Looking for an opinion on the 21st Century Macchis

[CATCplSlade]

So, I had been swapping all my 21st Century pre-built planes for more detailed modern kits but see that the kits available for the c.202 and c.205 are getting very pricey. My question is thus: how do these two "toys" by 21st compare to the real thing in terms of accuracy? I am considering taking them apart and noodling around with them to fix some of the toy aspect and do repaints since I can't justify the cost of the old PCM kits. Is this a reasonable idea?

 

Thanks for any advice you all can give me.

 

- Shell

[eaglekeeper]

Check out reviews, they say in most way they are more accurate overall then the mainstream kit although basic. just google the kit you re interested in you cant go wrong, I have a few of each of the kits in the pile waiting to be built.

[LSP_Kevin]

Here's Darin Bellis's review of the 202 kit:

 

http://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/review.php?rid=768

 

We don't seem to have a review of the 205 kit, unfortunately.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

And here's my example of the 202 kit that I built a few years back:

 

 

Build thread is in my sig below (direct link). Got another one in the stash, along with the 205 kit.

 

Kev

[CATCplSlade]

To be honest, my c.202 was the kit, but I was just getting back into modeling so did not do all I could have, but it was the very first kit I ever airbrushed. Look familiar?

 

 

So, it needs refurbishing as I didn't hide the screw covers or anything obvious or simple like that. Can I get these markings from a decal set? I can't imagine they were only in the 21C kit.

Edited October 16, 2016 by CATCplSlade

[thierry laurent]

For the wheels, simply get the cheap CMK resin parts released for the Fiat G50. This is the worst problem of the kit.

[spreckair]

Everything from the front of the windscreen to the headrest are way too narrow.  It really needs a new windscreen, canopy, and rear headrest.  The panel lines are way too large and should be filled and rescribed; also, the more the kit's surfaces are sanded, the narrower the lines become--since the plastic is thick, it can be sanded a bit. 

 

The wings appear to be too thick; this is the one area that is hardest to address.  Again, since the plastic is thick, the wing surfaces can be sanded down a lot to reduce the thickness.

 

The nose gun channels are not parallel and this should also be corrected. 

 

Again, this kit is like a mix of the early Revell and Matchbox kits; it is a good start, but needs a lot of work to get a really good finish.  I am working on six of these at one time and will someday post pictures of the changes that I made.  Why am I torturing myself--I just like the challenge of taking cheap kits and making them really nice.

[tomp.]

I've had all the 21st Century kits and IMHO the only worth building are the 109s. I'm still working on 4 Macchis (3 202, 1 205). The Macchis are the most toylike of the bunch. I have tried to correct the faults listed  above as these are the most glaring. IMHO the Macchis are only worth 15 USD and that's because the quality of the decals. Build OOB unless you are willing to correct the many faults. I have a PCM 205 and the quality is magnitudes better. 

 

I recommend you prowl Ebay or trader boards to find one at a reasonable price, which will make the price difference tiny compared the prices asked on Ebay. The PCM kits tires are not as good as the CMK G50.