Introduction

Top Drawings is a really nice series of books from Kagero Publishing that are aimed specifically at the modeller who loves and needs to get the detail on their models just right. The latest one I have obtained a copy of looks at the Macchi MC.202.

Review

This offering from Kagero is a soft back book written by Alessandro Cordasco and Camillo Cordasco. This is a duel language offering with English on the left of the page and Polish on the right of each page where there is dedicated text. The cover is made from a light card with a gloss finish and inside there are 28 pages of high quality matt paper plus two fold out sheets and a set of canopy masks in 1/72nd scale for the Hasegawa model.

The book begins with a very short written introduction and that is the only pure text in this title as its purpose is to provide accurate visual reference material. The material is presented in the form of scale drawings and colour profiles. Included with this release are two fold out sheets on the Macchi MC.202 and these are both in 1/24th scale drawings covering the Macchi MC.202 from above and below and also provided in this area are some scale drawings covering the internal framework, wiring and stripped down. These line drawings in 1/24th scale show a tremendous level of detail from the panel lines in bold detail down to the rivet detail in very light contrast, a very well presented set of line drawings.

The title offers 23 pages of scale line drawings in two scales which are 1/72nd and 1/32nd scale , the prevalent scale in these line drawings is 1/32nd scale and covers the Macchi MC.202 from both sides and also front and rear. This offering from Kagero goes further than covering the engine in the three main scales. Disappointingly there are a number of aircraft elements covered in undisclosed scales which I feel fails in what this series is for, yes the detail is good but please stick to a scale of your choice. The 1/72nd scale line drawings at the end of this title covers the Macchi MC.202 from all six expected plains. All of the scale line drawings share the same nice attributes of the fold out sheet and leave you in no doubt as regards the details that should be present and where.

In the centre of this title are four pages of colour drawings featuring the Macchi MC.202. These drawings are well done and may depict an aircraft you wish to replicate and so could prove very helpful reference, but please note that these drawings are not presented in any particular scale, at least not one that is mentioned.

Conclusion

This offering from Kagero as part of their Top Drawings line of books looking at the Macchi MC.202 but is not a title for the person interested in reading about the aircraft; it is a title aimed very specifically at the modeller looking to build an accurate representation of a Macchi MC.202. The scale line drawings biggest plus is the way bold and light lines are present that enable the viewer to instantly tell if something is a panel line or finer detail. I feel the inclusion of the fold out sheets is a nice touch, even if the line drawings are in the unexpected scale of 1/32nd scale. Finally I am always pleased to see canopy masks included with a title.