1/48 Reggiane Re. 2005
This is the recent Special Hobby kit. This is one of those planes that I've always wanted on the shelf and was surprised to see SH and Sword release kits simultaneously. The kit built up very nicely. It features a well detailed cockpit that I only added a set of Eduard seat belts to. Unfortunately, the injection molded canopy is one piece and can't be posed open. More on the canopy...I actually started this model in August, but lost the canopy. I found it with my left foot. Not good. An online search revealed a vacuform alternative made by Jay‘s Models. Never heard of Jay's and it didn't state which kit it was for. I went ahead and ordered one from BNA Modelworld in Australia. It's nicely done and is of the same quality as a Falcon product. It fit pretty decently and solved my problem.
The wheel wells are well detailed on this model and I was really impressed with how they built up. The only thing that gives this kit away as limited run is the fact that you need to sand the roof of said wheel wells to get them inside the wings. Not a big deal.
I finished it with Humbrol enamels that the Stormo! Italian aviation website recommends. Special Hobby advises you to paint the spinner red on this ANR example. I doubt Italian fascists would have used an Allied ID marking on their planes. I found a pic of this plane online and it appears the same tone as the rest of the plane to me . Green it was!
EZ line for the antenna and it was done. This is a nice kit that I really enjoyed.
and with a "109" engine, I have to have one too! - nice build.
Thanks, Erik! That DB 605 looks a lot better on this plane.
Really nice work, John. I have both kits and have been collecting the various updates and masks, hoping they'll get built some day. Your surface finish looks great, and your careful delineation of the underside color separation is so smooooth and graceful! Glad you were able to find a replacement canopy to finish this one up in such fine fashion.
Thanks, Christopher. I look forward to seeing both of yours.
Very nice
Thanks, George!
A beautiful looking Reggiane, John.
Thanks, John!
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
Very nice build of this elegant aircraft. The headline picture alone shows the gracious
lines in the wings.
Thank you for sharing these images John.
Thank you, Sir!
Very goo job on the Special Hobby kit, John!
This is an extremely elegant plane and you brought out its lines nicely!
Thanks, Spiros! It’s a beautiful airplane and the dark green suits it well. Very nice kit too.
Great job, John (@j-healy). I just finished a Special Hobby kit, so I know that there was probably more work than your average kit to get it looking this good. Well done.
Thanks, George. I enjoyed following your Maryland project. I learned a lot for when I tackle mine. SH kits are improving steadily. This Reggiane was pretty trouble free. The only real fit issues was having to sand the roofs of the wheel wells. If you like Reggiane types, Sword is about to release a 1/48 Re. 2001.
Very nice! With that swept tail surface, it really does look like a dart. Great build!
Thanks, Greg. These were fast.
Nice work on this John. The 2005 to me is a really sleek design. This kit looks to be based on the Flying Machines kit SH did for them some years ago. I posted some shots of my FM kit build last year.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Thanks, Dale! I referenced your fine example while building it. It’s a beautiful plane. One thing I’ve never understood about these later, high performance Italian fighters is the canopy/head rest. The open backs to these canopies had to cause terrible turbulence and noise.
I agree John but apparently the better rear view through the open panel was deemed worth it.