WARRIOR MODELS 1:48 BREDA BA 65 A80

 

Reviewer: Chris Busbridge  (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:  17 February 2002

Manufacturer: Warrior Models (Poland)
Aircraft: Breda Ba 65 A80.
Scale. 1/48
Meduim: Resin with vacform canopy (no spares) and white metal parts.
Decals: Two aircraft
Pros: Some good detail parts (cockpit in particular).
Cons: Vacform window tricky to apply. Poor fuselage shape. Some heavy engraving.

 

History:
 The A80 version of the Breda Ba65 was an attempt to produce a more user friendly version of the original K14 model. Other modifications included the deletion of the rear gunner/observer position on some aircraft in order to save weight. By installing the more powerful Fiat A80 engine, as opposed to the original Isotta Fraschini K14 engine, take-off speed was increased, but did little to improve its tricky flying characteristics. The problem was compounded by pilots unused to its high wing loading and faster take-off & landing speeds. They were all destined to an early ignominious trip to the scrap yard when they were recalled, due to a lack of other suitable aircraft. Ironically it turned out to be a pretty useful ground attack aircraft, once the pilots got used to it. Most action was seen in North Africa, but the attrition rate was high and pretty soon there were none left. A combined total of 218 were produced of all versions, some of which were exported to Chile, Iraq and Portugal.

The Kit:
 I would have thought that the rather distinctive appearance of this aircraft would have made it a popular choice for modellers. One could say it's so ugly, its beautiful! However, the only quality release was the OOP RCR 1/48th resin kit (they have since produced a 1/72 injection kit). This Warrior kit is the only 1/48th kit around and is made in quite small numbers. It's not as accurate as the RCR version, but a good result can still be achieved ...with a bit of effort.

There is a choice of building one of two versions. The most popular is likely to be the "monoposto", which will require a bit of surgery to the fuselage. The kit comes with the rear gunner position in-situ and will need to be replaced by a separately moulded section. Another problem to watch out for is the resin quality. The wings and tailplanes in this kit had thousands of microscopic air bubbles that only came to light when the first primer coat was applied. They were a pain to hide.

Construction:
 Although assembly was quite conventional, the Ba65 "Ali d'Italia" monograph was constantly referred to during the construction of this kit and it brought to light many faults with the kit. What follows is an outline of how I tried to correct them.

  1. The real problem with this model is the incorrect cross-section of the "monoposto" fuselage, in particular the area from the cockpit to the leading edge of the tail fin ...in fact, pretty much all of it! Milliput was used to correct this shape once it was closed up. Fortunately the Ali d'Italia guide had cross-sections included in the plans which meant I was able to make templates. It was a messy, time-consuming job. Any panel lines lost in this process are of no consequence as most were wrong or too deeply engraved. The gunner/observer ventral fuselage glazing was retained on the single seater airframe, so an opening had to be made in the fuselage to fit the vacform part supplied.
  2. The fit and alignment between both wings and the fuselage was poor. Milliput was used to get a smooth join.
  3. The shape of the wing fillet trailing edges were modified to match the photos in the Ali'dItalia book.
  4. The shape of the trailing edge of the elevators was corrected and their trim tabs rescribed. The excessively scribed panels lines on all tail surfaces were filled (apart from the hinge lines, of course).
  5. The port wing was extended by about 2mm (it was slightly longer on the real aircraft to compensate for engine torque). The wingtip was sawn off along the aileron outer edge, some plasticard added, the tip glued back on and sanded smooth.
  6. The uneven trailing edge of both wings were tidied up a bit.
  7. The vac form canopy needed plenty of dry runs before a reasonably good fit was achieved. It was necessary to add some filler around the cockpit area as well.
  8. The undercarriage doors were incorrectly shaped and much too thick. New ones were made from plasticard. Their compound curve shape can be recreated to some degree by rubbing the centre of the plasticard on a soft surface with a rounded point such as the end of a paintbrush. The same technique can be used to make new shields either side of the cockpit in place of the integrally moulded versions that I had previously removed.
  9. The propellers look as though they have been on steroids, so they were thinned out to their correct shape.
  10. The flap hinges were scratchbuilt. There was no sign of them in the kit. Trim tab actuators were also scratchbuilt.
  11. The detail for the cooling vanes on the cowling were filled and re-scribed to their correct proportions.
  12. The wing cannon fairings needed slight modification. The inner ones were made more elliptical. The outer cannons were shortened and made smaller.
  13. New axles were made from brass tubing get a stronger join between the resin wheels and the white metal undercarriage.
  14. The small intakes on the top of the cowling did not line up. I separated the parts and re-aligned them.
  15. The exhausts had to be shortened to fit into the back of the engine/cowling assembly.
  16. A curious feature of the Ba65 were the holes in the bomb bay doors that allowed the payload to be dropped without opening the doors. The existing holes on the model were undersized and in the wrong place. I filled them and made new ones to the correct size and position. The panel lines for the doors were re-scribed as well.
  17. One last bit of extra detail was the addition of small aerofoil fairings where the cables were attached to the tailplanes.

Painting & Decaling:
The markings supplied for the 'monoposto' aircraft are for a desert camouflaged 159 Squadriglia aircraft. I used a mixed colour based on Humbrol 81 for the sand camouflage colour (rather like Zinc Chromate), with mottles of Humbrol 149. The lower surfaces were sprayed with Humbrol 140.

The white wingtips and rudder cross were airbrushed. Despite initial misgivings with their matte finish, the decals worked out fine when used with Johnsons Klear, although I used spares for the wing insignia. The kit ones looked wrong to me. One minor quibble was the "Antonio dell'Oro" wording, which was spelt incorrectly.

Summary:
As you are no doubt aware, I spent a fair while sorting this kit out.  Happily the finished result was well worth it and the unusual look of this airplane has been captured extremely well.

I would recommend this to experienced resin modellers who have access to good reference material, such as the Ali d'Italia book. There are two limited run injection moulded kits available, one by Azur (K14 version) and another by RCR (A80 version), both in 1/72 scale, but even they're not perfect.

Footnote:
According to a recent "official" HS posting, Classic Airframes are planning a 1/48th scale release. If this is true, then it's great news. An accurate Ba65 is much needed in this scale (or any scale for that matter).

 

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