The Veltro is considered by many to be the best Italian fighter in World War II. But, it was too late to do any good for Italy as only a small number were in service at the time of the Sicily landings and three months later, the Italians surrendered. It was said that in the hands of a good pilot, it could defeat any Allied plane. When the prototype of the Veltro was built, there were two other planes competing for the same contract, the Fiat G. 55 Centauro and the Reggiane Re 2005 Sagittario. The Veltro was faster at medium and low altitude than it's competitors, and it was also sturdier than it's competitors. Equally maneuverable to the other types, it carried heavier armament. The main drawback was that the wings were basically the same on the much older MC.200 Saeta. This did not allow for the flexibility in terms of armament  that was desired. The plane flew first in 1942 and was starting to be incorporated into squadrons a year or so later. But, the plane never saw mass production with only 262 examples being built. The fighter was used to some extent by the Co-Belligerant Force with the Allies and the Aviazioni National R.S.I., the fascist supporters of Mussolini, after Italy fell. 42 examples were sold to Egypt post-war and some were used against the Israelis in their war for independence in 1948. Three examples exist today with at least one being flown from time to time.

I can remember Supermodel kits being around in the mid-1970s, so these are by no means new molds. They are, however, well done with nicely done detail. Despite the age of the kit, there is little in the way of flash. I did find some sink areas opposite alignment pins, but none of the usual problems evident with ejector pin markings. The control surfaces have a nice 'fabric' texture to them to help differentiate them from the rest of the plane.

The kit has a three piece canopy so you can display the cockpit open. You can also pose the aircraft in flight as a nice stand comes with the kit as does a pilot figure. An option for a sand filter is included as well. The part I really dislike are the rubber tires. One of mine has a distinct flat spot due to a molding glitch. I fear I'll be hunting for some replacements in the resin wheels bin at my local hobby shop. The wheel wells are not detailed or even enclosed so some updating in this area may be needed. A nice touch are the separate wing tip lights. It should come as no surprise that many of these bits are common with the MC.202 kit.

Instructions consist of two exploded construction views. No color information is provided during the construction phase as to what colors to paint things. This does not carry over to the decal and painting guide. Colors there are given, but only in generic names and not via FS 595 or other paint lines. For a plane like this, what is there is more than adequate. Markings are given for four aircraft. One is an R.A. plane in green upper with grey undersides. Then there is a post war 205 in overall aluminum. A German plane is shown with upper surfaces in light green with dark green overspray and light grey undersides. A similar scheme is given for the ANR version. I'm a bit skeptical about these last two camo schemes so suggest some research if you are wanting to do one of them. The decals themselves are unusual for aircraft models in that they are dry transfers. One cuts out the decal, places it where it is desired and then, with a rounded, smooth instrument, rubs them down into place. I've not had the best of success with this type of decal, but I can tell you that the results are excellent as it nearly does away with the problem of silvering.

Supermodel kits have been around for many years, and are still the only source of several aircraft types. And that includes the MC.205. Though not state of the art, they can easily be made into very nice models and are such that most modelers will have no real problems with them.

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