[FRANCE'41] CAPRA R30

[Mirage]

Hi chaps !

It's been a long time I haven't post here.
For the new year - by the way : my best wishes to you all ! - I have the great honour to present you the CAPRA R30.
Its story will come later...

The kit is an original creation of a friend, under the brand France '41 : such a good name for whiffers, isn't it ?

Well for a very short run product, nothing very special : easy separation of the pieces from the sprue, a few sanding and it's glued !
Because of the moulding technic, some holes appear. Sprotch ! Mastic :



Let's use some paper and the airframe remind me my skin 25 years ago :



If no problem, it will be finished quickly.

See you !

[Captain Canada]

Boy, that's a neat looking little bird !

[Mirage]

Merci, mon capitaine ! 

[NARSES2]

The kit is an original creation of a friend, under the brand France '41 : such a good name for whiffers, isn't it ?

That's very interesting.

[Tophe]

Wow! Such a rare bird, and elegant also...
Is the canopy vacformed? that is the difficult point for me.

[Mirage]

Hi all !!

The little bird is sanded. I am re-engraving her, very smoothly, because, you know, it's only 1/72 !
Yes, the canopy is vacuumformed. It's an horrible difficulty for me too, as well as the masking of it. How lucky are 1/32 modellists !!

Some historical informations :

The CAPRA (Compagnie Anonyme de Productions et de Réalisations Aéronautiques, later MATRA) R.30 or R.300 was a very basic study for a trainer (Et 1) for the french air force, inspired from the R.20 or RR. She should receive an obliquely mounted Béarn 6C engine of 360 HP. Very light plane, she was perhaps an answer to the light fighter program. She was supposed to reach a speed of 539 km/h at 5.000 m (291 knt or 335 mph at 16,400 ft). No information is available about the armament.

Soon, other pics !

Cheers !!

[Rheged]

This really needs a prancing goat somewhere on it!   (CAPRA, as in Capricorn.)

[Mirage]

Hello gentlemen !

A goat ? Why not. Not sure of having such a logo in my stock...

Well, some details for the cockpit. For sure, the original seat has some troubles :



Hopefully, my secret spare stock provides a new one, fitting well. I added a lead structure, and glued on it the belts (painted aluminium sheet). A direction column come  and, then the instrument panel. With the night blue interior, there is nothing much to see in this very confined space.



As you can see, the stabilizators are in place as well as the tail skid.



The propeller is almost finished.



As this plane was planed to be a fighter trainer, I suppose she would get a machine gun. Because of the thickness of the wing, I grabed a gun mouth on the starboard side of the cowling (cylinders on port).



Great ! You see nothing !  

See you !

[NARSES2]

The shape is some how very, very French. Just loving watch it come together 

[Mirage]

Thank you !

[Tophe]

Great silhouette, thanks! I like those rear canopies à-là YP-37...

[Mirage]

Thanks a lot, Tophe !
She's good looking, indeed.

[Mirage]

Hi guys !

This is a very little update.
Installing a vacuum-formed canopy is always a great moment of torture for me.
This is how I proceed:
- I cut off the piece from its sprue not too far away from the definitive border ;
- I put it on place with a strap of adhesive ;
- with a pencil I write the border ;
- then final cut.
Of course, it does not match at the first time. Some dry tests and sanding are required.



And, finally, after a loooooong time, it matches (more or less) :



You surely noticed that the plane is on its own legs.

The transparent thing is masked and the plane is overall painted (Tamiya TS 17) :



Arf! Some holes left...   

At least the propeller is finished :



Well, some work is waiting for me...

Tschüss !!

[Father Ennis]

Looking great !!!   

[NARSES2]

It is looking very, very French