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Savoia Marchetti S.65 Schneider Cup, Karaya 1/72nd


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Well, I just got this one from Santa, and since I am away from the building board and surrounded by unruly British inlaws, I thought I should take my mind off things and psychologically shorten the time to get back home by doing these opening posts for this build.

There is a long cue of WiPs that I started, and am waiting for the decals to complete a few others, so this will not be Speedy Gonzalez style at any rate, just an opening gambit.

I got no magnifier nor tools with me at the moment, but I do have with me my portable hard drive with some references and the laptop.

 

This is not a new kit on the market, so I won't be doing a full review, just stating some impressions and making some comments.

Firsts impressions are cautiously optimistic. This is my first Karaya kit, a brand I stayed away so far due to their prices, however justified they may be because of to the medium and the quality.

The molding looks good, no pinholes, bubbles or blobs, parts being crisp and with reasonable pouring blocks that seem easy to detach and clean.

You get a dolly and trestles, a succinct interior -with some wall detail also- (yet not much will be visible anyway) and a relatively small part count. The windshield is cast as a sort of cage, not as a clear part. You may clean it (there is a bit of thin flash in many parts), paint it, and fill the voids with window-maker (clear glue), or just replace it with folded thin clear sheet.

The decals seem well printed and sharp. 

The float halves (total bananas in my sample) have locating devices, but show no location marks for the struts that I can see, which shall make things interesting.

The molding as said is quite good, yet not in the same league of -for example- SBS's offerings.

I got what it looks like a short pour on one of the trolley wheels, nothing terrible tough.

 

I see so far three noticeable issues:

1) The radiators on the wing have an exaggerated thickness, they would benefit from some toning down.

2) The kit has depicted an area immediately above the fuselage oil coolers as extra radiator surfaces (or something like that), but these areas (both sides) were actually windows, included to help the very restricted visibility the pilot had.

3) There is an abrupt transition (more like a cut-off section) of the fairings of the cylinder banks (fore and aft) mid-fuselage (cockpit area), which I don't think is correct. The windows -described above- located in panels seem in photos to make a less abrupt transition between the said volumes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As you look at photos you may realize that there was an early configuration with a different rudder (mainly just the upper half) and continuous elevator, smaller and taller windshield and a couple less struts connecting the tailbooms.

It was altered to a different, larger vertical stabilizer with some area now below the elevator, separated elevator halves, a couple more struts, and ultimately a longer, less intrusive windshield (but the taller windshield stayed for a while longer in spite of the mentioned changes)

 

The kit is missing a very small headrest seen in photos.

 

The book I mentioned in the M.39 thread

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Is also used as a reference for this build.

In it is mentioned that the floats may have been altered at some point to a flat bottom at the step, actually leaning symmetrically to the sides to avoid spray on the tail.

I could not yet corroborate this statement with photos, which tend not to show the plane from below of course.

 

 

 

 

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Two more things you will need to correct:

 

1) The outwardmost section of the wing radiators doesn't start exactly at the aileron, but a little inwards, extending on a narrow strip up to the trailing edge, like the other sections.

2) The tailboom fairings do not stop mid-stab as depicted on the kit, but go all the way to the elevator's trailing edge, of course dwindling down, that way they cover the control horns and associated cables.

 

It always surprises me how many things can be found just by attentively looking at photos, the most reliable source of information, instead of looking at plans, drawings, sketches and such.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic that manufacturers will release this type of kits, which I love (and try to support by buying them), but it irks me that details that are plain to see in photos easily accessed online, for free (and not having to enter the vaults at the Vatican library) are inaccurately depicted.

 

Google* and Learn, I say.

 

(*Use any search engine and learn)

 

From the SDASM (San Diego Air and Space Museum) Flickr photostream:

Savoia Marchetti S.65

 

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12 hours ago, Moa said:

It always surprises me how many things can be found just by attentively looking at photos, the most reliable source of information, instead of looking at plans, drawings, sketches and such.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic that manufacturers will release this type of kits, which I love (and try t support by buying them), but it irks me that details that are plain to see in photos easily accessed online, for free (and not having to enter the vaults at the Vatican library) are inaccurately depicted.

Amen, I always wanted to preach this mantra myself but it seems useless as it was stated so often but manufacturers still continue to solely rely on plans without remorse.

 

I am like you, but I'd even go further, these things bother me to the point that I've even started to refuse buying any kit where I've discovered such bugs that are too difficult to correct for me.

