The M.C. 200 Saetta was a single-seat interceptor fighter, fighter-bomber aircraft. It had several versions. This conversion is to adapt the Italeri Kit # 2676 to an earlier version. Italeri released the earlier version as a serie 2a in Kit #2711, but that release missed some of the earliest versions, called the serie 1a, distinctive features. There were “serie” modifications to the MC.200 so use a reference photo because the use of prop spinners or no spinner, covered and open canopy’s, different rollover bar structures, a sliding canopy assembly and a mass balance vertical tail versus a straight tail demarcation line, radios and no-radios, two types of props, and even some wing guns when the C.202 wing was used on final production variants all come under this “general production” version nomenclature. This is where the Pavla conversion comes in handy despite the second Italeri # 2711 Serie 2a release.

 So how many MC.200’s were made that this conversion potentially relates to?

1.      Macchi Serie I, 99 units from serial numbers MM4495-4593 built from June 1939 to March 1940 built by Macchi.

2.      Macchi Serie I, 82 units from serial numbers MM5081-5162 built from July 1940 to September  1940 built by Breda.

3.      Macchi Serie I, 24 units from serial numbers MM4857-4880 built from July 1940 to January 1941  built by SAI-Ambrosini.

With some additional minor work on the exhaust you could even have most of the parts used in the prototypes.

This conversion was targeted for the very nice Italeri Kit # 2676 MC.200 Saetta Serie I. The conversion includes two full canopies, decking for the fuselage behind the cockpit, replacement rudder, propeller and prop hub, and squared retractable rear wheel doors. Also included are decals for four aircraft. Some surgery is required depending on the donor kit but full instructions are included.

 When Italeri released the M.200 kit in its #2711 2a Serie version I thought that would eliminate the usefulness of the Pavla conversion. I thought you could save the cost of buying the Pavla 48-38 conversion set and avoid the cutting and work involved in a conversion.    Not so fast!

This conversion kit is still useful, and perhaps even more now because the Italeri release is for a Serie 2a which although it has the earlier enclosed cockpit misses the finer points of the earlier Macchi MC.200 Saetta Serie I and Ia. Also, you no longer have to do the kit surgery of cutting down the rear spine and the filling and sanding that goes along with that. You still have to remove the tail.

 While recently building the Classic Airframes kit #403 MC.200, Special Hobby Kit 48-033, MC.200 Serie I and both versions of Italeri MC.200’s, all of which are in 1/48^th scale, I noticed some unique changes and accompanying color schemes that Macchi MC.200’s appeared in thanks to an excellent book by MMP, the Macchi C.200 Saetta Orange Series # 8113, which was recently reviewed in Modeling Madness. 

After some enjoyable reading of the MMP book, I realized I could expand the range of building choices using the Pavla conversion. So, instead of it becoming “obsolete” due to a new release by a manufacturer you now can have the continued choice of some very interesting and colorful modeling options related to the MC.200. You have the added bonus of using the newer Italeri release to eliminate some of the work previously required to use this set because the rear headrest bump is gone in the Italeri 2a serie version and the Special Hobby 1 Serie “Bubble Canopy” release.

The Pavla kit provides very nice instructions on how to accomplish the conversion. It provides the two types of headrests/rollover structures found on the early MC.200’s plus what I really want and need – some four-view paint & coloring diagrams with their decals. Yes, decals in a conversion set. This Pavla conversion set includes decals for four options. While it’s not the first time I have seen this, it is rare to have the decals provided. It gives me what I actually want in more conversion sets – decals and painting diagrams otherwise piecing the decal parts or getting a custom made set can become a dead end in building that unique variant that you want to build.  The parts allow you to build a very early “I Serie”  with the open tubular roll-over bar and headrest or the later I Serie roll-over structure that incorporates a keel like structure inside the “bubble” canopy. The inclusion of the prop spinner, rudder with the straight edge and no mass balance, revised straight doors for the tail wheel and prop blades to better represent the early use of a Fiat Hamilton-Standard 34DI-1 prop is of great help. The Piaggio P.1001 prop was the most commonly used prop on the C.200 but I could not find any reference pictures to help with this area. Perhaps they are similar in appearance and the change was from a constant velocity prop to a variable velocity prop in the later versions.

Pavla offer you four sets of markings with this conversion, including:

C.200 MM 5089 of 372° Squadriglia, 153° Gruppo Autonomo, Brindisi, Italy, November 1940.

C.200 of 81° Squadriglia, 6° Gruppo, 1° Stormo CT. Catania-Fontanarossa, August 1940.

C200 of 369° Squadriglia, 152° Gruppo, 54° stormo CT, Treviso S.Angelo.

C200 of 88° Squadriglia, 6° Gruppo, 1° Stormo CT, Catania, winter 1940-41.

What I really liked and found in the markings is C.200 of 81° Squadriglia, 6° Gruppo, 1° Stormo CT. Catania-Fontanarossa, August 1940 uses the rare three point antenna wire attachments similar to early P-40’s. I have always wanted to build this version. Also, the C.200 of 369° Squadriglia, 152° Gruppo, 54° stormo CT, Treviso S.Angelo has the tri-color tail markings which are relatively rare and even rarer to find decals to represent.

Exact Conversion Kit Contents

Packed in Pavla's familiar vac formed clear box all the parts are contained in this blister pack. You get:

2 - vac formed canopies with the thee portions separated to allow an open canopy.

