Mike D.

Hasegawa 1/72 Macchi C.202 Folgore. Markings: 72 Sq. 23 Gr. 3 Stormo, August 1942

The Build:
​
Hataka Orange Line paints; several Skymodel and other decal sheets (NOTE: aftermarket 1/72 Italian decals are generally awful!). Weathering: layered paint; pin washes and light filtering in oils; colored pencils; and pastels. No aftermarket except Airone Hobby's Piaggio P.1001 propeller, and Eduard's PE inner gear door retraction nubbins. All else is scribed, punched, thinned kit parts, or scratched up from plastic sheet, foil, and wire.

Markings represent Tenente Solaroli's well-known aircraft from 3 Stormo, a mid-production Breda build. I was struck how lightly weathered these desert warhorse a/c look in photos. The wing roots get grungy, but seldom any nasty exhaust stains or big leaks, and little paint chipping, even at high-wear points like cowl latches and panel edges. Italian paint, and maintenance standards, must have been very good.

1. Hats off to Vlad at Airone Hobby for the P.1001 prop - gorgeous! To my eye this is a must to capture the "look" of this beautiful aircraft

2. C.202's real life gun troughs typically got a black protective coating

3. Shortened the rear of the cowl to replicate the prominent gap here

4. Added or deepened panel lines all over the model

5. Added Dzus fasteners etc. in many locations

6. All white markings painted and reverse masked

7. Rescribed elevator tips to the early style
​

8. Reshaped the kit's awful sharp-edged flat wedge of an oil cooler

​9. Reworked the supercharger intake and filter a bit

10. Enclosed the kit's shallow wheel wells and added a few gadgets...a better-than-expected representation of the enclosed wells on tropicalized a/c

11. Venturi from flared Albion brass tube

12. Radiator ended up with 18 new parts...grilles, fasteners, actuators, intake splitter, drain fitting, etc.
​

​13. Pitot from Albion telescoping aluminum tube

14. More nose gadgets added

15. Entry steps from .005 card
​
16. Interior faces of the canopy framing was typically painted black

Eduard 1/72 Fw 190A-8. Markings: 2./JG 1, November 1944

Hobby Boss 1/72 Fw 190D-9. Markings: III./JG 26, March 1945

Revell 1/72 Bf 109G-6AS. Markings: III./JG 1, Autumn 1944

Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk. I. Markings: No. 19 Squadron, October 1938

Tamiya 1/72 Kawanishi N1K1-J "George". Markings: Second "K-20" private-venture prototype, Itami Airport, April 1943

Revell/Japan 1/72 Kawasaki Ki-45 KAI-d "Nick". Markings: 53rd Sentai, Tokyo spring 1945