Which Macchi?

The Macchi C.205V Veltro is the definitive wartime fighter brought into production by Macchi factory. Introduced in early 1943, it wads not made in large enough numbers to impact the war as by that time Italy was on its last legs. However, after the capitulation, the Germans seized several Italian fighters, including the C.205V, before finally agreeing to allow the socialist Italian government to form its own armed forces. The Macchi was still being manufactured as most of the aircraft production facilities, being based in northern Italy, had not been targeted by Allied bombers. The new-formed Italian air force (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana) fought mostly to protect those factories. There are a few miniatures companies making the C.205V, and what follows is my thoughts on three of them (one being defunct).

Left to right: Leading Edge Miniatures, Flight Deck Decals, and Raiden Miniatures

Flight Deck Decals

From a quality perspective, while all three companies mentioned here offer a good product, Flight Deck Decals has the most appeal. Cleanly printed with high quality material, it is a wonderful miniature. However, there are no barrels for the wing-mounted cannons. The print is fully detailed, including the under surfaces. Cost is a little over two dollars per Macchi. Keep in mind that FDD does not list many 1/285th aircraft on their site, but will do custom work with a minimum dollar order. If I was to go with just one choice, Flight Deck would be it.

Leading Edge Miniatures

While this company is no longer available, I was able to pick up a few castings recently from Noble Knight Games. For an older metal casting, the Leading Edge range is rather good, and their Macchi is no exception, however there is some slight metal potting/pitting on the wing surfaces and the casting needs a bit of cleanup. Having purchased a slew of Leading Edge Miniatures of late, I can say this seems to be a bit of a problem as I see this potting on a few of the planes I picked up, while others were perfect. The Leading Edge casting does have the wing cannons present. Details on the undersides of the Leading Edge range are nonexistent. 

Raiden Miniatures

While Raiden usually offers a nice quality product, their Macchi casting suffers a bit, at least the pair I have are showing some concerns. There is a decent of prep work needed to bring the plane into a paint ready stage, with extra metal bits here and there (see pictures). There are also some roughness issues on the wing edges, and the lack of detail on the undersides is a bit of a bummer. Overall the Raiden range is very good, so I am thinking there might be a bit of a mold issue with the Macchi. From a customer service perspective, I-94, the owners of the Raiden range, is the best.

All three aircraft are scaled rather well, with the Leading Edge having a slightly larger wingspan (about one millimeter) and a slightly "heftier" fuselage. The Flight Deck and Raiden offerings match very well, with no noticeable size differences. I would not hesitate to use all three companies on the same tabletop.