Fiat CR.32 Freccia

Special Hobby, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Airfix's 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk. Vb will be available online from Squadron.com

Introduction

I was very sad to see Classic Airframes go into hibernation around seven years ago.

Over the preceding two decades, “Uncle Jules” had brought us a large selection of subjects that would otherwise never have seen the light of day in 1/48 scale. He was particularly fond of British and Italian aircraft, with these forming the bulk of his catalogue.

It was a pleasure to watch the products of Classic Airframes evolve from sometimes basic and tough to build kits; to high quality, well-detailed limited run models.

Classic Airframes kits still demanded close attention and the application of modelling skills, but for me, the subject matter and the impressive result made the extra effort more than worthwhile.

The good news is that Special Hobby is now re-releasing a selection of classic Classic Airframes kits. The subject of this review is the 1/48 scale Fiat CR.32 Freccia.

The Fiat CR.32 Freccia

The Fiat CR.32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and World War II.

This nimble little Fiat was compact, robust and highly manoeuvrable and gave impressive displays all over Europe in the hands of the Pattuglie Acrobatiche.

The CR.32 fought in North and East Africa, in Albania and in the Mediterranean theatre. The CR.32 saw service in the air forces of China, Austria, Hungary, Paraguay and Venezuela.

Used extensively in Spanish Civil War, it gained a reputation as one of the outstanding fighter biplanes of all time but it was rapidly overtaken by more advanced monoplane designs and was obsolete by 1939. *

The newly boxed Special Hobby 1/48 scale Fiat CR.32 Freccia is based on the more recently tooled kit from 2005.

Except for the decals, this kit is analogous to the Regia Aeronautica kit, as it includes a the additional resin parts for bombs and their mounts.

The kit comprises just 39 plastic parts (and six of these aren't used), 23 parts in grey resin, one colour and one nickel-plated photo-etched fret, a clear injection-moulded plastic windscreen and markings for three aircraft.

The plastic parts are well up to the standard of the last generation of Classic Airframes releases with authentic fabric texture on the fuselage and crisp surface detail elsewhere. The wing sprue is from the original 1990s release, but the quality is still very good. The main wheels were revised in 2005 with separate tyres and spats, and these are included this time.

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Resin was always one of the strengths in Classic Airframes kits, and this offering is no exception.

In addition to a comprehensively detailed cockpit plus positionable horizontal control surfaces, we are presented with a stunning solid nose section. The fine cooling fins are the most impressive aspect of a most impressive chunk of resin.

The colour photo etched parts are also a welcome inclusion. Two small frets contain the rather torturous-looking harness, seat backrest, rudder and instrument panel details.

A single injection moulded clear part is supplied for the simple windscreen.

As with all limited run kits, and especially biplanes, the Special Hobby 1/48 scale Fiat CR.32 will need time spent on parts preparation and test fitting prior to construction. The absence of locating pins will also demand a bit of extra care in aligning the parts when committing to glue.

Markings

Markings for three different schemes - Italian, Hungarian and Spanish Civil War - are included on the Cartograf printed decals.

Markings are all in register and colours look good.

It is great to that some of Classic Airframes' "classics" are being re-released by Special Hobby.

The Fiat CR.32 is certainly a worthy subject with its typically Italian lines and terrific range of colours and markings in domestic and export service.

Take your time, test fit, and you will have an attractive and well-detailed biplane on your shelf.

Thanks to Classic Airframes and Hannants for the sample

Text and Images Copyright © 2006, 2015 and 2017 by Brett Green
* Historical Text Courtesy of Wikipedia
Page Created 23 January, 2017
Last updated 24 January, 2017

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