Released in 2005, this 1/48th Hasegawa C.202 Folgore kit appears to be another fine example of Hasegawa's crisp molding with fine scribed detail and good fit. For my purposes (not knowing much about Italian aircraft) it suited me fine, however for the purist the kit has some minor issues, but still provides a good base to start.
Notable Kit Features:
Good raised details in the cockpit
Finely scribed panel lines and exterior details (maybe too fine?)
Better than average parts fit
Good overall shape
Build Inspiration:
My main focal point of this build was to try and accurately replicate the Breda camouflage applied to some of the C.202s. I chose the markings of Italian ace Capitano Carlo Miani CO 360 sqn. 155 Gruppo 51 Stormo circa August 1942. He was a veteran of the Spanish Civil War and saw action over Malta in WWII.
Heads-Up Report:
Some ejector pin marks
Deepening of some of the engraved panel lines especially in the control surfaces will improve the look
The pit behind the engine firewall and in the open wheel wheels could use some detailing if you are so inclined.
Note: If you build this kit out-of-the-box you'll end up with a kit that at first look appears to be a C.202 however it will have all panel lines, louvres and access hatches that you would normally find on a late model C.205 Veltro. Hasegawa designed the C.202/205 kit family to offer the range of early Folgore to late model Veltro with a minimum rework involved. The actual aircraft vary a bit (if you care about this level of detail). As I was focused on the paint finish of this aircraft I did not venture into any corrections here and even added errors of my own.
If you want to get into the finer points of these aircraft types, I will recommend looking at Werner Scheibling's builds and references: Macchi C.202 by Werner Scheibling (Hasegawa 1/48) (hyperscale.com)
Kit Additions / Modifications:
Built Out of the Box with the exception of the custom decals
Finishing Touches:
I painted on the white fuselage band as well as the tail cross and nose cone for starters. The kit has the typical desert finish colours of Verde Oliva over Nocciola Chiaro done in the particular style of the Breda facility during WWII. This upper surface was worn over the undersurface of Gregio Azzurro Chiaro. The base camouflage colours were airbrushed on with a bit of variance for weathering effect. The green camouflage was hand painted with a select pointy brush using carefully thinned paint (enough to properly flow and yet cover in one pass). Patience, review for consistency, magnifiers and a steady hand got the job done. A coat of Pledge floor finish was used to get a gloss coat in order to prepare for decals and washes. After these two stages were complete, a final dull coat using Model Master clear was applied. The last step was to attach all the fragile gear and antenna parts.
The After-Build Report:
This 1/48th Hasegawa C.202 Folgore kit is a good starting point for a C.202 build, as these are still the best Macchi C.202 (and C.205) kits available in 1/48 scale. I would still recommend this kit for its ease of build and nice detail (even if slightly incorrect in detail). For a more detailed version, see if you can find Eduard's Limited Edition release which (from what I understand) adds resin and photo-etched parts to Hasegawa's sprues (probably retaining the engraved detail errors).
If you caught the glaring error on my 1/48th Hasegawa C.202 Folgore kit build, a tip of the hat to you, as you must know your Italian fighters well (or have built this kit before). Despite a straight-forward, well fitting kit, (albeit with some minor erors) I did manage to find a way to further muck this one up. I was building the 1/48th Hasegawa C.205 kit at the same time and these two kits have a lot in common, but differences between them as well. In a moment inattention to the instructions, I cemented the C.202 rear wheel assembly to the C.205 kit (and of course) cemented the C.205 rear wheel to the C.202 kit, managing a double play error! I did such a good job cementing the parts that I decided not to damage the builds by trying to cut and switch. I also considered modifying the rear gear to look more like it should, but in the end wanted to get to the paint job, so these two kits now serve as yet another example of what can go wrong during a build (especially when you are managing - or should I say not managing) more than one build at a time!
Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is suppose to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers