Balilla

Ansaldo’s Little Boy

- Dave Hooper

The Ansaldo A.1, or Ballila as Ansaldo promoted the aircraft, was Italy’s first true fighter design, as the earlier SVA.5 was considered unsuitable in this role though was successful as a reconnaissance aircraft. The A.1 was not particularly liked by the Italian pilots and was used mainly as a home defence aircraft in the final months of the war. The Balilla found a new lease of life when the Polish Army purchasing committee bought ten and later secured a license for the aircraft to be made by Lublin. Amongst others, the post war Balilla found itself in the hands of none other than Eddie Rickenbecker, who attracted by the high performance of the aircraft, set a national speed record in 1920 in the aircraft.

The Balilla is probably the most complete and detailed kit that you will ever encounter. At the heart of the product are a large number of high quality resin parts as well as two sheets of photo etch and a full set of wood grain, textile and bolt decal sheets printed to Aviattic’s usual high standards. The kit also contains a set of fabric seat belts, a full colour reference booklet, a poster and certificate. Instructions, complied by Yours Truly, are provided in the form of a downloadable sixty page full colour build log although the build on the pdf is not mine, but by the kit’s creator, Ron Kootje.

The engine, and indeed the Balilla kit in general, is detailed to the point at which some may be put off. My advice would be, don’t be put off! You will be challenged but if you treat the model as you would any other kit you won’t go far wrong. The first part of the engine build is fairly straight forward. Three pairs of cylinders are glued together and then slot into the engine block. A myriad of small resin engine details are then fitted including the crank shaft, individual springs and rocker arms. At this stage I painted the assembly before adding further detail.