Aviattic ANSALDO A.1 BALILLA Manual

Hide thumbs

Table of Contents

Quick Links

Download this manual

"ANSALDO A.1 BALILLA"

BUILD LOG

Table of Contents

Need help?

Do you have a question about the ANSALDO A.1 BALILLA and is the answer not in the manual?

Questions and answers

Summary of Contents for Aviattic ANSALDO A.1 BALILLA

Page 1 “ANSALDO A.1 BALILLA” BUILD LOG...
Page 2 There will be links posted on the website (www.aviattic.co.uk) to other modeller’s builds as they appear on the various modelling forums etc. Between those sources and careful examination of each stage and the parts concerned you should gain a good understanding of this wonderful little aeroplane and its construction before you start.
Page 3 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Section 1: Building the SPA 220 HP Step 11: Radiator shutters Step 12: Radiator and Front Cowlings Step 1: Engine block Step 13: Oil tank Step 2: Cylinders Step 3: Rear engine detail and camshaft Section 4: Landing gear Step 4: Springs and rockers Step 5: Manifold assembly Step 1: Basic strut assembly...
Page 4: Step 1. (Engine Block)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 BUILDING THE SPA 220 HP Note: All the parts required to build the engine are provided in a separate bag with exception of a few which are on the casting block marked ‘i’. Step 1. (Engine block) lean the engine block and drill out the back of the engine with 3.5 mm drill bit to later fit part 26D.
Page 5 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 3. (Rear engine detail and Camshaft) lean up parts 12, 26A, 26B, 26C, 26D. They are glued in the positions shown below (for additional information refer to the booklet and website galleries). Glue these on the engine with CA or epoxy glue.
Page 6 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 4. (Springs and rockers) rill out part 11 with a 2mm drill bit and then remove and clean the part. ext, trim part 26A and drill out the hole with 0.9mm drill bit to fit part 11 in place. lean up the springs, (parts 16), then glue all springs in place with CA glue.
Page 7 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 5. (Manifold assembly) Note: The following illustrates a method for assembling the manifold by pinning the parts with brass rod. Alternatively parts can simply be glued together without pinning lean up the part 5 and open up the two centre holes using a 0.5mm drill bit.
Page 8 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 5 (Continued) o aid in the final assembly of the manifold either use the engine as a jig or construct a jig from plasticard or wood. A jig is included in appendix section at the rear of this build log. To use the jig drill six 0.8mm holes in the positions defined and assemble the manifold as illustrated right Step 6.
Page 9 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 6 (Continued) nce all the wires are fitted it should look something like the picture on the right. hen glue or solder part 23 on the open back edges of part est fit each Ignition wire tube to the engine assembly and carefully trim each wire to the required length so that the wire loosely fits the corresponding spark plug position.
Page 10 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 8. (wiring) ttach the assembled Ignition wire sheath to each side of the engine cylinders using brass rod or similar to pin the tube into the three holes pre-drilled into the cylinders just below the spark plugs on each side of the engine.
Page 11 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 11. (Intakes) lean up resin parts i16 and i17 and glue in to the drilled out holes . Check reference photos for directions part i17 fits on to the manifold side of the engine. Note; Ansaldo and Breda engines had different arrangements for what we believe were cooling intakes.
Page 12 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 he finished engine should look some- thing like this…..
Page 13 Suitable wood grain keep the removed piece of fuselage decals are available from Aviattic. underside for later use. hen happy with the fit of all the parts, glue in the bulkheads, parts 19 and 20 using CA glue to fix in place making sure there is no interference in...
Page 14: Step 3. (Fuel Tank)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 2. (Forward bulkhead) emove the moulded detail marked in red in the picture on the right and thin the inside fuselage walls to 0.3 mm in this area. ut away PE part 30 and bend to shape using a right angled edge tool as an aid.
Page 15 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 3. (continued). lean up the fuel tank as well as parts F1 and F3. Drill two holes of 0.9mm in to the tank as shown in the picture above right. lue parts F3 in position on to the fuel tank (pictured left) ry fit the tank in to the fuselage ( NOT GLUE YET! ), ensuring that the lug...
