Anyone build this yet?

Never even seen it before, but it is very interesting. I looks a little basic and the company producing it is called "21st century toys". That cannot be a good sign

Anyway, it could be very interesting to hear more when you start up building it.

I've seen that model at Walmart a few times. Heck for 10 bucks I don't think you can go wrong. 21st Century Toys makes a prebuilt display model of that and I think it looks pretty good. Good for the beginning modeler or the one that doesn't really need the expensive version of everything. Which would be me. Mostly because I just build them for fun.

I'm in the middle of this kit as we speak.

It's certainly not Tamiya or Hasegawa, but that's not their intended market.

The kit is basic, but the outline isn't bad, and when it's finished, it'll certainly look like an Mc.202.

It does require some effort, the fuselage and wing halves are joined with screws whose holes require filling and sanding. They provide you with plastic plugs, but I tossed these and simply crammed the holes with Aves Apoxy sculpt. I'm sure Milliput would work just fine as well, or any other A+B epoxy.

The cockpit is basic, but the shape is ok and there's tons of room for scratchbuilding, same with the wheel wells.

I bought this kit for several reasons - first, it was $10 and the decal sheet alone is worth that. The decals are spectacular. Secondly, I don't have an Mc.202 on the shelf at present. I do have the Pacific Coast Model, but not everyone wants to spend $60 on a 1/32 fighter. This is a cheap alternative. I envision my PCM Mc.202 to be a long, drawn-out affair. Will it compare to this model? Certainly not, it'll be night and day in terms of quality. But, it's a 202...

The kits themselves are marketed for the beginner modeler, or, the pre-built collector type who wants something other than the pre-packaged markings. Hopefully, it'll encourage young people or even the 21st Century non-modeler collector types to get into the hobby.

Anyone with average scratchbuilding skills can turn this into a presentable model. It'll never be a Tamiya A6M2 Zero in terms of quality, but it's also 1/12the cost.




Worst case, it's a great model for your kids...and for $10, it's still cheaper than most 1/48 Revell/Monogram fighters out there. It's also sturdy enough for kids to play with...

Jeff

Jeff, thanks for sharing that information. It does not look that bad.

Please share the finished result with us

Sorry I dug this post up from the nether-reaches, but I was asked to share the finished results of this Macchi 202. After I go to through the construction stages, other projects took over and it sat derelict for awhile. I finally decided to finish it in-between other large projects...

This is a mini-review/build...

There was a furor about the internet awhile back regarding the 21st Century Toys "kits" that were being released. Thanks to Lee White from LSP, I managed to get my mitts on a couple of Macchi 202 Folgores. I have the Pacific Coast Models Macchi sitting in the stash, so I did a quick comparison and decided I would see what this $10 model had to offer.

The kit itself is not complex by any means...assembly was less than an hour.



I did have to apply multiple coats of filler to the screw recesses even after inserting the plugs provided in the kit. These are easy to sand smooth and are virtually invisible once you've primed the model.



I did nothing special to the model aside from basic construction techniques. I primed everything and sprayed Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow on the upper and Gunze FS 36270 on the lower surfaces. This was a quick, fun project so I wasn't going to get crazy with paint colors. To my old Mk. I eyeball, they looked about right. Knowing that most 202s I'd see in model form were done with smoke rings, I decided on a slightly different pattern and chose a paint scheme seen on Major Luigi Filippi's 23 Gruppo, 3 Stormo Folgore.

I didn't have the actual numbers for Filippi's aircraft (white 75), so I went with what I had - a black 70. Like I said, I wasn't getting nutty with this model.

I painted the web pattern using Tamiya XF-58 Olive Green freehand, sealed it with Future, and applied the decals. Once everything was dry, I clear-coated the model with Future mixed with Tamiya XF-21 Flat Base.

The panel lines are a bit heavy, similar to the old Matchbox kits, and the exhausts could definitely use some improving, maybe a set of Moskit exhausts could be adapted (they'd cost more than the model though!). I turned the cannon housings on my lathe, as I broke the molded-on parts off during assembly.

For $10 and 10 hours of work, it looks fantastic. It won't win any contests, but it looks great on the shelf from a foot away. From what I can see, 21st Century is serious about adapting their "pre-built" line into more precise and accurate models. It will be interesting to see if their new kits, especially their P-51B/C, will be able to compete with existing model kits and actually provide a better alternative to the old Revell kit.

I should point out that the decals in this kit are worth the $10 alone. These were some of the best decals I've ever used.

I think it is a very good result! A great looking kit - especially taking the price and time spend into account.

Thanks for sharing

Hi Jeff!

Fantastic model! Congratulations! I hope you will consider participating to this month's Model of the Month contest with it...

Jean-Luc