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Aermacchi C.200 I. serie

 

Special Hobby, 1/72 scale

S u m m a r y

Catalogue Number: Special Hobby kit no. SH72081 Aermacchi C.200 1. serie
Scale: 1/72
Contents and Media: 31 beautifully moulded light grey plastic parts on two sprues, 33 equally beautifully moulded bone coloured resin parts, 2 vac-formed canopies [one spare], decals for three aircraft and the usual 4 double sided A5 pages with history, parts plan, build instructions and colour and markings diagrams.
Price: USD$21.46  from Squadron.com
Review Type: FirstLook
Advantages: Long awaited subject, well detailed and beautifully done; great use of multi-media
Disadvantages: No sidewall detail in cockpit.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended -  just recommending it would be an understatement.


Reviewed by Glen Porter


 Special Hobby's 1/72 scale Macchi C.200 I serie is available online from Squadron.com
 

FirstLook


How long have we waited for this subject to come along in kit form?

Revell did one years ago and it was quite accurate and reasonably detailed but it was significantly under-sized. Even so, it was all we had, so we made do with it.

Given the size problem with the old Revell kit, the first thing I did on receiving Special Hobby's brand new Aermacchi C.200 I. serie kit was to compare it to 1/72 scale plans in Aviolibri special No 5. Guess what? It was spot on (ie completely accurate - Australian translation. ed). Of course I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the plans but it’s definitely bigger than the old Revell kit and matched the shape almost perfectly.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:


With the nicely detailed plastic that we’ve come to expect from Special Hobby [MPM] of late, there’s a heap of attractive resin as well. A beautiful one-piece cowling, engine with fourteen [14] separate cylinders [gulp], resin interior and numerous other details and - wait for it - no photo-etched parts! Hang on, time for a green one. Ah that’s better.

 

 

The canopy is presented in vacform. A spare is also supplied in case of a slip of the hobby knife. The vacform parts are very clear with crisply raised frame detail.

 

 

The decals, by Aviaprint, are again, as we have come to expect from S.H., of very high quality and cover three aircraft, all in the early war 3-colour scheme. Some of the build diagrams are a bit vague but this may become clearer during the build process.

 

 

My only real criticism of this kit is the lack of detail in the cockpit sidewalls, however this may be hidden once the model is built and we have to give the scratch builders some thing to do so again this is only “nit picking”.

To summarize, I have to say, along with AML’s Fiat G.50, this will keep Italian aircraft modellers happy for quite some time and also those of us who think the C 200 should be part of any good model collection.

Once again, Special Hobby has come to our rescue.

Highly Recommended
 

Thanks to MPM/Special Hobby for the review sample.


Review Text Copyright © 2004 by Glen Porter
Images Copyright © 2004 by Brett Green
Page Created 22 December, 2004
Last updated 27 December, 2004

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