Page 16 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 3 (Continued). emove the flooring and tank from the fuselage and drill two 1.8mm holes with a depth of approx. 0.5mm at the positions that were previously spot drilled .Glue in parts F1 these holes = Rivets ow remove PE parts 28 from the PE fret and bend in to shape (above left).
Page 17 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 4 (Aileron control unit ). Note: This unit will not be seen as it sits under the seat and this step can therefore be treated as optional. ut away part 18 from its casting block and drill 4 holes of 0.3mm as pictured left lue 4 pins of 0.3mm brass in to the holes that you have just drilled...
Page 18 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 4 (Continued). lue PE parts 72 each side of PE parts 102 so that the hole in PE parts 72 fits over the 0.5mm brass rod fitted above. The slot PE part 73 over the ends of PE part 72 as pictured left.
Page 19: Step 6 (Control Stick)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 5 (Continued). nneal PE part 63 and bend to shape using tweezers then glue in place on to each end of part i9. Drill 0.3mm holes here rill two 0.3mm holes through Part i9 for control wire as pictured above lue part i1 in place on to the cockpit floor ensuring that the inversed ‘T’...
Page 20 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 6 (continued). rill a 0.3mm hole of in to part i19 and press in a piece of 0.3mm brass rod sandwiching i2 between i19 Don't glue it so that it can move freely. rill a 0.5mm hole in the end of part i3. i 19 in part i3 to the end of part i2 with two 0.5mm resin hex nuts or with brass rod as pictured right.
Page 21 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 rill out the hole in the centre of part i5 using a 1.6mm drill lide in the control stick assembly through the hole at the rear of the floor so that the base of the control stick assembly fits in the recess in the floor.
Page 22 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 8 (interior assembly) his section details the process for fitting the rear seat bulkhead, floor, control stick assembly and rudder bar in to the fuselage. Fit the parts and assemblies in the suggested order. 1. Slot and glue the rear (seat) bulkhead in to the fuselage ensuing that the notches for the seat base on...
Page 23 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Modellers tip; At this stage rudder control wires can be fitted to the rudder bar via the eyelet holes drilled out in Step 5. These can be pulled taught and fitted to the rear of the cockpit. Step 9 (Firewall and engine bearers) lean up parts G 1 G2 and G3, removing the areas marked out in red on parts G 1 and G2 pictured on the right...
Page 24 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 10 (Fuel Mixture Selector Quadrant) rill 3 holes of 0.35mm to a depth of 1.5mm in to a block of wood, balsa or aluminum using PE part 83 as a template. Cut 3 x 0.3mm pins to a length of approx. 10mm placing one in to each of the holes.
Page 25: Step 12 (Instrument Panel)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 11 (Radiator Shutter Quadrant) se the same process as detailed for the fuel selector quadrant. Use PE part 10 as a temple for the wooden or aluminium jig. irst place PE part 10 on to three 0.3mm pins. Place PE part 42 on to the middle pin and then PE parts 37, one each on to the two outer pins.
Page 26 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 12 (Continued) rill out the 4 holes in the center of the dashboard with a 0.6mm drill bit. emove E9 from its casting block and drill 0.5mm diameter holes in both ends. he centre band marks the position that part E9 fits to the instrument panel sing a 2.5mm drill bit gently drill through the centre of part E8 while the...
Page 27 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 12 (Continued) Glue part E9 in position through the hole in the instrument panel. The longer end should point towards the pilot. Slide PE part 4 down the shaft of part E9 and glue to the instrument panel emove part E6 from its casting block and round off the back side of the instrument which can be made easier by using a jig with...
Page 28 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 12 (Continued) t this stage the instrument panels should be painted and instrument decals applied (see appendix for instrument panel layout) . E 14 E 14 sing a blob of thinned PVA glue, placed on top of the Then glue in PE parts 2 and 3 as illustrated above.
Page 29 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 13 (Continued ) lue the assembly in to position on the inside of the fuselage as in the picture on the left Step 14 (Cabane Struts ) lean up strut jigs and cabane (Inner) strut parts 18, 19, 20 and 21.
Page 30 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 15 (Cleaning the cowling and general trimming of parts) lean up the cowling and thin the areas marked in red in the four pictures above and right. Sand vented areas from the inside of the cowling to open up the vents.
