Fine Molds 'Porco Rosso' Savoia S.21F 1/72

[Jur]

Triggered by Mikey-1980's thread on his excellent 1/48 Porco Rosso Savoia S.21 ...

... I watched the movie and inevitably succumbed to the temptation to build one myself. To fit with my other models I ordered the 1/72 version from Japan which arrived a couple of days ago.

 

 

I'm not going to explain the background to this plane here, Mikey-1980 told something about it in his thread and for the rest, just go and watch the movie, it is absolutely brilliant!

 

In 1/72 scale this is quite a small model but the kit looks good and comes with some nice extras: seated figures of Porco and Fio, a beach trolley and a display stand. The parts appear to fit very well and there are not too many of them, so hopefully this can be a quick build. It better be because I have too many on the go already

 

The molding is reasonably detailed for the scale with recessed panel lines and some cockpit details. It is not exactly a big model:

 

 

 

Mine is the S.21 F model, the later version repaired and modified by Fio Piccolo after Porco's original plane got shot down by Donald Curtiss (I told you to go and watch the movie!). It has a bigger engine and some other mods. Actually, the kit comes with two alternative engines, the new Fiat AS.2 one as in the movie (on the left) and another one which isn't the original Isotta Fraschini but something else entirely - I don't know what it is and why it is included (on the right):

 

 

This screen shot from the film clearly shows the new engine:

 

 

FInally, there are transfers (Oi, that dates me 🤪 - I mean decals) for the wing markings and the floats/fuselage undersides (which I won't be using) and a larger scale statue of Fio.

 

 

 

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First things first, some priming and masking. I find painting over red always hard so I applied some white Tamiya primer over the parts I want to paint, and masked out the areas on the wings and tail fin where the green for the national flag will come. This is now drying. I also already assembled the engine and the floats which all came together very easily.

 

 

This looks like a fun little build!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jur]

I knew there was a reason I stopped painting wargame armies a long time ago:

 

 

Marco and Fio.

[Jur]

Some more painting. I picked out the interior details although I doubt if you can see this once Porco and Fio are in their seats.

 

 

As always my masking leaves to be desired, the green has bled onto the white. I'm not sure how to prevent this. After I masked the white (Tamiya tape) I applied another blast of white primer in the hope that it would seal the tape but that has only partially worked. I guess sealing the panel lines is always going to be hard. I don't know why it bled on the fin - it did that on both sides in the same place!

 

I'll let it dry overnight and touch it up tomorrow.

[Bengalensis]

Looking good 👍

[Marklo]

Lovely build so far. I find masking like that can be hit or miss. Using a cocktail stick to smooth down the edges can help.

[Mikey-1980]

Absolutely fantastic start and I am so glad you enjoyed the movie too

 

I know it sounds cheesy, but Studio Ghibli really did save my life from a very dark period of my life. Especially this movie in particular. 

 

Very much looking forward to seeing your work

[Jur]

What makes a good move a great movie is if it helps you getting through tough times!

 

Yesterday I touched up the white with a brush. Then installed the internals and closed the fuselage which went together very well.  Next I sprayed the undersides of the fuselage and floats brown. I should have primed but I didn't, and the (Vallejo) paint struggled a bit to grip, but a few very thin mists gave it something to hold on to (I hope) and it came out OK.

 

I made a start spraying the wings and various other bits red using a Tamiya rattle can TS 8. This is where I think I made a mistake. To try and avoid leakage underneath the masks on the wing underside I brushed some green over the mask edge between the green and the (future) red. It now turns out that the Tamiya spray paint has trouble properly covering this green. After 2 coats it still shines through very clearly. I should have used some clear varnish instead. Grrrr.

 

 

You can see it at the tip of the tweezers, and even more so on the left side. I'm pondering what to do now:
 

1. keep blasting away with the rattle can until the red completely covers all of it. The risk is that it needs lots of coats and the paint comes on too thick;

 

2. brush paint a bit of red or even white over the green and re-cover with the spray can. Even more risk of it all getting too thick;

 

3. Try and strip off the paint just outside the mask edge and re-spray. Problem here is that I don't know how to strip the spray paint, this is a very tough paint in my experience. It may need some agressive stuff like nail varnish remover. If I can get it off it will surely damage the mask and probably the green underneath so I will end up basically stripping everything and having to redo the entire thing. Not a problem, as long as I can be sure that it will all work out ok!

 

4. Give it one or two more spray coats and live with it. This is the underside of the wing and the area affected sits right above the floats so in practice it can barely be seen, and if spotted I could explain it away as a shadow or weathering effect. This of course is the risk-free option

 

Whilst I think about this I will finish the fuselage and give that a coat of red.

[Mikey-1980]

Is it worth letting the wing soak in a bath of dettol to remove the paint altogether and start again?

 

I keyed the red polymer very lightly with 1000grit paper prior to painting and it seemed to grip really well.

[Marklo]

I’d be inclined to carefully brush paint with a Matt red, then possibly polish it back a bit with micro mesh or similar, there is a risk it might bleed under the tape. I frequently have this problem with PC10 and using Tamiya khaki as an under coat works well.

[Jur]

Well it turns out I was worrying too much. With another couple of blasts from the rattle can the green has almost disappeard and I decided to leave it. Unpeeling the masks showed that it was mostly good with only a few tiny specks to be touched up.

 

Here I put the thing together for fitting, wing and engine are still loose. It is very shiny so I will tone it down with some semi-gloss varnish before final fitment. I primed the stand gloss black because I may apply Vallejo aluminium colour but perhaps I'll leave it black as it is.

 

 

 

I said earlier that I sprayed it with Tamiya TS8, actually it is TS49 Bright Red. Looking good either way.

[Mikey-1980]

Looks fantastic in flight!

[Jur]

46 minutes ago, Mikey-1980 said:

Looks fantastic in flight!

A pig's gotta fly!

[DMC]

Nice! Now going to have to watch the DVD again

 

Dennis

 

[Jur]

I had another close look at Marco, armed with my reading glasses + Optivisor + magnifying lamp all combined, and I realised that he is actually wearing his sunglasses, so I added a few more microns of paint and he looks better now.

 

 

Then came the last bits: the two small decals, Fio, the windscreens, the gun sight and the simple rigging (from guitar string); then fixed the wing, and I think she's finished

 

 

I'm happy enough with her. Still debating if I want to spray the stand Aluminium or leave it as it is now. Thoughts?

 

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