Hello everyone.
I closed my thread on the Mosquito ( here ) considering the Macchi MC 202 Folgore as a prime candidate to end up on my workbench. In fact I was wondering: I am an Italian modeler and I do not have any Italian aircraft in my showcases. This is not good.
According to common opinion it is one of the most beautiful fighters operating during the Second World War and without much to envy to the Allied fighters, at least during the early periods of the war.
So the decision is made! This will be my next commitment in the coming months.
It promises to be a beautiful kit to build, it includes a Cartograf decal sheet, with 8 versions to choose from, PE parts, 3D cockpit decals and smoke ring decals.
The Italeri model was born under the aegis and approval of the Italian Air Force and this, except for the necessary checks during construction, should constitute a guarantee of the fidelity of the model itself.
I am waiting for the MRP color range entirely dedicated to the Italian Air Force in WW2, to begin this new stage of my modeling journey.
I hope that this construction can arouse your interest and your kind (as always) attention.
Dan
Speaking of Italian modeling subjects, after reading “Luck was lacking, but Valor was not” there were many photos of Italian soft skin vehicles, but I have found little in the way 1/35th scale models. Do you have any sources by manufacturers or retailers who might have such models? I am in the states, and so I don’t have many good sources.
Military vehicles are not my main field of interest, but as far as I know, yes, I confirm what brekinapez wrote, IBG produces some. Here in Italy they are available but also on a famous Polish site where I usually stock up.
Not wanting to go off topic in this thread about airplanes, if you need more information write me privately
Good morning everyone.
Here I am back after a period of mandatory and urgent maintenance on my personal biological engine. Hoping that all those mechanics in white coats and with stethoscopes around their necks have done a good job, let’s try to think about this Macchi MC 202 again.
So this sad pile of bones claims to want to become an airplane engine, the Daimler DB601.
Let’s see if the frog turns into Prince Charming.
My first impression, starting to put the pieces together, is that we are light years away from the Tamiya quality that I have just touched with my hand making their Mosquito. The pieces do not fit together as they should, some gaps remain open and the thought that makes its way into my head is that Italeri still has a long way to go to improve. And we are talking about a kit that was launched as the spearhead of their production. Is this kit overpriced?? Yes, I am starting to think so.
Anyway, now it is on my workbench and we will see what will happen.
Some shots during the assembly of the engine that the instructions propose, a bit unexpectedly, as the first step of the build:
Note the white tubes connected to the green tubes. The ones in the box were unsuitable: excessive diameter and rigid material (similar to an electric wire). I replaced them with pieces of the prescribed length of scooby doo, softer and more manageable. Its greater shine and “toy” appearance I solved with a coat of opaque acrylic white.
And finally the collector of the white pipes, the gluing of the black pipes (all these pipes will naturally connect to the fuselage and the wing root once the engine is attached to the fuselage itself). An oil wash and a drybrushing for the highlight of the bolts and reliefs completed the whole thing.
In the end, net of the problems mentioned above, it seems to me that an acceptable job came out, with a good representation of the real object. The exhaust pipes are missing, but the instructions propose their assembly much later, with the engine already in its final location.
