Reggiane Re.2001 Falco II

Sword, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

History

During 1940, the airframe of the lacklustre and unreliable Reggiane Re.2000 was adapted to the Daimler-Benz DB 601. The resulting design was more streamlined than the original radial-engine Re.2000, and the German in-line powerplant improved performance dramatically.

This new combination was officially designated the Reggiane Re.2001.

Following numerous design changes and production difficulties, the Reggiane Re.2001 entered service in September 1941.

The Re.2001 proved that it was a match for its main adversary, the Spitfire Mk. V over the skies of Malta and on bomber escort missions during 1942.

The Re.2001 continued to see active service with diminishing effectiveness until the armistice in September 1943; and limited action beyond this date with the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force.

Falco II in 1/48 scale

Classic Airframes released a 1/48 scale Re.2001 Falco II nearly 20 years ago in 2001. This kit featured limited run plastic parts, vacuum formed canopy and windscreen, and resin parts for most of the cockpit detail.

I built the model at the time and was impressed with this second-generation limited-run kit made from metal moulds.

This was one of the most straightforward Classic Airframes kits that I have built.

Time moves on however. The Classic Airframes Falco II is now long out of production and the quality of limited run kits has improved considerably.

There haven't been any other 1/48 scale Re.2001 offerings in the meantime, so this new kit from Sword will be warmly welcomed by Regia Aeronatica fans.

Following on from their all-new 1/48 scale Re.2005 in March of this year, Sword's latest release is a 1/48 scale Reggiane Re.2001 Sagittario.

Despite the superficial similarity between the Re.2001 and Re.2005, these are essentially completely discrete kits with different fuselages, wings, undercarriage, cockpit layout and more. The wheels might be in common...

Sword's new 1/48 scale Reggiane Re.2001 Sagittario comprises 59 parts in grey plastic (including four marked not for use), plus six parts in clear plastic. The package is rounded out with markings for four options.

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Thumbnail panels:

The grey plastic parts for each kit are moulded onto two sprues with fine attachment points.

Being a limited run kit, there are none of the little luxuries such as locating pins and tabs, so take time when aligning and gluing the plastic parts. There are a couple of raised ejector pin circles that might interfere with wing fit, so you should clean these up prior to assembly.

Surface textures, including fine recessed panel lines and rib tapes on fabric control surfaces, are well done.

The cockpit is simply broken down with sidewall detail moulded onto the interior of the fuselage halves. Moulding is crisp and detail is good here.

It should pop out with careful painting and weathering.

The instrument panel is a single plastic part with recessed circles and raised switches etc. This looks good but it might have been nice to have an overlay decal with instrument dial detail.

You'll need to supply your own harness straps (and seat cushion if you want one) too.

The wheel well looks are quite simple compared to the Re.2005, but they are quite accurate.

Unlike Sword's recent Re.2005, there are no resin parts in this kit. The exahaust stacks are supplied as one plastic piece per side.

The clear parts are acceptably thin. The canopy folds along the top centreline on the real aircraft, and the plastic parts reflect this correctly. The canopy may be posed full open, fully closed or anywhere in between.

Markings are provided for four options, all Regia Aeronautica, in dark green upper surfaces and grey below.

Decals are printed by Techmod. They appear to be in good register.

Sword's kits are limited run but the quality of moulding, the level of detail and the finesse of surface textures would challenge some mainstream injection moulding model companies.

Sword's 1/48 scale Reggiane Re.2001 is a fairly simple but nice limited run kit. Take your time with parts cleanup and alignment and you will have an impressive result. If assembly is as smooth as Sword's recent 1/48 scale Sword Re.2005, it should be a pleasant build.

Thanks to Sword Models for the review samples.

Text and Images Copyright © 2020 by Brett Green
Page Created 22 December, 2020
Last updated 23 December, 2020

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