Page 31 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 15 (continued) t this stage it is suggested that the turtle deck is dry fitted and trimmed to fit between the struts (filler can be used later to make the seam tidier) he edges of the instrument panel can also be trimmed at this stage so that it fits inside the cowling.
Page 32 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 18 (Installation of cockpit assemblies) lue the fuel mixture selector quadrant (see step 10) to the inside port side of the fuselage as pictured left. lue the radiator shutter quadrant (see step 11) to the inside starboard side of the fuselage as illustrated right.
Page 33 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 18 (continued) emove the areas marked in red lean up and assemble the Magneto; Parts K 1 and K 2 which replace the Taurus parts. Note: Part K2 should sit straighter than photographed above lue a small "shelf" of scrap plastic card to the moulded bulkhead in front and under the seat position.
Page 34: Step 20 (Seat Installation)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 20 (Seat installation) lue the peat base, part 22 in to the rear bulkhead. The seat base needs to be set to a 90°angle against the bulkhead (not the fuselage frames), otherwise the seat will appear to be too far forward once the turtle deck is fitted.
Page 35 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 FUSELAGE EXTERIOR, MACHINE GUN AND ENGINE INSTALLATION Step 1. (Windscreen) his step is fun to do for those who wish to practice soldering techniques. Alternatively the parts can be glued together General soldering tips. Make sure your part is as clean and if possible a little sanding will help the join. Use flux to steer the solder where you want it to go.
Page 36 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 1. (continued) epeat the process with part 13 which is fitted to and central framing of both sides of the windscreen assembly. heck the fit of the windscreen to the fuselage but do not glue yet. For the glass use Crystal Clear (or similar) or sandwich acetate between PE parts 12 during the first part of this step...
Page 37 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 3. (Tail) lean up the tail part. ptional: If on dry fitting the tail and turtle deck to the fuselage you have a slight over hang of the tail at the rear of the fuselage, drill a 1mm hole at the end of the part and glue in a brass/stainless steel rod as shown in this picture.
Page 38 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 6. (Engine installation) o fit completed engine (see section 1) into the front of the fuselage begin by positioning the engine as pictured below so that the front of the engine sits on the engine bearers. ow slide the engine to the front as far as possible and press on the back side of the engine to push it in to place.
Page 39 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 7. (continued) nstall the machine guns through the slots in the instrument panel from the engine side, clipping the guns in to the brackets on part 14 (see section 2, step 12). Once the guns have clipped in, spot a small drop of glue on to each bracket.
Page 40 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 8. (Continued - Optional) it the sides of the cut of cowlings in place on to the fuselage. Note: if fitting the cowling in one piece do no fit at this stage of the build. Step 9.
Page 41 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 9. (continued) rill out the four holes on the front plate of part J3 with a 0.9mm drill bit. lue parts J1 and J6 in to these holes as pictured left. ssemble the synchronisation system as illustrated below. it the synchronisation between the instrument panel and engine as illustrated on the right.
Page 42 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 10 (Rear Cowling) f the rear cowling has previously been divided into 3 pieces (see step 8); Carefully trim the rear cowling to fit, working on one side at a time. Ensure that the rear exhaust holes line up with the pipes of the engine.
Page 43 Reference pictures in the booklet and on the Aviattic website clarify the assembly appearance lean up the radiator part and use the drill jig (see the appendix of this build log) to drill all of the holes into the radiator using the drill size suggested on the jig.
Page 44 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 12 (Radiator and Front Cowlings) rill out the holes in the four corners of the forward PE bulkhead (PE part 30) with a 0.35mm drill bit as indicated in the picture on the left. The holes should be deep enough to accept the four pins fitted to the radiator at the end of the previous step.
Page 45: Step 13 (Oil Tank)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 13 (Oil Tank) Note: If building straight from ‘the box’ the oil tank will not be seen. If cutting the fuselage base and installing the fuel tank in a more realistic fashion, the oil tank will be visible. lean up the oil tank (part 16) and remove PE parts 95 from the PE fret.
