Small Scale Military Headquarters

For those craving a decent rendition in the 1:72nd scale of Italy's much admired MC-202----some think it was the most beautiful fighter of WW2-----you are stuck with the old IXO, which is poorly painted as a Russian Front fighter ( why did they pick the Russian Front, one wonders? ) or the absolutely hideous Atlas Editions/Oxford Diecast version which is actually a MC-205 and, among other gaffes, lacks any indication of the existence of its main landing gear----which is a real problem as the model is available only in the "wheels-up" display mode.

Along comes War Master, one of the many diecast cheapie clone lines that are popping up these days, and, to my surprise, their MC-202---based on the IXO molds but with a more realistic scheme----isn't half bad. There are a few errors, of course. For example the upper right and lower left wing roundels are wrong----they should point outward. Also, a fair number of the smoke rings aren't completed and the attempt at staining is heavy handed, to say the least. Still, the model should be acceptable for collectors who don't have the skills or the desire to make changes on the models they buy. Here is an upper surface picture of the War Master MC-202 in its original form ( sorry about the red hue ):

And this is the very bland underside of the original. In addition to the incorrect wing insignia, they forgot to include the ejection ports for the wing gun shell casings and the landing gear bay should by in interior green, not gray.

As is my practice, I have upgraded this model, completing the half finished smoke rings and adding a few, toning down the stains, minimizing a few seam gaps, wrapping the upper surface camouflage around the leading edges of the wings and tailplanes, etc.etc. Here's how it looks now:

Another angle:

Finally, a more vibrant under surface:

Can't forget that camo wrapping around the leading edges. When I did the 21C model those were a pain to mask off and get the curves right. Can't imagine some Chinese worker giving a crap about doing that.