1/48 Macchi Mc.202 Folgore |
Gallery Article by Robert-Jan Willekens
on
Nov 19 2003
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Here is a model
which gave me a lot of grief. It is the Tauro Macchi 202 Folgore, maybe for me
the most elegant fighter of the second World War. Built as a follow-up type to
the MC.200 Saetta, the airframe is basically the same; however the radial engine
was replaced by a license-built Daimler-Benz DB601A engine. The engine was
produced by Alfa Romeo, and was called the Monsone. In itself a fairly basic
fighter, the most astonishing was its use of asymmetrical wings! The port wing
was a couple of centimeters larger in span, to offset the engine torque. Quite
an elegant solution! The Mustang, for example, countered engine torque by
offsetting the vertical tail by about 2 degrees. The design also had, like the
P-51, a ventral oil cooler.
After the Italian
Armistice in September 1943, those Folgores based in southern Italy were flown
by the Co-Belligerent Air Force. A total of 23 MC.202s eventually joined the
Allied forces, and were deployed from Lecce, operating mainly over the Balkans.
My model depicts a
Macchi Folgore of the 8th Gruppo C.T., based out of Lecce-Galatina in the summer
of 1944. Colours are Nocciola Chiaro (Light Hazelnut - FS 30266)with Verde
Oliva Scuro (Dark Green - FS 34052) rings over Grigio Azzuro Chiaro (Light Blue-grey
- FS 36307). The paints are Humbrol; the decals come from the Tauro kit. The
model could be built with all the trimmings: open panels, cockpit, deployed
flaps, separate flying surfaces, etc. etc. But: they didn't fit! I guess I'm
spoiled with all the kits I've built from Hasegawa and Tamiya!. Anyway; I glued
all the panels close, sanded the whole bit, and ended up with this model. The
lines of the aircraft are very well displayed, I must say, and the end result is
quite nice.
Robert-Jan Willekens
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