Page 46: Landing Gear
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 LANDING GEAR Step 1 (Basic strut assembly) lean up the axle aerofoil and landing gear struts (Parts L1, L2, L3 and L4), making sure that you keep the casting blocks with the struts, or mark them for reference, so that they don’t get mixed up.
Page 47 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 1 (continued) ptionally, PE eyelets can be fitted using the process below: old each PE part 44 (four in total) as illustrated above and right. hen glue or solder the eyelet section of the part. Bend it to shape using a strip of styrene, wood or brass of approximately 0.6 thick and press the part so it looks like the bottom example in the picture on the left.
Page 48 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 1 (continued) FRONT lue the remaining three struts to the axle aerofoil as illustrated right Step 2 (Axle) emove the axle (part L5) from its casting block and clean the part up. Ensure that you Excess steel rod from the axle ends can be removed remove any excess steel rod protruding from using a hardened saw (as above) or alternatively the...
Page 49 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 2 (continued) lue the end of the thread into the 0.8mm hole and begin winding the thread around the axle and axle aerofoil as pictured below to make the bungee cord. he completed bungee cord should end up looking like the picture on the left. Once you are happy with the appearance of your bungee cord, glue the end down in an unobtrusive position and trim away any unused thread.
Page 50 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 FUSELAGE DETAIL Step 1 (Rear fuselage detail) Note: If using kit woodgrain decals apply now to a gloss white surface and add PE once sealed and varnished. We suggest using ‘Gorilla Glue’ to cement the PE to the varnished and sealed woodgrains. end PE part 20 to shape as shown left.
Page 51: Step 3 (Air Vents)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 2 (Actuator slot detail) emove the actuator slot surround PE parts 19) and windshield (PE parts 35),two pieces each from the PE fret. nneal PE parts 35 and bend both ends of these parts to fit the edge of PE part 19.
Page 52 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 3 (continued) nneal PE parts 116 (2 pieces) and roll into shape using a suitably sized drill or rod illustrated left. lue or solder PE parts 116 to PE parts 117 as pictured below. ptional: Drill and cut out the recessed vents on both sides of the fuselage.
Page 53 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 5 (Underside engine covers) nneal PE part 9. Using a small flat headed screwdriver or similar tool, carefully press each of the louvres out from the inside on a soft cutting mat. old the rear edge of PE part 9 inwards along the scored line. lue or solder PE part 9B to PE part 9 as illustrated right.
Page 54 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 6 (Fuel tank detail) Note: If following the accurate fuel tank assembly method then the PE fuel tank underside part described below should already be assembled to the fuel tank and fitted in to the fuselage (see Section 2 , steps 3 and The detailing process is the same as described below.
Page 55 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 7 (hatches) Note: As with all the fuselage fittings the hatches should be fitted after the wood grain decals have been added and sealed. The hatches described below fit over and in the centre of the circular wood access panels on the wood grain decals.
Page 56: Step 8 (Engine Air Intake)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 8 (Engine air intake) lean up the engine air intake (part i11). Fit this part though the hole at the front of the port side of the fuselage . ocate and glue the lug on the end of part i11 into the recess at the base of the engine manifold.
Page 57 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 9 (continued) lot the rudder on to the fin via the brass rod pins and cement in position. in the elevators using the same method as for the rudder (see below) ut a 10mm length of 1mm rod to connect the elevators together ently dry fit the 1mm rod into the end of one of the elevators.
Page 58 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 UPPER AND LOWER WINGS Step 1 (Lower wings) lean up the lower wings and add the fabric decals on to a gloss white finish referring to the reference book for placement information. Once the decals have been applied, seal and varnish the wings.
Page 59 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 1 (Continued) ollow the same process as detailed on the previous page for the assembly of the rear wing joint brackets using PE parts 7, 34 and 39 (2 of each) ou should end up with four bracket assemblies as illustrated right.
