Reggiane RE.2000 Falco

BRIEF HISTORY

The Reggiane Re.2000 Falco I is an Italian all metal, low-wing monoplane developed and manufactured by aircraft company Reggiane. The type was used by the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) and the Swedish Air Force during the first part of the Second World War.

The Re 2000 was developed by a team headed by aircraft designers Roberto Longhi and Antonio Alessio to be a lightly built and highly maneuverable interceptor/fighter aircraft. The emergent design, which had been designated as the Re 2000 Falco I, was equipped with a Curtiss-Wright-style retractable undercarriage, bore substantial similarities to the American-built Seversky P-35. On 24 May 1939, the prototype performed its maiden flight. Flight testing of the prototype revealed it to be able to outfight several significant combat aircraft of the time, including even the more modern Macchi C 200 and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters. During the run up to and following the outbreak of the Second World War, the aircraft was ordered by several nations, including the Hungarian, Swedish, British and Italian governments.

Upon entering squadron service, the Re 2000 soon proved to be a technically advanced aircraft, being well balanced and extremely aerodynamic during flight, but was not without its faults. Although the aircraft was potentially superior to Italian contemporary fighters (Fiat G 50 and Macchi C 200), the Re 2000 was not considered to be satisfactory by Italian military authorities. Consequently, the manufacturer built the type for export and almost all of the first production served with the Swedish Air Force and Hungarian Air Force, rather than in the Regia Aeronautica. The Re.2000 served as the starting point for several derivatives, including the MÁVAG Héja, Reggiane Re.2001, Re.2002, Re.2003, Re.2004, Re.2005, Re.2006 and Re.2007 combat aircraft.

OUR SCALE MODEL

Designed by professional designer Carlo Cestra© (see his website here) this beautiful model is composed by major parts like fuselages, wings and engine cowling casted in a special resin very close to polystyrene plastic, easyìly workable, low sanding dust and all repmaining parts in 3D printed hi-res resin (ecological water based), including 3D printed clear canopies and position lights. Due to the characteristic of this clear resin to become a little foggy after post-processing, we have included a small bottle of special clear water based varnish to restore the original transparency. Model includes Tauro decals and 3D printed decals from Metallic Details (UA).