2 - resin canopy rails with their related 4 - resin canopy rail end pieces.

1 - upper fuselage decking behind the seat with the re-enforced headrest and keel for Serie 1a & 2a.

1 - additional resin tubular headrest re-enforcement structure for early MC.200 versions.

3 - prop blades, 1 – prop spinner and 1 - prop boss.

2 – early square rear wheel doors.

3 - small sheets of decals.

1 - six page instruction booklet.

There are two clear and well formed canopies since Pavla supplies a spare. The canopies are formed with a small area between each of the three sections to permit cutting it to get an open cockpit view. The canopies are sturdy but may need some support on the inside. Pavla's canopies will improve the look of your Saetta giving a better in scale appearance. The quality of the plastic and the transparency is very good. I liked seeing the rivet detail around the area where the windscreen meets the fuselage – this is a nice touch. There are two resin rails to attach to the fuselage that the vac-canopy then fits onto. Pavla also includes the four tiny resin parts to represent the stop ends on the rails. This, the rails, is a two part plastic unit in the Special Hobby 48-033 kit.

Surgery is required to remove the kits fuselage hump directly behind the pilot and the tail rudder. There is a fair bit of plastic to remove if you use the early Italeri kit or the Classic Airframes kit. The Special Hobby 48-033 kit and newer Italeri kit don’t need this surgery.  The cut runs along a panel line, so the task should not be too difficult. The resulting gap is filled by a resin insert that forms a new flat deck behind the pilot. You can avoid this by using the newer Italeri # 2711 kit or SH kit. The resin part includes a headrest and the representation of tubular supports. There is a little bit of flash around the headrest, but a sharp knife or carving tool in a cleanup mode will fix this flash. There is a keel or re-enforcing plate required for two of the four versions depicted in this conversion. This is essentially what comes with the Special Hobby release – a keel for this version in a resin add-on part. The keel or plate with drilled out holes sits directly behind the pilots’ headrest and is for a later version 1a Serie. The painting instructions are helpful on this point confirming whether you need to fit it for the version you are building.

The replacement propeller unit comprises of three nicely cast propeller blades, a spinner cap and a propeller boss. Attaching the blades to the prop boss will be challenging and here’s where use of the UMM-USA PropMaster jig for propellers (PM-02 1/48) is recommended. This is a fantastic tool and has helped me with many kits, especially the limited run types from Eastern Europe. Actually, I have used it a few times with the props of mainstream manufacturers to make sure the props were well aligned to avoid the not quite right look of some props after the glue sets. If you have a kit where the prop hub and propeller blades are separate parts you need the UMM-USA PropMaster jig for propellers (PM-02 1/48). The blades are butt joined to the boss, so I would use metal pins to connect them as well.

The replacement rudder requires some cutting to remove the kit rudder in all the four kits I mentioned because they all have the rudder with a mass balance. The taped ribs on the rudder will look good under a few coats of paint. The rear wheel well requires some reshaping by squaring off with a knife or file to accommodate the resin retractable doors. Again check the color references in the instructions because the door is just for the earliest versions.

All aircraft feature three color camouflage on the upper surface. The color call outs are spelled out in Italian and Czech with no brands indicated. The base color is Giallo Mimetico 4, with blotches of Verde Mimetico 2 and Bruno Mimetico over it. All undersurfaces are Grigio Mimetico which is a light gray.

The decals are printed by Boaagency. They come separately bagged from the rest of the components. The crispness is evident and they are very thinly printed with good registry, nice color density and there is minimal carrier film. The decal has no national marking or stencils and you will have to source them from the kit or other decal sources. You do get what you really need which is the specific code and aircraft numbers, tail insignia and unit badges. There is a small correction sheet for some of the badges which is not a reflection on the quality. It looks like the squadron badges on the original printing face the same way and they in fact have a left and right side version so they all face forward once on the fuselage.

I liked the kit instructions which consisted of six pages of black and white drawings providing instructions on how to modify the kit and add the Pavla resin parts. My only concern is the color call-out instructions are clear but there are no color references regarding paint manufacturers bottle codes or FS color standard numbers. It’s not a big deal because the names that Pavla supplies are easily referenced on the internet or known to experienced Italian aircraft modelers not to mention the plastic injection donor kits usually have them.

I am a fan of Italian aircraft from WWII. This conversion set is ideal to change the out of the box Macchi MC.200 Saetta into the early I series  and 1a aircraft. There is a considerable difference between the versions you get OOB from Italeri, Special Hobby and Classic Airframes. It definitely is not a case that all you need is to re-scribe a few panel lines. This is an excellent release, not only supplying resin and vac formed parts, but also the decals and some drawings to match. I recommend this conversion kit as having a lot of value and it is not an overly ambitious project with too much of a challenge. This conversion will not take too much time to complete. Despite the release of the newer Italeri # 2711 it still fills in the gap only now it is made easier because you can use the #2711 Italeri kit and not have to cut down the headrest!  Excellent job Pavla!

Macchi C.200 SAETTA, Orange Series # 8113, Stratus Books, Mushroom Model Publications 2012

Aero Detail #15 MC.200 + 202 + 205

C.200 Saetta Scale Aviation Modeler International Vol. 2 # 8 August 1996

AeroMaster decal # 48-154 MACCHI C.200 SAETTA

SKYModels decal # 48-021 MACCHI C.200 SAETTA

January 2013

Andrew Garcia

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