Italeri 1/48 Fiat Cr.42 AS. Built for a SAMI review article in 2007.

This is the second issue of Italeri's 1/48th scale Fiat Cr.42 injection moulded kit. This time it's the AS version that's featured, complete with sand filter intake, a pair of bomb racks & bombs and the same reference booklet included in their 1/72nd release.

This crisply moulded kit is accurately proportioned. Italeri have even managed to capture the flat sided rear fuselage, something that other kits often failed to do. It also features the oil cooler intakes that often get missed as well, although in this case its worth using tubular stock to improve the intake appearance as they're just holes. The detail on the sand filter housing is a little simplified too. The only thing that really lets this model down is the rather poor attempt at replicating the fabric covering of the aircraft. It is very tempting to sand it all down, but a much better remedy is to carefully scrape along the offending detail with a round end blade such as a Swan Morton 10. The slight curvature of the blade will help retain the fabric effect and therefore give a more realistic finish. It's time consuming but more than worth the effort.

Italeri have done a fairly effective job of reproducing the tubular framework in the cockpit, despite using the least amount of parts possible. It looks OK when the fuselage is closed off, although its not quite as convincing as those found in other mixed media kits. The engine is quite well detailed too and the cowling is constructed in such a way as to allow the engine to be left partially exposed, should you wish to do so. Although the lower wings and stabilisers can be attached to the fuselage at any stage, the top wing is best left separate until the camouflage scheme is finished. The undercarriage should also be left as sub-assemblies as well.

Having made a few of Cr.42 kits in the past, I always find it much easier to glue all the struts in place on the top wing before starting the camouflage work. Italeri have moulded positive location points for all the parts, which makes this task easier still.

Four schemes are featured on the instruction sheet, three of them sporting the Fiat "Lizard" scheme, the fourth with a Macchi inspired smoke ring scheme.

I favoured the Lizard scheme, as it's easier to do! I sprayed the whole of the upper surfaces and undercarriage of the model with WEM's Nocciola Chiaro. When dry, I used Blu-Tak to mask off the brown patches and then sprayed WEM's Verde Oliva Scuro. The lower surfaces were sprayed with WEM's Grigio Azzurro Chiaro. The white fuselage band was sprayed as well.

The decals were easy to apply with no silvering apparent, although the top wing roundels were difficult to conform around the moulded detail and had to be helped with a few slices of the scalpel.

This is a very good model and, as already mentioned, has perhaps the most accurate proportions out of all the Cr.42 kits produced so far. Some of the crude detail, such as the fabric effect and the aileron control cables can be dealt with by more experienced modellers, although it's general ease of construction would make it suitable for nearly all modeller types, even those who have yet to build a biplane. Highly recommended.