Hasegawa 1/48 Macchi C.202 Serie III Italian Ace Giulio Reiner by Jose Lucero

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This was probably the best Italian fighter of the Second World War. It was an excellent airplane, it was used in several theatres of operation, and it was produced in large quantity. More than 1,100 aircraft were built in little more than two years. Better planes were designed, such as the 'Series 5' (Macchi MC.205, Fiat G.55, and Caproni-Reggiane Re 2005), but very few of them were built, and they arrived too late in the war to have any significant effect. The prototype first took to the air on August 10, 1940. Test results showed that Italy had caught up with Britain and Germany in the field of fighter airplanes. It was a fine airplane and very easy to handle. It was also a fast and reached high altitude rapidly. The Macchi MC.202 marked a fundamental step ahead. Until then all the combat airplanes in Italy had been built around radial engines, and earlier Italian fighters had all been limited by the relatively low power of these engines, as well as by their aerodynamic weaknesses. The decision to use radial engines had been made in the second half of the 1930s, notwithstanding the excellent racing results that Italian aircraft with in-line engines had obtained in that period. The Macchi MC.202 was the first of this new line of airplanes. It was designed by Mario Castoldi, who had designed the MC.200. The new airplane kept many features of its predecessors, including the wing-system and tail-plane, but the fuselage was changed and became extremely elegant and streamlined. The two 12.5 mm (0.5 caliber) machine guns and the two wing mounted 7.7 mm guns provided sufficient firepower. The Macchi MC.202's operational career began in Libya in November 1941. It was later used in the rest of Africa, in the Balkans, in the Mediterranean and in Russia. After the 1943 armistice, the MC.202 remained in service, with the Allies in the south and with Mussolini's ANR in the north. Surviving aircraft were used as trainers until 1948.

Construction I decided to convert Hasegawa's kit into a Macchi C.202 Serie III. I used Murizio Di Terlizzi's Aviolibri on the Macchi C.202 as a guide for the conversion. First I removed the panels for the guns and the spent cartridge chute that are not to be used on this version. The elevators were modified to represent the early type used by this series. There are some other modifications to be made that the Aviolibri book points out. The wheel wells were detailed with various types of wires, including guitar strings. For the cockpit I used the excellent FM Details set. I modified the dashboard slightly as the one provided in this set is made for the C.205. Lifecolor's Verde Anticorrosione was used to paint the cockpit. Details where enhanced with light wash. The seat was painted with Alclad II Aluminum lacquer. An RCR harness was used instead of the belts provided in the FM set as they are wrong. The gun sight is nicely detailed and enhances the look of the finished cockpit. The armored windscreen provided in the kit was used. Construction of the model is very straight forward. The model was painted to represent the C.202 MM.7823 flown by Giulio Reiner, CO of 73a Squadriglia, 9o Gruppo, 4o Stormo CT, Fuka, Egypt in August 1942. This aircraft presents the inverted tropical scheme, Verde Oliva Scuro background with Nocciola Chiaro blotches and Grigio Azzurro Chiaro undersides. The aircraft is featured on the conver on the amazing Wings of Italy book. It has a repaired panel in the radiator and a replaced leading edge panel on the left wing with a different scheme applied. I used White Ensign Enamels which worked flawlessly with my Iwata HP-CS Eclipse Airbrush. The Nocciola Chiaro blotches were freehanded after the base Verde Oliva Oscuro was applied. Decals came from the excellent Sky Models sheet. Wheathering was done with an oil paint wash, dust colored pastels and pigments and streaking with the airbrush. Lifecolor Tensocrome Sand was used to apply a heavier dusting on the wheels and other places that in contact with the ground. Other nice details were the beed and ring gun sight provided in the FM set and the hollow resin exhausts from Ultracast.

Technical Data 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 Additional Images:

September, 2008 STORMO! © 2008