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Campaigns: Completed Campaigns
Campaigns that are completed should be grouped here.
Hosted by Richard S.
Italian Campaign 1943-1945
Chaman911
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Posted: Sunday, May 05, 2019 - 04:38 AM UTC
Looks good Peter!
PasiAhopelto
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Uusimaa, Finland
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Posted: Tuesday, May 07, 2019 - 03:32 AM UTC
Major subassemblies done and ready for paint:



The tracks are link-and-length type, and Tamiya had included 1:35 side view of track layout, which made it very easy to assemble them off the model. Hopefully other manufacturers will copy the idea...
GazzaS
#424
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Posted: Tuesday, May 07, 2019 - 09:10 AM UTC
Great work, Pasi!
zontar
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Posted: Thursday, May 09, 2019 - 07:17 PM UTC
Aloha All,

very nice work going on here!

I'm trying to get back on track in time to finish this campaign. Got the interior of the M10 turret painted up before assembling the halves. It ended up with a gap that is giving me grief. Since it was already painted, I'm trying to fill it with Vallejo plastic putty, but I can't seem to completely fill it. There is always a groove. Maybe the loader figure will hide it well enough...













Happy Modeling,
-Zon
petbat
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Posted: Thursday, May 09, 2019 - 10:08 PM UTC
Looking good Zon. If push comes to shove, put some equipment on it. You could place a helmet on it and have the chin strap hanging down - put another on the counterweights to give it a reason for being there. Another option is some field glasses where the strap hangs down the front, etc.. .

Thanks for hosting the pics Gaz. I'm back on line and hope to have the base coat and camo on this weekend so I can post updates.
GazzaS
#424
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Posted: Thursday, May 09, 2019 - 10:35 PM UTC
Zon,
That looks great! Don't think of the figure as hiding a fault... think of it as adding visual interest, scale, and life...


Peter,
No worries mate!
TimReynaga
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MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 01:34 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Hi Gaz,

I'm about to start my campaign contribution, but I don't want to run afoul of the rules. I'd like to do the Italian aircraft carrier Aquila.

Mussolini's only aircraft carrier Aquila was nearing completion when Italy surrendered to the Allies on 8 September 1943. Germany then seized the ship and placed it under guard. Aquila was later damaged on 16 June 1944 during an Allied air attack, and on 19 April 1945 Italian "co-belligerent" government sent divers from the former Decima Flottiglia MAS, who partially scuttled Aquila to prevent the ship being used by the Germans.

I want to build the real ship as she would have appeared in service... will this work for the campaign?



Tim,
Please feel free to build her! I have never seen anything of this ship and would like to see how she'd look built. Though not used effectively at times, Italian warships had some great lines.

Gaz


Ok, so I’m in with GHQ’s all-metal 1/2400 scale Italian Aircraft Carrier Aquila !

The little 3¾ inch long carrier, intended as a wargaming counter, is presented in GHQ’s usual style with relatively few parts in beautifully sharp metal castings.

This one is slightly more complicated than some of their others with 25 parts for the ship itself (hull, island, 2 cranes and 21 weapons sponsons) plus 10 aircraft, but the parts fit is excellent and things go together pretty quickly.


Assembled and primed, she’s ready for paint in no time!


d6mst0
#453
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 05:25 AM UTC
Tim,

Wish I could build them that fast! Nice choice and build.

Mark
k_mero4
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Sofiya, Bulgaria
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 05:45 AM UTC
Zon, well done. Perfect painting. Congratulations on your work.
Wow ...... Tim, it looks impressive.
Kalin
petbat
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 07:14 AM UTC
Very Cool Tim. That does look nicely detailed for the size - about 4 inches?
GazzaS
#424
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 08:40 AM UTC
That;s very cool, Tim!
petbat
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 11:30 AM UTC
Okay. A couple of detail pics to supplement the ones Gaz took for me:

A couple of instruction plaques still to be added to the dash. Note Griffin even give you keys to hang in the 'glovebox'



Gun and mount dry fit to rear cargo area. Shows how tight a fit it is as the barrel is weighty aluminium... and the knob for the lanyard is provided by Griffin in the M3 set too



Weathering and dry brushing all with Vallejo acrylics. The floor has several layers of 'filters' of very thin earth tones, which I allowed to pool in places like rain washed dirt would be in the real deal.

