Savoia-Marchetti S.55 Record Flight 1:72

Savoia-Marchetti S.55 Record Flight 1:72

The S.55 was a double hulled flying boat designed and built by Savoia-Marchetti in Italy in the early 1920s. Unusually the design accommodated passengers and cargo in the twin hulls and the pilots in the wing centre section. The engines were also unusual in that they were a pair of inline engines mounted above the wing in tandem, canted sharply up, driving contra-rotating propellers. The aircraft would become famous for a series of trans-Atlantic flights in the late 1920s & then the Italian Air Force taking a flight of 24 aircraft to the 1933 Chicago Century of Progress Exposition. The Aircraft would be used in a civil capacity in Italy, Russia and the USA. Military users were Italy, Brazil, Spain, and Romania. Only one aircraft survives today in Brazil, where bizarrely it was traded for Coffee Beans after its transatlantic flight there!

Short run style plastic model kit with resin & photo-etch parts. 'Short run style' means a style of model kit popularised by MPM, Special Hobby, Classic Airframes & even Eduard [ back in their early days ], requiring a fair bit of skill to build. Parts are mostly plastic, but have minimal or vague locating points, and may require trimming or sanding to fit properly. Short run kits have improved dramatically over the last 20 years to the point that they are becoming works of art ! The smaller production runs of these kits allow for subjects like this to be made. Tamiya will not make you a Savoia S.55 any time soon ! With a little bit of TLC, a stunning model can be accomplished. Check out a lovely review on Britmodeller for reference & enjoy this current 'Golden Age' of modelling.