Macci MC.200 Saetta

This unique Italian WWII fighter is one of the funnest kits I've done in a long time. The kit had some nice features, including photo-etched instrument panels, seat belts and harnesses, as well as photo-etched main-gear door to strut connectors (these last needed some delicate bending, so work carefully). Panel lines are engraved, and look very nice - some rivet detail is also engraved. The engine had some nice detail as well. The cockpit looks great when finished, but it's unfortunate that a lot of that nice detail is hidden in the depths of the fuselage where it is hard to see. The landing gear bays and struts are detailed nicely, but the construction of these presented the only really confusing issue of the kit for me. The retraction struts hook into the main struts just fine, but it took a bit of work to fit the other ends into the wheel bays properly. The decals provide for four different planes and while fine once off the backing, it seemed that they took a bit of tugging to actually loosen from the backing. They looked great once on the plane. I used a bit of setting solution and they snugged down into all the engraved detail very well. Tamiya also throws in a set of seated pilots and they looked fine, even though I decided to not use them. Overall, I'm very happy with the quality of the kit and the outcome.