81 replies to this topic

[LSP_Kevin]

Well, now that the George is done, I guess I'd better throw my hat in this ring! To my surprise, I had more kits that qualify for this category than I realised, but in the end opted for the 21st Century MC 202 Folgore. This kit came to me from LSP member CPNGROATS a couple of years ago - many thanks Cap'n! Here is the obligatory box shot:



The decal sheet, while small, is a thing of beauty. I'm going to stick as close to OOB as I can with this one, though not slavishly. One thing that's kept me from building this kit up 'til now has been the awful main wheels that come with it. They're terribly undersized, presumably to allow the working retraction mechanism to close properly. However, as luck would have it, there was a spare set of wheels in the George kit, so I decided I'd try to use those instead:



Now I just have to decide if I'm game to tackle those smoke rings!

Kev

[Butler]

Cool, i'm looking forward to seeing this one come together

[CPNGROATS]

I thought I recognized that Folgore...i'm looking forward to your build....

Cheers,
ggc

[Azgaron]

Love to see this one built too!

Cheers,

Håkan

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I've started painting up the interior, but the closest thing I had to Italian Interior Green was some Humbrol 78 Cockpit Green. A bit dark I think, but passable. I'm confused though by the instructions calling for a colour called 'interior tan' for all the non-cockpit internals (wheel bays, etc). Anyone know anything about that? I've checked several online builds, and most guys seem to just paint those areas the same green as the cockpit. One guy used RLM 02. Me, I'm just confused...

No photos this time, but there will be soon enough.

Kev

[Dave J]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I've started painting up the interior, but the closest thing I had to Italian Interior Green was some Humbrol 78 Cockpit Green. A bit dark I think, but passable. I'm confused though by the instructions calling for a colour called 'interior tan' for all the non-cockpit internals (wheel bays, etc). Anyone know anything about that? I've checked several online builds, and most guys seem to just paint those areas the same green as the cockpit. One guy used RLM 02. Me, I'm just confused...

No photos this time, but there will be soon enough.

Kev

I have the Ali D'Italia book on the C.202 which has a ton of great reference, but I'm not sure if it has the answer to this question. I've been under the impression that the wheel bays were either the same interior green or matched the underside camo color. I've never heard of an interior tan, but I'm light-years from expert. Alan would probably know...

[mgbooyv8]

Hi Kev,

I don't know either but like to see it built.
Go-Go-Go!

Cheers,

Peter

[MikeMaben]

About half way down is some info on interior colors:

http://www.stormomag...rsinWWII_3a.htm

[SciFi58]

Kevin,

I look foward to following as well. I started the Veltro awhile back, trying to scratchbuild a cockpit. I had to pause from lack of reference (I had the Squadron In Action and Aviolibri books) but at iHobby '08 I found that Squadron was doing a walk around for it. I think it touches on the 202 as well and if not, they had to be the same colorwise, same basic airframe, same manufacturer. I'll see what it says when I get home and post if you think it will help. You got me wanting to get back at mine and here I am moving in two weeks.

[LSP_Kevin]

About half way down is some info on interior colors:

http://www.stormomag...rsinWWII_3a.htm

Thanks Mike, most helpful. So it seems the interiors were basically the same green as the cockpit up until 1941, and then made the transition to grey thereafter...correct? The grey colour mentioned appears to be the same colour mandated for the lower surfaces after 1941, so in effect my choices are cockpit colour or under surface colour, depending on date. Which is pretty much what Dave said. I hope I'm reading and interpreting all that correctly!

Kev

[Spads57]

Kevin,
Great choice,with alittle work you can turn out an excellent project. By the way if you mix MM RAF Cockpit Green with 50% white you're very close to Italian Cockpit Green (Vert Anticorrosione).I'm looking forward to seeing further progress on your Macchi.
Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[LSP_Kevin]

Finally, some photos! I opted for unlightened Humbrol 78 for the cockpit colour. It's a bit dark, but I didn't have any white enamel to lighten it with, being mainly an acrylic user. As it turns out, Tamiya XF-71 (IJN Cockpit Green) was also close, and I could've lightened that! I'll probably use that combination on the other internals.

Cockpit sidewalls:



I had a token attempt at using the 'Spanish School' approach here, but it didn't really work out like I wanted. I painted the stringers in the aforementioned XF-71, and highlighted the black bits with RLM 66. I applied wear and paint chips with a combination of a silver pencil and light grey paint with a small brush. I outlined the stringers with a heavy pin wash of Payne's Grey oil paint. My only concession to added detail in the cockpit was to give the oxygen bottle a cradle made from silver-painted Tamiya tape.

Cockpit floor:





Gotta come up with some seat belts for the seat. I was hoping to show the IP at this point too, but I'm having a terrible time painting it. The detail is soft and poorly formed, and I'm currently stripping paint off it for the second time...

For those of you not familiar with the early 21st Century kits (is there anyone?), they were screw-together jobs. Mine has 4 holes in the fuselage, and 4 holes in each wing, and a bag full of corresponding screws. You also get plugs for all the holes. Mine are black (!):



Here's the inside:



I believe the later kits did away with this approach. I'll have to check my Zero to see if it has them.

Hoping to make this a very quick one! More soon.

Kev

[Azgaron]

Nice work Kev!

I must take a look at the two kits I've just bought, about the plugs I mean!

Cheers,

Håkan

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks Håkan. Progress has slowed somewhat, and this build is turning out to be not quite so quick and easy as I'd hoped, but I still should get it done in much less time than some of my recent efforts! Most of the slowing has been caused by my decision to modify the landing gear struts, or more specifically, the stirrups that house the wheels themselves. They're much too wide on the kit, so I'm setting about sorting that out. I forgot to take any 'before' shots, but I'll have some 'after' photos soon.

In the meantime, I've finished painting and assembling the cockpit:





The seat belts are really just a bit of token detail. I probably should've added lap straps, but I'm determined not to get bogged down with that sort of stuff. I've added a bulkhead from styrene sheet to the front of the cockpit tub, as without it there's a 'see through' problem. It actually needs to be taller, so I'm currently extending it.

While fondling some of the other parts, I came across this:



Welcome to 1967! It actually says 2005, but betrays the original intent of this kit. More sanding...

Oh, by the way, my Zero kit does indeed feature the same type of screw and plug arrangement, and the detail on that kit is even more clunky!

Kev