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More little surprises:

The long decals that go on the floats should have the white band in the middle of the two light blue ones centered at the tip of the triangle, not displaced to one side.

Again, surprised by how many things are plain there to see in photos that have been ignored, overlooked or misinterpreted.

So far I think a reasonably experienced modeler can deal with those, if of course it will no doubt lengthen the building time, and require a bit of research and patience.

 

 

In spite of the photo below, I haven't yet succumbed to the imperialistic and monarchic hordes at this bastion of Britishness,

IMG_4282.JPG

 

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6 minutes ago, Courageous said:

Another fantastic subject Moa, I have the same kit and book, both look excellent.

 

Stuart

I agree, Stuart, both look excellent.

I believe the book is.

The kit, although attractive and nice, will need quite a bit of effort to be put to more accurate standards.

Still, I am very glad I got it.

Cheers

 

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12 minutes ago, Moa said:

I haven't yet succumbed to the imperialistic and monarchic hordes at this bastion of Britishness,

Shore don't look like no breakfast McMuffin to me, Moa...maybe a mug of McEarl Grey? This build's going to be real interesting!

Mike

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3 minutes ago, Courageous said:

My goodies from Christmas.

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Stuart

Oh no, Sir.

That's too much good luck for one modeler.

Have you heard of the BM Modeling Tithe?

The (Unexpected) Spanish Inquisition will pay you a visit to re-distribute that wealth!

 

The Dornier project looks especially christmacy! I wasn't aware of a kit out there.

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 I see Santa was good to you, I got a Tamiya T55 (must build some armour come the new year I now have about 6 kits sitting in the stash) and a number of history/aircraft Books, so can’t  complain. 
 

Really looking forward to seeing some modelling break out on the thread :)

 

Edited by Marklo
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On 12/27/2019 at 2:17 AM, Marklo said:

 I see Santa was good to you, I got a Tamiya T55 (must build some armour come the new year I now have about 6 kits sitting in the stash) and a number of history/aircraft Books, so can’t  complain. 
 

Really looking forward to seeing some modelling break out on the thread :)

 

Good for you, Marklo!

Now...

Is the "Tamiya T55" a civil airliner I am not aware of?

Your mention of "armour" makes me skeptical.

Ts, ts, Marklo...:nono:

 

😉

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We are back home!
Yeepee!!
Good food, no babies, no dogs!!!
The trip back was a bit of drag, freeway construction, snow on the mountain passes and the unavoidable nightmare of our hated 405 freeway in LA, meant that the drive extended for nine hours straight (with a refueling stop). Grueling California traffic, exacerbated of course by the season, and the fact that 40 million Californians are on the road trying to get through the three thorough main fares that connect the Central Valley with LA and Beyond, a mathematical and physical impossibility.

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In their perennial search for accuracy (tongue in cheek here, of course), Karaya has filled the tires with air, but unfortunately this caused one wheel to miserably crumble at the least provocation:

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So to the spares bin it is, on the look for a suitable replacement pair.
I don't think I will be using this crumbly either. Not sure why Karaya didn't use a printed acetate, or some clear material to be folded accompanied by a frame decal or masks?

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The struts lost they pins in transit (if they were pins, may be they are rests of the pouring), sadly a common occurrence with resin bits. Matters not, as it's probably better to metal pin them:

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Parts are separated from their pouring blocks, sanded to eliminate rests of the attachment traces, and washed:

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Now tell me:

Instead of the extremely dubious (and frankly silly from an engineering perspective) prospect of butt-joining and aligning the tail-booms that have almost no contact surface (an no locating devices):

 

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Wouldn't have made much more sense to practice notches in the involved parts, and make the boom longer and self-aligning and self-locking (and therefore much more secure)?:

 

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I may do just that, carve notches and replace the booms with brass Strutz.

 

Sigh...

 

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10 hours ago, Moa said:

fact that 40 million Californians are on the road trying to get through the three thorough main fares that connect the Central Valley with LA and Beyond, a mathematical and physical impossibility.

No, Sir!

All it takes is a little bit of courage: the 40 million need to drive a lot faster and reduce the distance between one car to the other, and presto, no traffic jam.

Compared to your courage to tackle this kit that seems a trifle. However, the other 39 999 999 Californians may not be up to it.

Richard

https://www.alicat.com/fr/vue-densemble-des-techniques-de-mesure-de-debit-massique/

😉   (That is supposed to be the "tongue in cheek" emoji)

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