1/48 Hasegawa Macchi C.202 Folgore

[JKim]

Hello! My name is John and I recently got back into model building after a 20 year hiatus. This is my third project back, a 1/48 Macchi C.202 Folgore by Hasegawa. Specifically, it was the Cavallino Rampante edition... I wasn't specifically looking for this particular version but it was a Hasegawa Folgore and it was affordable and available so I bought it! Being "new" the hobby after such a long absence, I was eager to try some of the things that are easily available to modelers today such as aftermarket resin parts, decals sets, masks, etc. Along with the kit, I picked up a Jaguar resin detail set that features cockpit details and, more interestingly, a cast part that depicts the wiring/plumbing behind the engine that is visible from the wheel wells. I've read internet reviews about the Jaguar set but most reviewers lamented it as out-of-production and difficult to find but I was able to order it directly from Jaguar without any problem. I also bought the Sky Models 1/48 scale decal set for the Macchi C.202. I wasn't sure which camo pattern/markings I was going to depict so the wide variety of choices offered by the Sky Models decals fit my needs nicely. Lastly, I purchased a set of Montex Masks, which includes canopy AND wheel masks.

The Jaguar kit comes with two seats: with or without seatbelts. I've always been terrified of painting details like seat belts. Before, when I was younger, it was mostly a lack of patience but now approaching my fifth decade, my closeup vision is deteriorating, making matters much worse. I'm still ok reading-wise but I needed help with this modeling business and picked up a cheap set of reading glass at the local Walmart. A much bigger improvement was realized when I stumbled upon the use of a magnifying glass. I have one of these X-Acto Helping Hands things... alligator clips on articulated arms with a magnifying lens in the middle. I always thought the magnifying glass to be a gimmick but when I happened to peer through it at some small model parts... major revelation! Using my new found tool, I was able to tackle with confidence the cockpit details, which are very fine indeed with the Jaguar resin set.

The plans specified silver for the seat and this seemed be verified by some of the references I was using. But my copy of Tamiya Silver was much too grainy for my tastes and I elected to go with a grey. I was tickled to be able to pick out the buckles using the magnifying glass!

This is the resin instrument panel and gun sight from Jaguar. I added a clear piece of acetate to the top of the gun sight. The Hasegawa kit comes with a tiny compass that sits just to the left of the gun sight. It got inadvertently flicked off into oblivion. I tried to fashion something using sprue but gave up and decided to leave the compass off.

Left sidewall...

Right sidewall...

Wiring/plumbing plug...

 

[Lucky13]

Looking good mate!

.....and.welcome to the menta....sanit....family!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Welcome aboard John, beautiful work!

 

[fubar57]

Welcome to the site John. That is some great looking innards. As for things that go ping in the night, 90% of my builds have something missing. Feel free to ask questions about anything and everything as someone will have an answer or direct you to the answer.

Geo

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Nice effort there J and welcome to the nutty modellers corner. If your finances permit, get yourself a magnifier light, you will find it a great help with the detail, I'd be lost without mine.

This is the one I have, It's not so cheap but I do a lot of modelling and close work, so it is worth it.

 

[le_steph40]

Welcome aboard
Great start 8)

 

[Airframes]

Very nice work, and welcome to the loony club. Your cell .. er, room, will be ready shortly.

 

[Wayne Little]

Welcome aboard mate, Nice work!

 

[herman1rg]

Wot the others said, welcome to the Jungle

 

[javlin]

Some very Nice efforts so far John

 

[JKim]

Thank you for the warm welcome! Nobody I know lists scale modeling as a hobby so it's nice being able to talk about it with people who are similarly "afflicted". That's the reason why I looked for a internet modeling forum and signed up here. I consider myself a novice being three models into my rediscovered hobby but there is such a wealth of information on the internet that I feel that the learning curve is so much steeper now than it was when I last built models in the late 80's/early 90's. Forums like this are a great source of inspiration and I am amazed at beautiful finishes and crazy detail/scratchbuilding I see here.

Well, on to the build... Just to let you guys know, this model was recently completed so it is technically not "in-process". I hope that's ok. I have some construction photos that I'd like to share as well as pictures of the completed model.

After the cockpit is finished, construction takes a big leap forward... the two fuselage halves go together and the wings and tail stabilizers go on after that. The Jaguar resin set includes exhaust stacks. While generally superior to the original, the Jaguar exhaust stacks feature hollowed out ends but due to imperfect casting, a couple of the pipes are not hollowed out. Being square in shape, very small and fabricated in resin, I made no attempt to remedy this and relied on black paint to mask this imperfection. Because of the tight fit and the lack of "seating" for the parts from the outside, I elected to paint the exhausts and install them PRIOR to gluing the fuselage halves together. Masking them was a bit of a pain.

Fit was very good on this kit, even at the wing roots, which is usually a frightening place for me because it's always hard to putty and sand there. The only noticeable gaps were on the bottom of the plane between the wing assembly and the front fuselage. I used a bit of Mr. Putty to bridge the gap. Canopy is masked using the Montex product. Make sure you minimize contact with the adhesive side of the mask... too much finger oil and the corners of the mask may start to lift during mid-paint!


