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LF Thoughts on Sword 1/72 Fiat G.55 Centauro 2 in 1 release


Wm Blecky

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I am looking at picking up one or two of this new release from Sword - 1/72 Fiat G.55 Centauro, 2 in 1 kit.

 

Any thoughts on this one from those who already have it.  Also, has there been any resin, photoetch or canopy mask sets released for it?

 

Thanks.

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I recently bought the Sword G.55, and am very pleased with it. Looks to be accurate, crisply molded, excellent surface detail, convincing small parts, and a very complete level of detail molded in to the cockpit and wheel wells—you shouldn’t need much in the way of aftermarket. Gives you both styles of vertical tail (though the early one requires surgery). The only non-styrene part in the kit is a well-detailed resin insert for the central wheel well. Excellent decals with a great selection of 6 colorful post-armistice ANR color schemes.

 

The only real competition is the Special Hobby kit. This seems about equal in terms of accuracy, but is a typical older limited-run kit which looks to be a more difficult build. Slightly softer molding, a lot of resin and PE parts, vac-form canopies. You do get a nice film/PE “sandwich” instrument panel and PE seat belts which Sword lacks, though. I believe SH offers the “Sottoserie 0” and “Serie 1” versions as separate kits—mine is the latter.

 

As a caveat, I haven’t built either one! But the Sword kit + a Yahu instrument panel and some aftermarket seat belts looks like the winning combo to me.

 

Edited by MDriskill
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23 hours ago, Wm Blecky said:

I am looking at picking up one or two of this new release from Sword - 1/72 Fiat G.55 Centauro, 2 in 1 kit.

 

Any thoughts on this one from those who already have it.  Also, has there been any resin, photoetch or canopy mask sets released for it?

 

Thanks.

An aftermarket resin set as well as a vacu canopy had been sold on Sword's stand @ Modelbrno 2017, when the kit was presented.

This was from another (cottage industry) manufacturer though, not from Sword themselves.

It contains air intake, seat and wheels.

The quality of the vacu was rather poor with ill-defined outlines, and it took me three attempts (and canopies) to produce a single piece I could use.

I am currently abroads and far away from my workbench, but will happily give you more details about the manufacturer and his name and website once I'm back home - which will be in 3 weeks, so please bear with me.

(I used the resin pieces and canopy on my 2017 build of this kit which you can find in my "2017 Yearbook" gallery - if that is of any help.)

Edited by Roman Schilhart
added info
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You need to discover “Scalemates,” mate. It’s basically a scale-modeling-only Google.

 

Search there for any subject and scale you can think of, it will instantly list every kit ever made. Then click on the kit of your choice, and you will see a comprehensive list of box variations, release dates, decal sheets, accessories, reviews, and published references for it.

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/1076241-sword-sw-72104-fiat-g-55

 
Edited by MDriskill
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10 hours ago, The Wooksta! said:

Don't automatically trust Scalemates to be correct.  The few times I've used it, I've found a fair few errors and omissions.

That's as may be, but in general, it's quite useful for finding reviews of kits or information on their provenance. 

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If it's anything like their Seafire 17, two of whatever is stated on the box.  The Seafire I found to be excellent value for money, especially with the spare Seafire XV (late) fuselages included.

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On 2/19/2018 at 8:09 AM, Graham Boak said:

Just out of interest, does the double pack include one of each variant or two generic kits?

The kit has no option for the early pre-production G.55’s with 4 nose-mounted machine guns. It makes up only as a later aircraft with wing cannon, but these were manufactured with two different styles of vertical tail. 

 

The later-style fin and rudder is molded integrally, with the earlier version provided as a separate part, requiring a bit of surgery. The kit’s decals cover the full range of colorful options for the G.55, including 2 early and 4 late machines.

Edited by MDriskill
Minor compulsive/obsessive tendencies
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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry for delay in respondig, I just returned home after a couple of weeks abroads.

Here's the aftermarket set for the Sword Fiat G.55:

ee1f1ec3-0ffd-4ae1-8ae2-cdf93d0ab9ca.JPG

 

Another useful item, especially if you want to display the canopy in open position, is the "Italian Seatbelts" from MPM:

 

55c8b684-3a9b-4bd4-af76-e052c4b11bb2.JPG

 

Greetings from Vienna,

Roman

Edited by Roman Schilhart
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6 minutes ago, Wm Blecky said:

Thanks Roman.  Where did you get the resin set?

It was sold on Sword's stand @ Modelbrno last year, where the Fiat G.55 kit was presented.

I have not seen it listed by Hannants or any other store.

I suggest to contact the manufacturer directly via e-mail.

 

Edited by Roman Schilhart
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  • 4 months later...

Just recieved the Fiat G.55 kit in the mail today. These are stunning and nicely detailed kits from Sword. Detail is more than suitable and won't require much additional upgrades. I recently acquired Eduard's Italian WWII fighters seat belts in pre-painted steel Ref. 73043. Contains 7 sets. The Fiat G-55 kit will round off the Sword 1/72 Reggiane 6 kit boxing I have nicely. 

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