[Serpiko]

PROS:
- Very good quality/price ratio
- Highly detailed
- Plenty of optional parts for different versions
- No particular issues
- Invaluable "bonus" reference material

CONS:
- Not for beginners
- Some fragile parts




THE PLANE

After achieving good results in the early '30s, the Regia Aeronautica failed to recognize the ongoing changes in the aerial warfare.
Still considering maneuverability above speed, FIAT engineers developed the CR-42, arguably the climax of the biplane fighter design: the top expression of a dead-end concept.
As it became clear that the CR-42 was severely outperformed by its monoplane opponents, it was relegated to light attack and night fighter roles. Nevertheless, this sturdy and agile plane fought wherever Italian troops did (with the exception of Russia), also employed by the Luftwaffe, exported to Belgium, Sweden and Hungary, and still being produced in 1944!



IN THE BOX

Well, the content of the box is just impressive!
There are two grey plastic sprues plus the one with transparent pieces, instructions and decals sheet, all packed in a plastic bag. The value is both in quality and quantity: no less than six different planes can be realized with this kit, either in Italian, Swedish, or Luftwaffe markings. Optional parts include three complete gear sets (hulled, "naked" and skis), two spinners, bombs with their racks, and night fighter equipment (alternative intake, flashlight pods, exhaust extensions and generator airscrew).
Pieces are finely molded, with almost no flash and an excellent detail level, including cockpit internals.



These four pictures are taken from Italeri website

But this kit also contains a great addition: in the box, Italeri provides a colour-printed reference booklet (in English) containing a brief history of the plane, several historic pictures, plus a HUGE walkaround of a restored CR-42 (over 50 detailed photos!), and even drawings of all internal components taken from the original spare parts catalogue! This is an OUTSTANDING addition, pure gold for a modeler, adding great value to an already great release.

One negative point: in my kit, the central pin of the propeller and two pins of the collector ring piece were broken (luckily, this could be fixed with some extra work). Actually, the presence of many small and thin parts makes this kit vulnerable to mishandling.

NOTE: Italery also sells a 1/72 CR.42AS in a different release, which is basically the same kit with different equipment options. Such kit is reported to be as good as this one, but without reference booklet inside.



BUILDING

This isn't going to be a straight and easy job, due to the structure of the plane itself. Instructions are simple enough, and they show clearly which pieces are needed for each different version. But my advice is to leave the building of the upper wing as the last step, or it will interfere with painting and weathering.

The detail of cockpit parts is amazing, featuring not only control panels, but also the visible internal frame. There are decals for the gauges, and they are highly accurate (the seatbelts decal, instead, can be avoided, being black and white - odd!).
Once the cockpit "box" is complete, it can be enclosed between the fuselage halves (the headrest may need to be shortened a bit). I found the matching of the two halves to be not perfect in the front area: in this case, privilege the belly, since the upper side will be covered by the machine guns cowling.
The lower wings and the tailplanes can be attached without any hassle (don't forget the little oil cooler exhausts), but now the job gets a little harder...
THE ENGINE: not too difficult (unless you have to repair broken pieces!). The two cylinder rings are finely detailed, and the exhausts collector ring is nice too: the assembled engine looks fine, and therefore the cowling comes in 4 pieces (front ring, side cowlings, and rear ring), in case you want to build it open and leave the engine in sight. Last comes the lower intake piece extending along the fuselage.
THE GEAR: whatever gear set you choose, pay attention, because struts are thin. They don't break too easily, but they are easy to bend and twis, so forcing them to fix into their dedicated holes may result in the finished gear being asymmetric. So, you should first care about fixing the main gear legs in the correct position and then adjust the struts the best you can. A little note about wheels: they are molded with a flattened side, which is supposed to face the ground (thus similating tyres deformation under the weight of the plane). This nice detail also helps you "cheating" a bit, in case you need to equalize the height of the legs to level out the model.
THE UPPER WING: this is the final and toughest part of the job. Once you have fixed the actuating arms on and under the ailerons, the correct positioning of the upper wing relies 100% on its struts (which, like with the gear, are prone to deforming), and an error here will severely compromise the look of the whole model. If you fix all struts onto the lower wings and fuselage, it will be almost impossible to attach the upper wing on them matching every single junction point AND still having the wing in the correct position; the same is true if you try the opposite way.
So what did I do? I attached only the inner struts (in dummy terms, the "V" and "N" shaped struts) onto the fuselage, then glued the upper wing on them, adjusted it in position and left it overnight. Once it had dried solid, I could glue the remaining struts having a little "tolerance", without risking to mess up the whole wing. That worked pretty good! Wires were the very last step.



PAINTING AND DECALS

As said above, there are decals for six alternative planes:
- "162-6" from 162° Squadriglia, 161° Gruppo Autonomo C.T., operating in Greece in 1941, painted in sand with green-brown mottling, light grey belly, white fuselage band and yellow nose;
- "367-2" from 367° Squadriglia, 151° Gruppo, 53° Stormo, operating in Northern Italy in 1939, painted in sand with green-brown mottling and light grey belly;
- "377-4" from 377° Squadriglia Autonoma C.N. (night fighter version), operating in Sicily in 1942, painted in gun gray (almost black) with white fuselage band;
- "300-7" from 300° Squadriglia, Gruppo Autonomo C.N., operating in Rome in 1942, painted in sand with green-brown mottling, light grey belly (but green upper wing undersurface), white fuselage band and brown upper nose;
- "N°12" from Wing F 9 (Swedish air force, version with skis), operating in Kiruna in 1942, painted in white with light grey belly;
- "N°86" from JG107 (Luftwaffe), operating in France in 1944, painted in "lizard" scheme (brown spots on olive green base) with light grey belly and yellow fuselage band.

I chose to make "162-2", which is also the plane portrayed by the photographic walkaround in the reference booklet. Such mottling scheme, of course, is better done with an airbrush. In order to get a similar result with a hand brush, I first painted the base colour (I preferred using light brown rather than sand), then the mottling was done with small brushtip strokes from multiple directions. Then I applied a second light brown layer using very thin paint: this way, the mottling gained a smoother "fading" look.
Note that propeller blades are to be painted grey on the front and black on the rear side.
There's not much stenciling on the real plane, so decals are few, but good: excellent printing and colors, RA roundels are provided both with white and transparent background. Squadron serials are maybe a little too large. The motto "Varda che te sbrego!" on the 162° Squadriglia logo means roughly "Whatch out! I'm gonna rip you open!" (The night fighter version also features a motto on its nose, which translates "I can't sleep anymore at night!").



CONCLUSIONS

This is really a great kit, probably one of Italeri's best jobs. The detail level is superb for this scale, the fitting is good and there are no evident flaws. But beware, this isn't going to be a piece of cake: the difficulties come from the subject itself, because of the many tiny parts that require careful handling and precision assembly. The kit is good, so it doesn't force you to an extra effort! Moreover, the included reference booklet is a precious addition.
So, if you are a beginner, the risk of messing up is high. But if you're not scared by struts and mottling, this kit can give you great satisfaction. Highly recommended!



See you to next review!