Hobby Boss 1/72 MC.200 Saetta Kit First Look

By Dave Manter

First Look

The Macchi MC.200 Saetta was built by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy. The excellent maneuverability, the great general flying characteristics and the exceptional stability in a high speed dive can be the biggest advantages of this fighter. Despite the lack of power and firepower, the MC.200 can still be regarded as a good fighter. The pilots of the Italian Air Force and their Macchi MC.200's were active in all theaters of WW II and won their glory in many air combats.

This is another of HobbyBoss' Easy Assembly Kits. This one consists of just 14 parts molded in grey styrene and 1 part molded in clear styrene. All of the parts are very well molded and feature nice details. The panel lines are fine and look to be in scale. The instructions are broken into 3 easy steps and are well written and drawn. Decals are provided for 2 different aircraft. They are:

• 88 Squadriglia, 6 Gruppe C.T., 1 Stormo C.T., 88-10 (aircraft dark green with tan spots)
• 362 Squadriglia, 22 Gruppe Autonomo, 362 (aircraft dark green with tan spots, engine cowl in yellow)

Construction begins with the cockpit and there are just 3 parts. Next up is the mating of the wings to the fuselage. Fit here is really nice and the long seam that runs between the 2 main pieces will be a quick fix. Next up is the installation of the canopy. Fit to the fuselage is perfect.

The final step is the installation of the landing gear and the installation of the cowl and prop.

Fit on everything in this kit is really, really nice. This series of kits are perfect for new modelers or us more experienced guys that just want to build and paint a nicely detailed kit!

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!