf-printed decals went on. Excellent…and few in number. It’s nice to not have to worry about scores of tiny stencil decals for a change!
After the markings cured, I couldn’t help it. I had to see. So I glued the flaps in place.
Not too shabby…
Wash and Matte Coat
Once the decals cured, I shot a coat of Alclad Light Sheen, then slathered on the Promodeler Dark Dirt wash. Don’t know what the deal was this time, but I had crazy surface tension issues, and the paper towel lint situation was beyond ridiculous. I love the results the wash can give, but really need to find a better means of removal.
Details, Details
After the wash was sealed in with a coat of Alclad Matte (can you tell I’m a fan of Alclad’s clears?), the rest of the build came together quickly. Landing gear and doors were added, the canopy glued in place, and chipping and staining added as appropriate. Last things were the wingtip lights and the aerial wire. After such a marathon of a build, the end seemed somewhat anticlimactic!
Overall, what can I say? This kit isn’t a Tamiya Spitfire, but overall detail is solid, and it was (at least for me) and absolute blast of a build. I look forward to tackling many PCM kits in the future.
Doogs Models 