1/48 Flying Machines Fiat G.50 bis/AS

Gallery Article by Bernhard Schenk on Apr 29 2009

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After being out of the modelling "business" for about 10 years the "virus" affected me again when I saw some special offers of 1/48 aircraft kits on internet. I just had to buy them!

This was my first limited run kit and the first one I used a really good airbrush (Aztek A470) so it was quite an experience to do it. I have to admit that I encountered some problems, especially with the Resin parts - but this was mainly due to my quasi non-existent knowledge of how to handle that material and not because the quality was bad.

So here is my contribution: a Fiat G.50 bis/AS from Flying Machines.

Construction

This kit features crisply-molded parts and really excellent decals! The instructions could be a bit more precise for beginners but don't cause too big problems for the average modeler. The windscreen is a bit thick but also crystal clear. Photo-etched parts are from Eduard and very good.

As mentioned above I had problems with the Resin parts. Also the positioning of the resin engine cowl (which looks really great!) was a bit difficult. When put according to the instructions it seemed a bit too close to the cockpit but in the end I placed it in a "compromise" way and I am quite content with the result. 
I also needed some filler and had to rescribe panel lines after sanding. After all this kit required a lot more work than the Tamiya/Hasegawa stuff I used to construct in the past but I guess that's perfectly alright for a limited run kit.

Sadly the kit does not include pitot tubes so I built them from scratch using thin wire. I also had to re-build two of these "drop-shaped" resin parts which are on top and bottom of the wings (sorry, I don't know the English term....) using epoxy putty and wire because I broke the original parts while trying to remove them from the casting block. Furthermore I replaced the kit's machine gun barrels with resin US .50 cal machine guns barrels from Quickboost.


Painting and Markings

The kit offers decals for 2 versions and I chose the Fiat of Capitano Tullio de Prato, CO of 150a Squadriglia, 2° Stormo, North Africa, 1941.

Colours: Grigio Mimetico for the bottom, Giallo Mimetico 3 with a pattern of Marrone Mimetico 2 and Verde Mimetico 3 for the upper surface. I used UA033, UA 080, UA 088 by Lifecolour and Tamiya XF-58 respectively. For the cockpit I used Lifecolour UA116.

The decals were put after I coated the plane with glossy varnish from Tamiya. I used MicroSet and MicroSol and it worked great. Then I sealed all with the matt varnish from Army Painter.

Conclusion

As far as I know the Flying Machines' one is the only 1/48 kit for Fiat G.50 currently (4/2009). available 
This is not a kit for the beginner, but the average experienced modeller can really make a beautiful addition for his or her collection out of it.

Recommendable

Bernhard Schenk

Photos and text © by Bernhard Schenk