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Hasegawa 1/72 Macchi MC.202 Folgore Italian Ace Giulio Reiner by William Landelle |
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One of the best fighters of World War II, this classic fighter possessed a great rate of climb, high speed and maneuvreability and was a first-rate aircraft on all counts. The Macchi C.202 was the contemporary of the Bf.109F and the Spitfire Mk.V and in certain aspects the aircraft was superior to both, such as in the rate of climb, dive speed and agility. Both the Macchi and the Sptifire shared a common lineage in the Schneider Trophy racers. In fact the Supermarine (Spitfire) designs were largely influenced by the Macchi M.39. The C.202 was used extensively in North Africa, the Soviet Union and in defense of the homeland and was Italy’s best fighter of WWII, although more powerful fighters had been produced later in the war. Over 1,100 C.202s were built in little over two years. Although often overlooked, the two Breda 0.50in caliber SAFATs provided adequate firepower and had double the range of contemporary English fighter 0.303 MGs as well as greater hitting power. In fact no formal request for heavier armament was made until the appearance of American four-engine heavy bombers. The Folgore was well liked by its pilots and its only shortcoming was that too few were built. |
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This is a Macchi C.202 Series III of 73a Squadrigila, 9o Gruppo (Cavalino Rampante), 4o Stormo CT (F. Baracca), based at Fuka in Egypt in August 1942. The aircraft was flown by Italian Ace Tenente Giulio Reiner wing commander. I built this kit "out of the box". I just modified the instrument panel, added seat belts in alumnium paper and cut and paste the number 4 to make a 7. Overall the Hasegawa kit construction is straight forward with no difficulties. The cockpit is painted in RAF interior green with a little blue, the undersides are in Grigio Azzurro Chiaro (acheived using a mixture of Tamiya black and white), the uppersurfaces are the D1 camouflage scheme (see STORMO! Regia Aeronautica and ANR Colors and Camouflage Schemes) Verde Oliva Scuro 2 Gunze H 65 with a drop of yellow and Nocciola Chiaro 4 Gunze H 310 for the bloches. References 1) Ali d'Itali 22 – AERMACCHI C.202 by Giorgio Apostolo, Gianni Cattaneo and Giovanni Massimello - LA BANCARELLA AERONAUTICA 2) Colori e Insegne - Regia Aeronautica Caccia e Assalto 1940-1943, Part II - LA BANCARELLA AERONAUTICA |
Aircraft: Macchi MC.202 Manufacturer: Aeronautica Macchi S.p.A. Type: Fighter Year: 1941 Engine: Daimler Benz DB 601A-1, 12-cylinder V, liquid-cooled, 1,175hp Wingspan: 34 ft 8 1/2 in (10.57m) Length: 29 ft 1 in (8.85 m) Height: 9 ft 11 1/2 in (3.02 m) Weight: 6,480 lb (2,937 kg) (Loaded) Maximum Speed: 372 mph (600 km/h) at 18,050 ft (5,500 m) Ceiling: 37,700 ft (11,500 m) Range: 475 miles (765 km) Armament: 2 x 12.7 mm SAFATs (0.5 in) Crew: 1 |
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March, 2012 STORMO! © 2012 |