Since my daughters bought me a whole Italian WW2 paint set from MRP as a gift (still on the postal service but due to arrive any moment now) for the upcoming Father’s Day (here is celebrated March 19) I thought it’s time to start unwrapping my only 2021 new kit, Special Hobby’s Regianne 2000, the very first production batch.
I admit I bought this kit solely because of the camouflage, I love those pre and early war Italian camouflages!

So what’s in the box?
The kit is a bit of a Frankenstein, since this sprue here comes from the old Classic Airframes kit, but all the other sprues, containing the majority of parts, are brand new SH moulds, and the difference shows, both is the surface and in the sprue gates thickness

Still this is a short-run kit (basically better than mainstream kits from the early millennium) so there are a few niggles, one of them is a seemingly thicker wall between the left and right side of the cowling flaps. Is it just me or do you see that as well?

Not a big issue obviously but one to take note before glue starts flowing.

I already purchased a few resin replacements SH does specifically for their new Re.2000/J-20/Héja I family, like the much better than plastic headrest and some main wheels

I made a quick comparison between the plastic wheel and the resin and you can judge for yourself if one really needs to pay some extra euros or not

I’ll start this kit by the engine and by scribing rivets, so stay tuned if this aircraft is of interest to you

This is a wonderful entry, my friend @holzhamer. The evolution of SH is obvious, by looking at the old and new sprues. The cowling halves thickness difference is evident, as are the looks of your extra resins.
I love this kind of kits: challenging, but so rewarding in the end.
Looking forward to your progress and your "mimetico" camo!

Great looking kit, Pedro.
I also do like those Italian camouflage schemes a lot.
And also a yes to the resin wheels, so much better.
Looking forward to your building progress.

@fiveten Spiros my friend you hit the nail in the head, because it’s exactly how I feel this kit will be, a bit of challenging but sooo rewarding when it comes to airbrush madness 😉

Csaba, all this restrictions due to the pandemic measures are a pain the arse in many ways, none more than shipping issues. Oddly it seems my paint order from MRP based in Slovakia, and placed last Thursday is already here in Portugal, a lot faster than I ever anticipated. Good luck with your build!

@johnb Thanks John, I’ll try to post as much good photos as possible.

@eb801 Eric, bring on that pasta to the table 🙂 you know, I feel the same about the slightly
deflated look of the resin tires. After all it’s fairly easy to pick the plastic tires and “adjust” them with some sanding to create the weight effect. But hey, I payed that resin so it’s not going to be wasted. Btw, I’ll be using the box art scheme, really eye catching

@j-healy - John, the Swedish machines are also quite interesting. Our fellow iModeler, Dale Travis, posted one he built. It’s also a Classic Airframe kit.

So the MRP paints arrived yesterday and the airbrush has been busy with that “Verde Anticorrosivo” aka Italian interior green. I can’t praise this paints enough, and it’s the first plastic bottles I got from their range. The older glass bottles were better imo, even more since they come with small weights to better shake the paint inside and these new bottles do not.

Besides the airbrush, the scalpel and several sand paper strips and files have also been busy. The plastic demands some prep, nothing serious.

The fit of parts is actually quite good, despite the lack of pins. I managed to complete the engine section (and yes I sanded that thicker side wall accordingly), drilled the MG holes along, and thinned the air inductor located on the underside.
The upper air inlet is not perfect and will need some shaping, putty or plastic sheet, shall see

A dry test fit shows that the engine cowl mates perfectly to the fuselage, nice!

The Piaggio engine also looks ok, here with the first aluminium coat, needs some ignition wires and paint, but should look good alright.

The only let down I found so far is the IP...no decal or relieve for the dial whatsoever...

This small piece needed some sanding because it came grossly overdone, but now it’s a bit more to scale

The resin wheels cut, sanded and fit perfectly to the u/c leg. One can even read the Pirelli name on the tire wall 🙂

Tomorrow I’ll proceed with oil washes and paint details to complete the pilots office

Thank you Spiros @fiveten
Taking some time adjusting and cleaning the parts prior to painting is in this kit mandatory. The task however is swift, trust me.
I think it will take me more time riveting the plane than actually completing any other step of the build, much like it’s happening with my Hasegawa Ki-61

Real great progress, Pedro.
The weathering on the interior panels is very nice.

Great progress, Pedro.