Model, text and images by Luca Cinacchio

The kit

I was looking for a subject not so mainstream in 1/72 scale, possibly not a small fighter but a medium bomber: so when i saw somewhere on Ebay this kit i decided to buy it.
The kit comes in a sturdy box with a nice box-art on the top. The plastic is not too soft and not too stiff... perfect, with plenty of fine details and fine recessed panel lines.
Transparent parts look good to. The decals look to me not so great, but they are ok. A nice, complete PE frette gives you plenty of added details. Instructions seems clear, but as i discovered later they are sometimes a little vague.
Fitting is so so... don't expect parts fitting like a glove as you find in a Tamiya kit, and be ready to use a good amount a filler, and lot of sanding.

The Build

Assembly started as usual with the cockpit. There are plenty of details to tranform it in a very busy office. I started with a classic interior green followed by post-shadow and highlights. 
Details were picked with a brush and Vallejo colors. A couple of washed and some drybrush completed the job. don't forget to add lot of weight inside the nose: this bird is a tail-sitter!

With the cockpit completed, i assembled the fuselage and the wings: as you can see at the wing's rooth there is a large gap: it will be filled with CA and glue... and lot of patient sanding!
Painting started with the lower side.. honestly i don't remember what Vallejo mix I used for the gray. I used also the pre-shading technique, and some highlights later, as you can see in the pics...

For the main camo, i wanted to try something different. I had the AK set of olive drab, so i decided to try a Modulation Colors on a plane, instead than on a tank... I masked the lower surfaces and then i sprayed the varius tone, starting from the base coad, then going with the shadows, and finishing with the light. In the images you can see some of the steps.

Invasion strips time!!! I know... there is an old debate about these strips. They were originally brush painted, in a very roughly way. So realism would dictate to reproduce them using a brush... BUT i don't like that! So i decided to go with the airbrush and maskings, but with a compromise: lot of chpping, made with the hairspray technique.

The footstep at the wingroot is not a decal but was painted: it required a tedious masking job, but it was worthy of that, since it will take the weathering in a much natural way than a decal... Wheels were painted before inside, and then masked. Weathering was some mostly with oil colors: washed for the panel lines, and much less thinned for the streaks... 

The completed model