Special Hobby Fiat G.50B Bicomando (SH32083) 1:32

[Mike]

Fiat G.50B Bicomando (SH32083)

1:32 Special Hobby

 

 

The G.50 was Italy’s first all-metal monoplane with retractable undercarriage, and was in-service by 1938, performing well amongst its contemporaries.  It was somewhat short-ranged, and had issues with its initial armament being a little light, originally consisting of two .50cal equivalent machine guns in the wing.  The Hawker Hurricane could out-fly it however, as well as being faster by a good margin, and as time went by the shortcomings became more apparent.  Several attempts to remedy its problems were made, including improvements to the engine, more fuel and armament changes, but even the installation of a Daimler Benz 601 didn’t give it enough of a boost.  By this time the G.55 was designed and production was underway, taking full advantage of the DB engine at the start of its journey to obtain an excellent reputation as a good all-round fighter.  Under 800 of the G.50 were made, with around 100 of the G.50B Bicomando two-seat trainers amongst them, and over half of the rest as the G.50 Bis, that took the airframe as far as was practical.

 

 

The Kit

The one-seater variant of this kit has been around for almost 10 years now, but this boxing is the two-seat trainer, so a rare beast indeed.  It arrives in a standard top-opening box in the Special Hobby style, and inside are five sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, two identical sheets of Photo-Etch (PE), a big bag of resin parts, decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour with markings profiles on the rear pages.  The major detail of this kit is to be found in the resin and PE parts, the styrene providing the structure on which to base your exploits.  The resin especially is crisp, and is it just me, or do those cylinders look a little bit like stylised owls?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit, building up the twin rudder pedals on a resin part that has the retention straps added from the PE sheet, one of each placed in the cockpit stations with a pair of flat foot pads under each pilot’s legs.  Twin control columns and levers are also fixed to the deck, and the seats are built up from a styrene chair with two brackets at the back, then a set of seatbelts and harness with chain sections for the pilot, shown being made up in steps for your ease.  The ‘pits are separated by a pair of C-shaped bulkheads, and each pilot has a two-section instrument panel made up into an almond shape, with decals applied to the surfaces to depict the dials.  A resin trim adjustment wheel is inserted between a folded PE A-frame for later installation in the rear cockpit.  The fuselage halves have detail moulded into their interiors, which is augmented by adding several panel sections on the port side with PE levers and styrene trunking, plus a side console on the starboard along with other dials, equipment and an oxygen cylinder.  Two of the decal schemes need a small section of the aft cockpit opening removed to be replaced later by clear panels, the location for which is marked in red on the instructions along with the schemes that require this simple alteration.  With that work complete as well as painting and weathering of the cockpit, the fuselage can be closed around the cockpit, remembering to install the trim wheel and the instrument panels at the front of each cockpit, and a rest at the back of the rear seat.  The lower wings are full span and have the simple gear bays moulded into their surface, needing just a pair of resin filters inserting into the leading-edge intakes before gluing down the upper wings, then dropping the fuselage in between the gaps.  The elevators have separate flying surfaces, and are all made from top and bottom layers, allowing you to deflect them as you see fit, and the rudder is fixed to the moulded-in fin to complete the empennage.  There are a couple of adverts for their own resin sets at this juncture, including a handsome pair of wheels and a stylish Italian pilot figure.  You can’t blame them for a little self-promotion!

 

Speaking of resin, there’s a lot of it to be used in the next few steps, so make sure you have it all removed from its casting blocks and cleaned of any residual mould release agent before you begin.  The engine is built up around the central core, adding each cylinder, its trunking and push-rods as you progress, noting that the push-rods should be made from 0.3mm diameter wire from your own stocks, each cut to 8mm long.  There are sixteen cylinders in all, so be prepared for a bit of work.  The completed engine has an adaptor plate fixed to the rear to facilitate mounting on the fuselage later, but first the two-part cowling and the horseshoe exhaust pipe should be glued around it, using the resin upper section for one decal scheme, and plastic parts for the rest.  The main wheels are each built from two halves, and are trapped between two halves of a yoke at the end of the main gear legs, one side separate to ease installing the wheels.  Each leg also has a captive door added to the outside, and as they are inserted into the bays, a retraction jack and PE ancillary bay door are included.

 

The engine is mated to the front of the fuselage in the closing stages along with a resin intake trunk under the chin, installing the canopy over the front half of the cockpit, leaving the back open, but replacing the removed fuselage sections with the clear panels on the sprue.  A pair of pitot probes are inserted into the leading edge of the wings, with four horn-balances top and bottom of the ailerons, a short pin on top of the fin, a clear light in the tip of the tail, plus the prop, which is built around a two-part central boss, into which the three blades are inserted, with a choice of leaving the axle stub visible, or putting a two-part spinner on the front.  The last job is to install the two-part tail wheel into its yoke and insert it into a hole in the fuselage under the tail.

 

 

Markings

There are a choice of four disparate markings options on the decal sheet, under the auspices of various operators.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Black 136, MM6425, Advanced Flying School, Regia Aeronautica, Italy, 1941
• No.3510, MM6477, 1 Sqn., 1 Group, Air Base, No.1, Croatian Air Force, Zagreb-Borongaj, Croatia, June 1942
• B, MM unknown, Luftwaffe, Italian Social Republic, Mid 1943-early 44
• Black 1, MM6843, 3ᵃ Squadriglia, 2° Gruppo Scuola Volo, Aeronautica Militaire, Brindisi, Italy, 1946

 

 

 

The decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.  I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film.  It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain.

 

 

Conclusion

An unusual subject to hit 1:32 scale in one seat fighter, never mind two-seat trainer guises.  There’s plenty of detail to be had, as long as you remember that you can’t just pour glue in, shake the box and out drops a model.  Put some skill and effort into it and great replica will be the result.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of