As the replacement wing was not used this time around, first thing to do was to open up the very shallow wheel wells on the lower wing and the corresponding area in the fuselage. This allows them to be modelled  to their correct depth. The ailerons and flaps on each wing were removed as well and 2 thin strips of plasticard applied to the "kink"  in the wing, to represent the prominent seams visible on the real aircraft.

Next task was to construct the fully detailed Italian Classic resin  cockpit. This proved to be a joy. The detailing was exquisite, the only items missing were the seatbelts and the frame behind the pilot seat.  Overall cockpit colour is thought to be grey, not the usual interior green.

The two fuselage halves fit very nicely around the cockpit. The tail-end of the fuselage is replaced by a resin piece, before attaching the resin tail surfaces. Having already deepened the wheel wells, the  wings were next, with only a touch of filler needed. Finally all the ailerons and flaps were added. Considering the amount of surgery  carried out, the fit of parts was very good.

The engine and cowling are very nicely detailed. The cylinders were moulded as seperate pieces, so care was taken to ensure the cylinders were applied to the crankcase correctly, the back row of cylinders  being slightly different to the front. Pushrods were scratchbuilt. The propeller is fully detailed and has a pale blue protective varnish,  with black applied to the rear faces of the blades to avoid glare.

The undercarriage legs were white metal with resin wheels. Although there were brass etch doors supplied, they were not used on this aircraft. The tailwheel has a bullet fairing into which the wheel  fitted quite snugly.

The only down side of the detail set was the vacform canopy, which was not very well moulded or a good fit. Luckily Falcon made a nice canopy in one their recent 1/48 sets that's beautifully moulded, as well as  being an accurate fit. I decided to retain the fore and aft sections of their moulding, which meant removing the relevant parts from the resin  items. This proved to be a relatively simple task as the rear shelf in the cockpit was quite bare and the front section just needed careful  treatment of the upper instrument panel.

The detail set did not come with decals, but both Tauro and Skymodels  have printed various markings for a Spanish campaign aircraft, including one with the "Ace of Clubs" insignia. Colours used were from  Humbrol and Xtracolor range, based on information found on the IPMS Italy website. The wing tips and rudder were sprayed Satin White.

To sum up, I would say the results were well worth the effort, the  quality of the resin items in the detail set being first class. At the time, it was the only way to get a decent model of this aircraft.  Recently, Italian Classic released a full kit of this type as well the later bis and A.S. types. They are extremely well detailed kits and are  worth a look, despite their high purchase price.