1/48 Macchi 202 Folgore - Mediterranean Theatre of Operations

[chris brown]

Username: Chris Brown
First name: Chris
Category: Intermediate
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Hasegawa

Extras: Ultracast seat and exhausts. Maybe some aftermarket decals.

 

[chris brown]

For this GB I will be doing Hasegawa's MC 202. I have always like the look of the Macchi and look forward to building this kit. Having read several reviews of the kit , I expect it to go relatively smoothly with excellent fit and details. I'm not planning on adding a lot of extra details except a resin seat and exhaust from Ultracast. These are two weak areas of the kit. I was planning on using the kit decals as they were printed by Cartograph and look great with nice white markings unlike typical Hasegawa decals. The only problem is I have read two different reviews that have said the decals are totally unusable, having no adhesion, they don't respond to any setting solution, and will silver like crazy. The decal sheet has markings for 2 planes so I think I will try some experiments with the extra decals to see if I can make them work on a old model. If anybody has any tips for dealing with these decals, please let me know. If that doesn't work I will pick up a sheet from Sky models.

Here's a look at the sprues.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Nice to see a good representation of Italy in this GB.

 

[Wayne Little]

Sweet..!

 

[Jeff Hunt]

A very sexy aircraft. Two thumbs up on your choice.

Jeff

 

[ozhawk40]

Cool choice!

 

[JKim]

Nice choice! I love the Folgore! I built the Hase kit this past summer and it was a beautiful kit... nice fit everywhere! There is a tiny compass that fits on the IP that is very easily lost so be careful with that! I augmented my kit with the wonderful Jaguar resin cockpit that includes a plug for the rear engine that can be seen through the wheel wells but unfortunately is no longer available.

I used the Sky Models decals on my Folgore but had some silvering issues with the upper wing insignias. That may have been due to a gloss coat that was too flat and it resulted in some torn decals. I had to resort to using the kit decals on the upper wings but they went on without silvering. You can check out my build for reference...

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/start-to-finish-builds/1-48-hasegawa-macchi-202-folgore-41303.html

 

[le_steph40]

8)

 

[chris brown]

Your build looks great, John. I hope mine comes out as nice. The Hase kit does seem like it will be a pleasure to build. Good to know that you were able to use the kit decals for the insignias without any trouble.

 

[Crimea_River]

Looking forward to this Chris. A strong entry.

 

[Lucky13]

8)

 

[ccheese]

Very good choice !

Charles

 

[Catch22]

I've liked this plane for a while, looking forward to it!

 

[fubar57]

With all, a nice looking aircraft.

Geo

 

[chris brown]

Now that my Hawk 75 from GB 23 is done, it's time to get cracking on this. I'm a little late to the party but this is pretty much a shake and bake kit from Hasegawa that shouldn't take too long to build. I'm going to try and keep my AMS in check and just concentrate on a nice paint job and weathering. I went ahead and got some decals from Sky Models and a couple of items from Ultracast to improve the kit seat and exhaust. These are really the only areas that need improvement. A grabbed some resin tires from Ultracast as well, but they are not really necessary, Imho.
So this is the scheme I chose. 396 Squadriglia 154 Gruppo. It's a series IV M.C. 202 so I will have to do some minor back dating of the kit since out of the box it represents a late series Folgore. Nothing major just moving some access panels and filing in some other panel lines.

Work has started as usual in the cockpit. I started to add some wires and extra details and then I remembered to keep it simple and little of it would be seen anyways since the cockpit opening is tight.

Left side

Right side

Cockpit floor

Instrument panel.

Ultracast seat next to the kit one.

Thanks for looking in. I should have more soon!

 

[fubar57]

Very nice innards Chris.

Geo

 

[Crimea_River]

Real nice. Are the belts on the Ultracast seat all resin? If so, you did great painting them.

 

[chris brown]

Thanks guys. Yes Andy, the seatbelts are molded in place on the seat. A black oil wash really helps to make the details pop and to hide imperfections in the paint job as well.

 

[Wayne Little]

Scrubbed up alright Chris.