Nice to see a non German Messerschmitt !
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Thank you, mates! 
Looks nice, Peter! Very clean build 
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Thanks, Jesper!
Things are progressing with the SM.79, I have the decals on, and the exhaust collectors painted in the correct place. (Hopefully!) The decals were problematic, brittle, and inflexible, that was likely my own doing as I didn’t use hot water to soak the decals in this time round. I’m about to put a panel line wash over the relevant spots, then a little light weathering. Hopefully finished with her soon.
IMG_2349 by Chris Wilson, on Flickr
IMG_2348 by Chris Wilson, on Flickr
IMG_2347 by Chris Wilson, on Flickr
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Looking good Chris… Cam looks awesome and the decals give a nice contrast as well.,
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Hi John, many thanks! I agree the camo looks good though I feel it could have been better, but don’t we all think that at times with our projects? The decals are nicely opaque which is a great bonus. Panel line wash is on I just need to clean it up and then add a small modicum of weathering as these were the Regia Aeronautica’s pride and joy and very well maintained.
Cheers
Chris
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Looks fantastic Chris. I got to see the real deal in Trento Italy a couple of years ago.
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Damn, Peter that must’ve been awesome! I watched the YouTube video on its restoration. If it’s the one I think it is.
Chris
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There are apparently only two intact aircraft left in the world. This is the one I saw. It is in a tiny museum next to the Trento airstrip:
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No that looks like an Iraqi(?) marked one. This is the video I saw, the SM.79 is in pretty poor shape cosmetically and the museum went to reasonable lengths to preserve it.
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Thanks for the link. I enjoyed watching that.
Both surviving examples are ex-Lebanese Air Force.
Wikipedia:
"There are two surviving complete SM.79s, both of which were donated by Lebanon to the Italian Air Force:
MM24499 – SM.79 on static display at the Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics Trento, Italy
MM45508 – SM.79 on static display at the Italian Air Force Museum in Bracciano, Lazio Italy
The Trento one I saw was kept in Lebanese livery in gratitude for the donation of the aircraft. There is a sign near the aircraft that explain that.
It also matches the translation of what is in the video you linked to:
ed un’altra eseguita con i colori dell’Aeronautica Libanese, forza aerea per la quale l’aereo era stato appositamente ricondizionato (1950), dopo essere stato restituito all’Italia nel 1967.
Google Translation:
and another carried out in the colors of the Lebanese Air Force, the air force for which the plane had been specially reconditioned (1950), after being returned to Italy in 1967.
Cheers
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Very nice work, Chris!
Here’s where I am on my second build, the Eduard 1/48 F4F-4:
I’ve since gloss coated it, so decal time! Not there will be too many.
Michael 
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finally found my mojo for this campaign, at least i think so. It depends now on if i can find the right color and camo pattern and of course the decals. i went to mosquitocon this past weekend and by chance picked up a AM Yak-1 for cheap. upon looking up possible subjects for it i came upon an interesting subject and my inspiration.
Lydia Vladimirov
The first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft and first female ace with by some accounts 15 victories.
Things just seemed to line up and as i did more research i became more intrigued.
So i would like to ask if there are any soviet / russian experts or of knowledgeable modelers here that can help point me in the right direction as far as camo pattern and colors? i have found out there was really no set standard pattern, it was mostly dependent on the factory the aircraft was built at. also i need to find decals in russian style fonts for the side number, which is 02, for the yak she flew in sept /oct of 1942 when she claimed 5 victories. it really is an interesting story and i would recommend reading it on wikipedia
Thanks, Joe
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Got most of the cockpit cut out and cleaned up.
Engineering of this kit so far is great! Fit is stellar and the parts all have really positive locating features to make the angles and position flawless. The mold quality is a mixed bag. The parts themselves are detailed, but holy flash! The small parts like the frame that makes up the seat and the side ribbing that makes up the cockpit sides were brutal every spar and rib had flash. Too me a few hours to clean up each one. Good news is, looking a head, the major parts like the wings and fuselage are nearly flash free
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thanks for the info. i have this kit and will look forward to seeing how it builds. the kit shape look good overall i just don’t like the way the canopy looks. it looks too thick and clunky and out of scale to me. i may consider a vac form canopy.
Joe
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So far the fit is really nice and I would put the detail above par. Just more clean up then I like but the parts do clean up nice with a bit of work
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here is my official entry into the campaign. the research on Lydia is making for some interesting reads. so much so that i am inspired to purchase a book on her time fighting in the skies above russia. i understand that there is also a movie out but could not find it on youtube.
i am finding it difficult finding any info or description on the first plane she flew, white 02, and to defiantly confirm it was a yak 1 but i am 99%sure it was. i find it odd since she made history in that plane being the first female fighter pilot in history to shoot down an enemy aircraft. i only came across one reference to it being a lagg 3 on modeling madness gallery where a builder says her first was a lagg but i am sure he is wrong about that as i have read multiple articles that corroborate wikipedia’s info of a yak 1.
if any russian airforce experts or builders with knowledge here have any info to help out i would be appreciative.
some of the info i am trying to find is
camo pattern and if it would be a hard or soft line
if the aircraft had a radio and what armament. many pilots removed the radios and some of the guns to lighten the plane
was it 02 painted on the fuselage or just 2.
here is a chart from wikipedia showing her aircraft and her victories by date. white 02 is the craft she flew in 1942 and claimed her first historic kill.
i started on the cockpit last night.
Joe
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got the cockpit done, starting on the wing spar. it is giving me some trouble. very poor location points and the lower wing is not curved to match the spar so in order to get the right dihedral you need to make sure the wing and spare are properly bonded. another words the spar is holding the lower wing in a slightly bent position. the lower assembly is glued to the fuselage first then the upper wings are added. lets see how that goes.
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