WGS Spanish Civil War 1936-39 - 1/200 Shapeways Fiat CR.32 Chirri

[Carl_Brisgamer]

This pair of Spanish Civil War Fiat CR.32 'Chirri' miniatures are the last two 1/200 scale biplanes on my workbench. After smashing out four I-15 Chatos in two days I decided to keep the momentum up and get these done as well. I was originally going to paint these as Italian Aviazione Legionaria aircraft, but I elected instead to finish them as examples flown by Spanish Escuadrilla 5-E-3 of the Aviacion Nacional.



As these are FUD I used a spray sealant and let dry. I painted the upper surfaces flat brown with olive camouflage patches and the undersides neutral grey. All the decals are home made.



CR.32 '3-91' was flown by Capitan Miguel Guerrero Garcia (photo above right). Born in Catalonia in 1909, Garcia was a pre-war military pilot who elected to fight for the Nationalists. In March 1938 he was appointed commander of Escuadrilla 5-E-3 and ended the war with 13 confirmed victories. A big man, Capitan Guerrero could barely fit into the cockpit of the CR.32, so he was fortunate never to have been shot down for he would have struggled to get out of the aircraft! The other CR.32 is '3-93' flown by an unknown wingman.



The Fiat CR.32 is a wonderful looking aircraft, but these miniatures are so tiny at 1/200!! I was glad to get them finished and off the bench so I can work on some bigger aircraft. Here they are below in formation with my two Legion Kondor Heinkel He51Bs ready to take the fight to the Spanish Republican air force.