The Maltese Falco II
Well, it flew over Malta...
Greetings. This is the Sword 1/48th Reggiane Re.2001 Falco II. It is a prime example of the "parallel development" that we see in new models, that is, either a slight improvement over a predecessor or something that fails to contribute much improvement at all. Usually when a new model comes out, I find myself selling the older model of the same kind, but in this case the Sword Re.2001 is only a moderate step above the old Classic Airframes and I debated with myself when I had both kits in hand.
The Sword is better, but only marginally. The fuselage isn't as fat, and the molds are new and crisp. They have added wheel-well detail, and is overall "cleaner." Oddly, there is less skin detail than the CA. The fit is somewhat horrid (we will get into this), but overall it still won out over the CA. It still needs a decent amount of work to bring it up to snuff, however, and I will try my best here to remember what I improved.
The cockpit doesn't fit, at all, and I suspect the seat is too big. Lots of whittling is required around the bulkhead, cockpit floor, sides, and instrument panel. Brengun has a PE set for the 2000 (not the 2001) and I used the Italian torture device (seat harness) for this 2001. The lower intake cover in the chin doesn't fit at all, this required putty from inside to seal gaps. Once the fuselage is brute forced together, the next herculean task is the wings: there is significant gaps on either side. Resist the urge to use the "tape up" method to remove the gaps: the Re.2001 did not have much dihedral, and the tape method would add too much. Copious amounts of styrene chunks, super glue, and putty was required to clean this mess up.
An added benefit of all the wing root clean up is, the panel line between fuselage and wing is too close inside. I rescribed the line farther out on the wing to get an appropriately sized fillet. Once clean up was complete, I focused on smaller details. Various little scoops and gun holes were drilled out on the nose. A small scoop immediately behind the supercharger intake had to be added, as well as two small bumps beneath the rudder. The instructions fail to mention the venturi tube on the starboard side despite it being included on their sprues. Brake lines were added from copper wire. The prop was a misshapen mess, and had to be whittled down to an approximate shape.
I used MRP paint, as they seem to have good Italian colors. This paint goes on smooth as silk through an airbrush, but good luck using it for brush touch-ups. The clear parts need some adjustments: the windscreen did not have the small top windows: these were painted over. The canopy had two lower sliding panels on each side instead of the 4x4 as Sword molds them. The lower frame I scraped down with an angled scalpel. The antenna wire is Infinti elastic line.
I tried something new on this model. Quite a few photos of the 2001 show a peculiar occurrence: the wing walk area is frequently worn away, showing the bare metal underneath, except what appears to be a line of dots on either side. I presume this is divots from rivets, where scuffing boots passed over these depressions and left paint. I tried to replicate this by painting the green first, applying dots of Chipping Fluid, then dry brushing aluminium on top. I think this wore away the Fluid, as it failed. I resorted to painting the little dots with a brush, then blending them in with layered coats of drybrush.
I elected to model Salvatore Teja's machine, which is frequently done by others. While his markings are included in the kit, I found a photo that shows his emblem is on both sides of the cowl. I purchased a Stormo Magazine decal sheet to use the second emblem. I also noticed evidence in some photos that his machine was #2, not #4. I hand painted these. If you wish to see my insane logic and reasoning behind this, go here: https://imodeler.com/groups/work-in-progress-aircraft/forum/topic/the-reggiane-2001-detective/
This had a lot longer gestation time than I want to admit. With my AMS coupled with frustrating build quality, I took frequent breaks. We certainly live in the Golden Age of Modeling, though some new kits leave a little to be desired.
Thanks for looking.
Excellent, result, Kyle!
G’day Kyle (@kopperhead),
This is a great build of a lesser known aircraft. I built the 1/72 Supermodel version in my youth and would like to to the same in 1/48 one day.
Liked!
Some very nice work done on this kit, Kyle @kopperhed
Sounds like you were in for quite a battle, Kyle @kopperhed. Nonetheless, the result is very beautiful. The Re.2001 does not look outdated at all. And yes, building modern kits with an unnecessary lack of fit is frustrating.
Nice work, Kyle. I built one of those a few years back and enjoyed it.
Excellent build of a tough kit. Your build of this kit sounds very familiar.
I built the CA kit as my first ever short run kit and soon learned about scratch building. I naively thought that a resin cockpit for a kit was designed to fit (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!)
Sounds like you actually needed a sword to fight this kit while building.
Great looking result, Kyle!
I remember reading that British Ace, Laddie Lucas noted that the Re.2001 was a worthy opponent with the aircraft executing 'such a complex sequence of aerobatics' during combat.
BTW, I showed your post to my Dad (he's 92 - and Maltese), Pops confirms the Re.2001 fought in the skies over Malta 😉
Well done, nice result. I remember struggling with the CA kit many years ago.
Well, that certainly looks like a triumph of talent and tenacity over plastic.
This turned out very well, with your struggles completed so successfully that they don't show. I think your steady-hand duplication of the rivet dimples also comes off quite well. Congratulations!
Sweet build, Kyle @kopperhed! 👍 I think those "dots" worked rather well! 👏
Further proof that anything looks good with a Diamler-Benz in it., even a P-35 copy.
Did that thing still have the fuel tanks integral with the wing structure like the 2000?
Herculean? Wow. When I have wing gaps I use a strip of styrene glued to the wing inner edge, let dry then trim till fit.
That came out sharp and eye catching, as usual. How to make a single color finish pop 101. Another winner.
It’s true. It’s always funny that it happened at least twice
The prototype 2001 actually had the 2000’s ‘wet wings’ before someone told them to cut that s**t out. Production 2001s had conventional tanks
A great-looking build, Kyle, and the divots effort paid off! Well done.