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.

8 additional images. Click to enlarge.