Now it is time to paint. I used Tamiya acrylic paints for this model. I pre-shaded the model by spraying the panel lines in black.

The white fuselage and nose band as well as the tail area were painted in white and then masked using Tamiya tape and the Montex masks for the tail crosses.

The bottom is painted grey and then masked off for the application for the top sand color.

I tried something different and used a touch lighter shade of sand to highlight the middle of the panels. I think I overdid it and lost some of the pre-shading effects on top.

The green spots are added using a super-thinned solution of green and very low pressure on the airbrush. I'm going to have to work on this technique a bit as they came out a wee bit soft for my tastes.

Removing masks is always a highlight in the process! The model really starts looking like a Macchi Folgore after the white bands and tail cross are revealed.

Here is the bottom of the plane after primary painting. You can see the results of the plumbing/wiring plug in the wheel well.

A clear coat is added prior to decal placement. I like to let the clear coat cure for at least one day to avoid fingerprints.

 

[Lucky13]

Stunning work young man, stunning work!

 

[javlin]

The paint works and that is what we are all out to get the effect

 

[Torch]

nicely done,welcome aboard

 

[fubar57]

Have to agree about the camo, turned out great.

Geo

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[JKim]

I was set on depicting an aircraft of the 1 Stormo but the Sky Model decals, with a seemingly infinite choices of aircraft numbers, didn't yield a confirmed Squadriglia and aircraft number based on my limited references. So I just used numbers that matched the font/color of 1 Stormo. The Sky Model decals went on beautifully but I ran into some silvering on the top wing insignias due my gloss coat not being glossy enough. Using Microset/Microsol repeatedly and tamping down on the decals with a soft towel resulted in a torn decal that I couldn't salvage so I had to use the Hasegawa insignias for the top wing.

After the decals were applied, I used a dark pastel wash to highlight the panels lines. Question: Is it better to do this with a flat coat or a gloss coat? It seems like it would be better on a flat coat so that the wash would "stick" better to the model surface but I was concerned with too many clearcoats affecting the beautifully subtle panel lines on this particular model. I enjoy this step (and the preshading too) because you can be a little messy and inexact and still get a good effect.

I waited for the pastel wash to dry and then gently brushed off the excess using a dampened soft paper towel. I spent a lot of time on this process due to all of the holes, vents and intakes on this airplane. Since I decided that the small airscoops along the front fuselage were too small to ream out, I made sure that I used the dark pastel wash to simulate openings. Small diameter metal tubing was used to simulate the fuselage mounted gun barrels. The wing guns were cut off since my references said that the majority of Folgores, especially the early series, did not utilize this gun position.

A flat coat was applied after the decals. FYI.. the clears (both flat and gloss) were Alclad. The flat coat was a roughly 3:1 mixture of flat:gloss... I wanted a tiny bit of sheen for the scale effect. Based on my photo references, I applied a heavy exhaust stain using heavily thinned browns and black.

I applied the tiniest bit of post-shading on the panel lines spraying a heavily thinned black. The ammo chutes on the undersides of the wings proved too much of a temptation and I sprayed a bit there too. Even though the aircraft lacked wing guns, maybe they were used at some point and removed... it could happen!

Getting to the end now. Just have add the final bits and pieces... landing gear, prop, venturi tube, pitot and remove the canopy masks. I used the Montex masks for the wheels... another dreaded part of the process made easy by technology!

Stick the prop on and add the landing gear... now she looks like a sleek Italian fighter!

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All I have to do now is remove the canopy masks and...

I consider her done although I've stopped short of adding the aerials. Something about a two-wire aerial that is scaring me off at the moment! I've also decided to leave the canopy unglued. It fits pretty snug and I can pop it off to show a bit of that wonderful Jaguar cockpit. I've always admired the beautiful lines of the Macchi Folgore and the Hasegawa model was a pleasure to build.

 

[fubar57]

Very, very nice. With regards to your panel wash, I've found that the wash flows better over a gloss coat. If I use pastel powder, I'll use a flat coat and "grind" the powder into the lines with a micro brush and then apply the appropriate final coat.

Geo

 

[Crimea_River]

Welcome aboard John. I like what I see so far. By the way, to ease your fears of puttying wing roots, try this technique. It works great!

filling without sanding

 

[JKim]

Vic Balshaw... thank you for the magnifier light suggestion! Since I've discovered the advantages of using a magnifying glass, I've been looking at magnifying options... higher powered reading glasses... jeweler's magnifying visors... magnifier light.... haven't really settled on the next step. I HAVE noticed that when using the magnifying glass, it's difficult to maintain depth perception... my dominant eye seems to take over and block my recessive eye out.


Fubar57... the wash with the gloss coat seemed to work ok in my experience too!

Crimea River... thanks for the wing root tip... a method that eliminates or largely eliminates sanding is definitely worth sticking in the arsenal. I'm going to test it to see if it works with the types of putty that I have... Vallejo Plastic Putty and Mr White Putty.