Hobby Boss 1/72 scale
Macchi C.200 Saetta
in the New Mission Models Acrylic Paints

by John Miller

Hobby Boss' 1/72 Macchi C.200 Saetta is available online from Squadron for only $10.99!

This is the Hobby Boss 1/72 “Easy Assembly” kit of the Macchi C.200 Saetta (#80291). The kit is not entirely accurate right out of the box lacking a prominent intake on the ventral cowl, inner gear doors, and few additional tidily bits. Despite the lack of details, the kit is a marvel of engineering with a one-piece fuselage, one-piece wing, and nose section clearly the result of slide molding. When fitted together these three pieces capture the overall lines of the Saetta surprisingly well. The parts are nicely cast with very little flash so assembly took all of ~5 pleasant, hassle-free hours.

With the aim of assessing how the new Mission Models (MM) acrylic paints perform I opted to paint the model in the scheme of a Saetta captured by the RAF in Sicily, 1943. To that end, custom mixes of Grigio (blue-grey), Giallo (tallow-tan), Verde (green), and Bruno (red-brown) were prepared using Mission Models paints. The mixes were matched to the color guides provided in Aero Details #15 Macchi C.200/202/205.

After painting, the model received a coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss and the RAF roundel decals were applied. The sheet from which I obtained the roundels provides the red center of each roundel as a separate decal. This permitted me to apply roundels with just blue and white sections and after another coat of gloss, mask the center areas off and spray them the same custom red (mixed from Mission paints) used on both the cowl and the RAF fin flash. A final coat of Vallejo Satin varnish sealed the deal. 

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That was a lot of fun. Building a model comprised of three well-fitting parts proved to be a nice break from some of the more complicated builds that have been on my bench of late.

Likewise, Mission Model acrylics are a joy to spray: the most forgiving paint I’ve ever used. This is a winning combination: easy-build kit plus forgiving paint.

I think I see a therapeutic quick-build P-39 in my not-too-distant future.

Cheers,

John

You can find a more detailed account of painting this model on Model Paint Solutions' website by following this link.

Model and Text Copyright © 2017 by Model Paint Solutions Inc.
Page Created 31 March, 2017
Last Updated 31 March, 2017

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