Page 60 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 3 (Cabane strut rigging brackets ) ollowing the same method as Left front bracket Right front bracket described in step 1 assemble the forward cabane strut rigging brackets as illustrated left. egin by gluing or soldering 0.3mm brass rod to PE parts 7 and 40.
Page 61 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 4 (Interplane struts ) lean up the interplane struts (parts 22 and 23—two of each) and trim the stainless steel rod flush to the edge of the resin. The longer pair of struts are part 22. Step 5 (Interplane strut rigging brackets ) he strut and bracket layout is as illustrated below.
Page 62 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 5 (continued) Upper strut brackets onstruct the upper wing rigging brackets using the same process as the lower wing rigging brackets with PE parts 48, 7 and 31. Again, position PE parts 31 so that you end up with two pairs of brackets that are a mirror image to each other.
Page 63 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 6 (continued) dd all rigging wires to the upper wing except the two single wires between the front cabane struts using a rigging material of your choice. Step 7 (Actuator slots) artially drill out each end of each actuator slot using a 1.2mm drill bit as pictured left.
Page 64: Step 9 (Fuel Lines)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 8 (Cowling and Lower wing rigging points) rill two 0.2mm holes, 8mm apart at the front edge of the rear cowling as pictured left. Thread a length of rigging material of your choice through each hole and knot from the underside. Pull tight (so that the knot is caught at the base of the hole, glue in to position and trim away the excess rigging material under the cowling.
Page 65 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 9 (Continued) lide two 0.6mm lead or brass wires into position as pictured left. Note: some reference photographs show the fuel lines as being covered but these appear to have been removed after a while in service. As there is no documentation on this we have left it to be the modellers choice to fashion something if required.
Page 66 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 10 (Continued) ay the upper wing on to a flat surface, lower side facing upwards. Hold the assembled airframe assembly upside down and lower on to the top wing ensuring that whole wing is aligned and that rigging wires don’t become tangled or caught. Once happy with the position glue in place using thin CA glue.
Page 67 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 11 (Continued) arefully slide the actuator rods into the actuator slots on each side of the fuselage. The rods may need further adjustment by trimming the end to enable them to fit in to the slot without undue pressure being applied to the parts.
Page 68: Final Details
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 FINAL DETAILS Step 1 (Tail details) lue the upperside elevator hinges (PE parts 62 — 8 pieces) to the edge of the upperside elevators and tailplane in the positions shown on the left. old the rigging plates (PE part 76 - 2 pieces) and glue to the upper side edge of each tailplane in line with the third PE hinge outwards from the fuselage (second from the outer edge).
Page 69 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 1 (continued) ig the tail section using rigging material and method of your choice. Step 2 (Wheels) lean up the resin tyres, removing the thin centre film before removing the pieces from their casting block. Step 2a (Covered wheel option) air up front and rear cover parts.
Page 70 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 2a (continued) lue the rear cover piece centrally to one side of the tyre. lue the front cover centrally to the other side of the tyre as pictured right. epeat the process for the second wheel lue the completed covered wheels into position on to each end of the axle.
Page 71: Step 3 (Tail Skid)
1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 2b (continued) urn your assembly over and glue the spindle to the inside centre of the PE Spokes. lue the centre of a second PE spoked part to the edge of the spindle as Note: Try to align the second PE spoke part so illustrated right.
Page 72 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1 Step 4 (Propeller) emove the propeller boss parts (27 and 28) from their casting block and clean them up. Part 27 is the rear boss and part 28 is the front boss. lean up the propeller and glue the rear boss (part 27) into position as pictured below.
Page 73 1/32 Ansaldo Balilla A1...
Page 74: Instrument Panel Layout
6. Thermometer CREDITS….. Build log by Ron Kootje with additional photos by Dave Hooper Text by Dave Hooper, Ron Kootje and Richard Andrews Layout by Dave Hooper All build photographs and text within this document are copyright © Aviattic 2017...