Macchi C 202 Folgore

[viper29_ca]

What is strange about your Macchi, is that it is actually grey plastic like the rest of the kit line......the ones I bought and sold, the plastic was the color of those old skeleton models that glowed in the dark.....I mean it all looked the same with a coat of paint, but was just a weird kind of plastic to mold the kits into!!

Apparently they are coming out with a G-14 version of the Me-109, and also a P-51.

Only problem is, WalMart has announced that they are going to do away with selling model kits from their US stores. Canadian stores don't even carry the 21st Century line.....so I am wondering who now is going to carry the model kits!!  

[matrixone]

Thanks once again Allan,
If I can help with any advice on bending plastic parts I would be glad to do so.
A few years ago I built the ProModeler kit of the Ta 154 and it had extremely warped wing parts for the right hand side and I learned a lot from that experience.

viper29,
I hope thats not true about Wal-Mart dropping all model kit sales! By selling these 21st Century Toys kits at Wal-Mart it is a good thing for the hobby because it will expose more people to easy to build kits and maybe they will get interested in building other more advanced kits.
My local Wal-Mart has actually increased the size of its model kit area in the toy section and they had a few more 21st Century kits including a new kit of the SDKFZ.4 Halftrack (an Opel Blitz halftrack) which I bought.
Hobbyboss would also be an ideal product to sell at chain stores such as Wal-Mart, their easy to build line of kits would be perfect for newcomers to our hobby.

Roll Models Inc. sells a few of the 21st Century Toys model kits and I think other hobby stores are starting to sell them too.

The plastic in my kit is a dark gray color, its my understanding that the early 21st Century airplane kits were molded in a lighter color like you described. In my kit the plastic is hard to work with compared with most other kits on the market, it does not glue together as well and is harder to sand.

I do plan to get the 21st Century kit of the Bf 109G-14, not so much for the kit but for those those decals!  I will use those decals on one of my Hasegawa Bf 109G-14s and use the leftover Macchi decals for the 21st Century Bf 109G-14 to make a plane used by the Italians.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

Before I glue the top and bottom wing halves together I wanted show where I cut into the wing so I could bend it and add the needed dihedral.



Matrixone

[Tojo633]

All
Have a look on hyperscale from late January this year, Ian Robertson one of their modellers built one of these and highlighted some of the bad/good points and some solutions in his build. Hope it helps
cheers
Sandy

[matrixone]

Thanks for the tip Sandy!

Matrixone

[BlackOps]

I'm willing to bet 21st's models will show up at Toy's R Us next year. I've heard 21st has renewed a contract with TRU to carry it's action figures and accessories again so the models might also show up there.  

[matrixone]

I hope thats true about the Toys are Us thing.

Not only will 21st Century Toys release a P-51 and Macchi C 205 in the future, but a Fw 190D-9 as well! Thats exactly what I wanted, cheap large scale kits for whiffing!  Also the Fw 190D-9 kit will be a great source for decals for my 'real' Doras.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

No pics today, I got rained out.

But thats O.K. because I have four models in the works and they are going quite well at the moment.
The Macchis landing gear is mounted and so is the lower wing to the fuselage. The landing gear is actually quite sturdy so my fears of breaking them off during painting was unfounded.
New in-progress pics next weekend for sure.

Matrixone

[Allan]

Matrix
Hats off to you for having the confidence to attach the landing gear before commencing painting. However do you mask the gear while painting the plane?
Please advise.
From curious Allan in Canberra

[matrixone]

Allan,
Yes the main gear are already painted and mounted and I will mask them off during painting. I had to do the same thing with my Revell He 162 and it was not any real trouble.

New pics will be posted next weekend.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

Here is a pic of the wing attatched, note my extra work on adding the wing dihedral, I know it does not look like it in the picture but it IS an improvement over the way the kit was before.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

Here is another pic of the Macchi, note the leading edges of the wings have yet to filled and sanded, something I am not looking forward to. After that is finished I will need to add the bits under the fuselage and then its off to the paint shop for primer and paint.



Matrixone

[Allan]

Matrix
It utterly baffles me how you paint those undercarriage legs in situ.
Allan in Canberra

[matrixone]

Allan,
Its not that big a problem working around those landing gear legs, I just have to take care in masking them off. What I don't like about it is the extra time it takes to do it, I'm just lazy I guess!

Matrixone

[SinUnNombre]

Sorry to dig up another old post. Matrix, did you ever finish this build? I ask because I'm about to grab one of these on closeout for a bash with a Revell 190D-9(seems me and goober both had the same idea) and I'd love to see the finished pics. What's your overall impression of the kit? Besides what you've mentioned, were there any other major problems? Thanks for sharing.

Jon