An Italian Fighter Blends Into the North African Desert

An Italian Fighter Blends Into the North African Desert

I wanted to build a World War II Italian Fighter plane.  Being of Italian descent, and having an uncle who served in North Africa with the American Army in 1943, I have taken a special interest in this theater of war. The model chosen is a Hasegawa 1/48 scale Macchi C.202 Folgore. I wanted to create a desert scene where the subject plane blends into the base… which is the reason camouflage paint schemes are used. This model won a First place in the Air Category at our October monthly meeting and is in the running for Model of the Year in the air category.    

I started with a 10” inch semi-oval wooden base. I covered the entire base with white glue and applied a layer of Golden Straw Turf #0595116 and Yellow Straw Turf #0595118, then waited 24 hours for it to dry. I then applied a layer of Fine Tan Gravel #0595304, using diluted white glue which I sprayed on the base. After this dried, I applied Dark Green Foliage-Fiber Clusters #0595068 in small, tight patches using thick white glue. I then added a 6” Royal Palm Tree #0596010 and a 9”, slightly cut down Palm Tree#0596009. I planted them by drilling holes and then applying CA glue. I think the finished product speaks for itself. I had never used or built bases for my models before. These easy to use JTT Scenery Products made “landscaping” simple. 

In the future, I expect to present all my models on finished bases.