[Epapazian]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

At least IXO has covered a couple of the French and Italian aircraft. Their MS 406 and MB 152 are pretty much middle of the road quality, but the D 520 looks really nice. They also seemed to do a better job on the MC 202. Now if only somebody could put out a MC 200 or the Fiat G 50.

I have all of the IXOs you mentioned along with many others and am generally satisfied with them once I correct their numerous errors or omissions. For example, the Dewoitine has a see-through radiator and is designed so you can't mount it on the stand with the radiator on. The MS-406 isn't bad providing you install the missing tailplane supports , change that tacky aqua green into Khaki, add the rest of the plane's serial under the wings and, if you are feeling frisky, you might apply the correct under surface color too. I think that the MC-202 is one of IXO,s best efforts, however, they forgot the white triangles that were painted on both wings--top and bottom--as a recognition aid and the "spinach" dabs on the upper wings seem to peter out unaccountably in certain locations. The camouflage job on the Bloch isn't half bad, but its effects are marred by oversized and oddly designed roundels, with huge blue dots at their centers. Like all IXOs, the add-on parts range from bad to terrible, particularly for the "wheels-up" option. Since these are mass produced magazine subscription give aways, the decisions that lead to the" errors" and manufacturing shortcuts are understandable. I have little doubt that the same factory could produce a Corgi-like product were it operating under a different set of specs, with shorter runs, a higher price per plane, and stricter supervision. Hopefully Hobby Master or some other quality-conscious diecast-maker will do some of these planes--the most likely being the MC-202-- sometime soon.