Hopefully off to get the exterior paint on today ( chores to do now)
brekinapez
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 11:35 AM UTC
I used to have a ton of GHQ armor, but someone broke into my storage unit during a move years ago, and of all the boxes they could have snatched it was the one containing 75% of my miniatures collection--all the GHQ and the bulk of my fantasy and SF figures.
GazzaS
#424
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 01:37 PM UTC
That's some nice progress, Peter! Love the weathering and the little things!

Gaz
GazzaS
#424
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 01:40 PM UTC
Shell,
That's awful!

Gaz
d6mst0
#453
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Posted: Friday, May 10, 2019 - 11:54 PM UTC
Peter,

Very nice work.

Mark
TimReynaga
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Posted: Saturday, May 11, 2019 - 03:48 AM UTC
GHQ’s Aquila is in most respects fully up to their typically high standards, but for some reason the designers gave this model a COMPLETELY INACCURATE flat stern!



This flub would be a massive effort to correct, and unless seen from the rear it isn’t that obvious... so I decided to just live with it.
petbat
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Posted: Saturday, May 11, 2019 - 07:34 AM UTC
Tim

It got rebuilt like that after "battle damage"

Somethings you just have to live with. I hear you on correcting it.
brekinapez
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Posted: Saturday, May 11, 2019 - 02:57 PM UTC
Getting close to paint time!

d6mst0
#453
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Posted: Saturday, May 11, 2019 - 03:16 PM UTC
Tim,

I don't blame you, that should would be a major rework of stern to get correct.

Mark
TimReynaga
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Posted: Sunday, May 12, 2019 - 01:55 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Tim,

I don't blame you, that should would be a major rework of stern to get correct.

Mark



Quoted Text

Tim

It got rebuilt like that after "battle damage"

Somethings you just have to live with. I hear you on correcting it.


Thanks guys!

So moving forward without fixing that funky stern, the Aquila got a coat of Tamiya Sky Grey (XF-19) acrylic. Comparing it with the Italian Navy WWII Ship Colors paint samples from Snyder and Short Enterprises, this paint looks to be a reasonable representation of the Italian Navy’s standard Grigio Chiaro (Light Grey).


One of the greatest threats to the Italian Navy in the confined waters of the Mediterranean was British submarines, so to break up the outline of their ships, the Italians often added blotches of Grigio Scuro (Dark Grey) over the lighter base grey.



These patterns showed quite a bit of variety; I chose to apply a blotch pattern inspired by that of the cruiser Fiume.



Tamiya Dark Grey (XF-24) matches Grigo Scuro fairly well, and Bianco Sporco Opaco (Matt Foul White) false bow and stern waves compete the hull camouflage.

GazzaS
#424
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Posted: Sunday, May 12, 2019 - 02:15 PM UTC
Shell,
Annie looks huge! Can't wait to see it painted.


Gaz
GazzaS
#424
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Posted: Sunday, May 12, 2019 - 02:16 PM UTC
Tim,
I like the camo on your A/C carrier.

Gaz
Ramanathan
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Posted: Monday, May 13, 2019 - 12:36 AM UTC
Hello to all,
Well, I was checking the forum almost everyday and guys, you've done nice models so far!
I am in a bit of a panic as there is only two and a half weeks to finish this campaign...
My Chaffee received its base paint and now I try to reorganize my evenings to finish before the deadline...
cheers,
Zsolt


TimReynaga
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Posted: Monday, May 13, 2019 - 01:01 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Tim,
I like the camo on your A/C carrier.

Gaz


Thanks Gaz. Now for the part of the build I’ve been looking forward to – the flight deck decal. Dan Arute at Flight Deck Decals 2400 offers some beautiful aftermarket decals for the flight decks of these tiny ships, and for the Aquila there is even a choice of three different styles.


Of course I had to choose one with the red and white “barber shop pole” on the bow!

With all that careful hull camouflage these highly visible markings might seem odd, but perhaps an even bigger threat than British submarines to the Italian Navy in World War Two was the Italian Air Force – so the prominent aerial identification markings do make sense!


I’ve glossed the model with Future, and given the featureless, flat expanse of the flight deck the decal should go on smoothly without the need for any setting solution.
 _GOTOTOP