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HASEGAWA/SECTER 1:48 FIAT G.50
Reviewer:
Chris Busbridge
(rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:
21 June 2002
Manufacturer:
Hasegawa/Secter
Aircraft: FIAT G.50
Scale: 1/48
Medium: Injection moulded.
Decals: Two options
Pros: Crisp moulding on some parts.
Cons: Crude moulding on others!
The G.50 was chosen by the Regia Aeronautica to be one of its first principal monoplane fighters. This proved to be a decision made in haste as it was outperformed by both the Macchi C.200 and Reggiane RE.2000 in subsequent tests. Its workmanlike performance made life for its pilots very difficult. Only the Finnish Air Force seemed to be able to get any sort of results from this airframe, probably due to inferior opposition during the early period of their war. Trainee Luftwaffe pilots forced to use the trainer version towards the end of WWII absolutely hated the plane.
Kit.
As a Hasegawa product, one would expect a good model. However the Secter parts are a bit of a let down. The engine is a vastly oversimplified affair and the cowling is not very accurate. The tail surfaces are crude, with heavy engraved detail. After research, I obtained various aftermarket items to improve some of the weaker parts. They are:
Misterkits replacement wing, which has accurate wheel well depth and separated control surfaces.
Engine & Things replacement engine
Falcons replacement canopy.
Eduard etch set
Skymodels decal sheet.
Additionally, I bought the Ali d'Italia book on the G.50 which proved to be a very useful guide to check accuracy during construction.
Cockpit.
Most of the etch set consisted of detail items for the cockpit, all of which I used. I was not too concerned about getting it perfect as the cockpit opening is very small and not much will be visible. There is conflicting advice on what the cockpit colour should be, some say it should be light grey and others say verde anti-corrosivo.
Fuselage.
The top front fuselage section has rather crude panel lines that contrasts with the finer engraving on the main fuselage halves, so I filled them in. Several test fitting sessions were carried out removing sections of the fuselage in order to get a good fit over the large one piece resin wing. Despite the care taken, some filler was still needed to get a completely smooth join.
Wings.
The panel lines are a bit on the heavy side on the replacement resin wing but not overly so. The separated control surfaces can be posed in any attitude. The fit of all these parts are quite good, but the aileron hinge actuator covers were missed off, so new ones will have to be made, using the kit as a guide.
Tail surfaces.
The crude mouldings of the tail surfaces are another disappointing feature of this kit. Plenty of sanding was needed to get them to match the finesse of the main fuselage. This included sharpening up the leading edges as well as getting the trailing edges as thin as possible. Some of the lines were so deep that they took ages to disappear during the sanding process. There are alternative tail cones and rudder parts depending on which version you've decided to build, so make sure you know which ones to use.
Engine.
For a 1/48 kit, the engine is a 2 dimensional non-entity. The Engine & Things replacement engine isn't a work of art by any means but works well enough when its installed. The cowling has a rather sharp squarish front profile that is easy to sand into a more accurate rounded shape because of the thickness of the plastic. The kit does not have the small bump fairings that appeared on the AS model cowling nor the desert-style intake, although there are a choice of spinners for other versions.
Undercarriage.
The short undercarriage legs were expoxied in the wheel wells, the wheels for which can be simply clicked into place. I recommend that they are glued in, otherwise they might simply fall off, as the fit is not positive enough. An alternative method is to make new axles.
Markings.
The kit decals are for the more commonly used scheme of green and brown mottles on sand with grey undersurfaces. The kit instructions show a camouflage pattern that is not strictly correct. Check with actual photos to get a more accurate idea. In some cases the mottles were quite indistinct and overspray would effect the base colour quite markedly. A photo of one aircraft shows large areas of bare metal where the paint had poor adhesion. The kit decals silvered up a bit, even on a glossy surface, but Skymodels, Tauro and AeroMaster have printed alternative markings. One of the nicer schemes, well for me anyway, was the unique FIAT applied "Lizard" scheme, which consisted of large distinct sand blotches on green. This scheme also appeared on the prototype G.55.
Summary.
I have another Hasegawa G.50, to use with the Italian Classic Serie 1 resin conversion set. It resolves all the problems inherent with this kit. Italian Classic have also released complete resin kits of the three main versions of the G.50, all of which are beautifully detailed, almost obsessively so, and are highly recommended. Pacific Coast Models have also re-released the Secter kit, fortunately with resin detail parts to correct most faults. So for all you quarter scale G.50 fans, there are a good range of models to choose from. Personally I'd go for the Italian Classics, but only if you can afford it. Otherwise go for the Pacific Coast Models.
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