Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 1/24 Hachette

[mc65]

Hi all,

 

I wasn't sure whether to start this topic, I don't even know if this kit qualifies as a model: I consider it more of a meaningless toy, but so be it.

I've decided to get my hands on this commissioned model that's been sitting in two huge boxes for too long. I hope to get something good out of it, given that it's a big clumsy plastic/metal/wood thing; that the recipient would like to see it finished before the next ice age; and that I know little to nothing about this plane, basically only the legendary part, with absolutely zero specifics on the technical side.

 

I'm therefore asking for the help of all good-willed modelers. In the meantime, I'm studying what I've already found generally on the web.

The model requested is the one Faggioni flew on his last foray to Anzio, from which he never returned. So, green on gray, ANR insignia... and I'll stop here; I haven't found any definitive numbers or serial numbers yet. The first thing I did was take a look at all the parts, divided into over 100 newsstand issues, a monstrous sight. Seen all together, they're scary, and look like something seized by the police...

 

The profile below is the best I've found so far to give a rough idea of what will emerge from the workbench. Now I'm trying to figure out where to tweak it to make it a little less toy-like and where to close my eyes.

 

 

I'm counting on you, LSP people, come on!

cheers, P.

Edited January 9 by mc65

[scvrobeson]

Interesting project, will be looking forward to it. 

 

 

Matt 

[mc65]

Hi,

I've started to sniff around the model, so let's try to shatter expectations right away: I have no intention of getting myself into a maze of impossible modifications. Before opening the boxes, I had in mind to improve here and there, perhaps reinterpreting a few things like the engines, the cockpit, and then going all out on the special effects with colors and weathering.

Well, today I can say that it's unlikely I'll be able to reinterpret anything: I thought it was a heavy plastic "kit", but it's actually heavy plastic with many metal alloy parts, zamak, or something like that.

An example: I assembled an engine and its mount, which, oversized, with exposed screws (and still required wire pins in some places; fit isn't exactly its strong point), weighs 50 grams.

 

The entire assembly (frame, engine, cowling, propeller) weighs over 250 grams.

 

This means that if I went crazy and wanted to redo the frame with profiles of a suitable cross-section, I'd have to use welded metal tubes, probably brass, to achieve the strength necessary to support the entire weight of the engine and more: under this frame goes the landing gear leg, which in turn will have to support the entire model, and if that's the case... it can't be done, amen.

It's a shame, because with a little more careful engineering, it would certainly have been possible to do better, especially considering the total cost of this kit, which I understand exceeds 1K euro.

 

Honestly, if a friend and former colleague hadn't asked me to, I wouldn't have agreed to build this thing. But it's already passed through several hands without hope of seeing the light of day, and its fate would have been forgotten in some cellar... let's give it a chance.

So, in addition to studying the model, I also tried to figure out which specimen I'd try to reproduce.

Disclaimer: Now a long and boring discussion begins, I warned you.

 

The aircraft: Carlo Faggioni ended his pilot career and his earthly life with his crew on the night of April 10, 1944, aboard an SM79 bis. We know this by cross-referencing data relating to the supply to the flight group by SIAI-Vergiate, which overhauled and upgraded the 79s before delivering them. These aircraft had the bomber's ventral gondola removed, as well as the bomb racks, replaced by an additional fuel tank. They were also equipped with exhausts with flame damper to make them less visible at night. 

 

The numerals are a bit uncertain: I found B1-06 in a text, but Italeri gives B1-00 in its decal sheet. Now, typically, the code 00 is reserved for the Wing Commander (external to the Group) and 01 for the Group Commander. However, I haven't been able to determine whether the ANR organization included a logistics structure that included a Wing above the Group. In any case, it's unlikely that the numeral 00 was used; 01 would have been more logical.

It should not be forgotten, however, that the action of April 10th occurred after the interception of April 6th, in which 13 aircraft were transferring from Lonate to Perugia with the intention of using the latter airfield as a springboard for nighttime attacks on the ships at Anzio. During this ferry flight, the SM.79s, loaded with weapons and specialists, were intercepted by seven P.47s, which massacred them, shooting down four and damaging the survivors, ensuring that no aircraft reached Perugia as planned.

Faggioni, having managed to make an emergency landing at Arezzo, apparently with aircraft registered 24327 (maybe the B1-01) subsequently reached Perugia, meanwhile instructing other crews to recover other operational aircraft at Lonate. The aircraft that took part in the action on the 10th were therefore partly the survivors of the 6th, repaired as best they could in Perugia between the 6th and the 10th, and partly those recovered at Lonate. In this context of events, it is not excluded, but rather probable, that there was a number 01 assigned to Faggioni in the flight group. However, it is equally more than likely that this was not operational, and that day he flew with what was available. 06, therefore.

 

The serial number, again cross-referencing various sources, seems most likely for the B1-06 aircraft to be 24310. 24327 is often indicated, also documented for the 281-4 aircraft in the Regia Aeronautica numbering system, before receiving ANR insignia and numerals. Serial number 24310, however, appears to be linked to a 79bis overhauled and modified by Siai-Vergiate, delivered in 1943, and lost in action on April 10, 1944. Other sources indicate 24317 as the serial number for the B1-06 aircraft, and secondly, but less likely, 24327. I would ultimately opt for 24310.

 

A curiosity: the old paint scheme of the Vigna di Valle's museum 79 had the number 278-2 and the serial number 24327. This seems to be a historical distortion, but more likely a tribute from the restorers, who gave the aircraft (recovered from Lebanon, where it had been sold in 1949 with serial number 23843) the number associated (but not assigned; it is simply documented that he often flew the 278-2) to Buscaglia before his downing and subsequent imprisonment, and the serial number more easily linked to Faggioni, thus paying homage to the two most famous and representative pilots of the torpedo bomber specialty. (Buscaglia was the previous commander of the Faggioni squadron, the B of his group was a tribute to Buscaglia himself).

Today, after the 2023 restoration, the Vigna di Valle 79 appears uniformly green and gray, in the typical livery of the final years of the conflict, but without any number or serial number.

 

There seems to be little doubt about the livery here, or at least I haven't found any conflicting sources yet: ANR aircraft, especially the Bis remodeled for the specific and contextualized use of the era, when it was best to fly at night and at low altitude, were solid green above and gray below. The insignia consisted of the stylized ANR fasces above and below the wing, in their standard positions, while the fuselage and tail bore the Italian flag with a yellow serrated edge.

 

In short, my ideas are a little clearer, but not by much... in the next few days I'll peruse other texts kindly made available by a friend.

I hope I haven't bored you too much!

 

See you soon, P.

Edited January 11 by mc65

[Dpgsbody55]

Well, whatever the limitations of this kit (?), it looks like an interesting project.  This gets a  from me.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

 

 

[dennismcc]

Not for the faint hearted, but it will be most impressive if it is successful

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[mc65]

Thanks for your interest, I understand that this is a bit of a strange WIP...

I'm proceeding step by step, assembling and trying to understand the logic behind this kit's design, and studying to figure out what I need to modify to get something that resembles, or at least gives the idea of, the requested model.

 

Let's say the logic is a bit like Snakes and Ladders: you get to step 11, but you have to go back to step 3, undo something, and start again... Anyway, aside from these "details," things are moving along pretty quickly, a sort of Meccano with added wood and plastic, for now.

 

For example, it would have been vastly simpler to plan to add the internal screw parts to the front spar before assembling the spars together. Now you need an abnormally small and long screwdriver, and some 4-point socket and eye wrenches, for an absurdly simple job, if better thought had been given from the start.

so as I proceed I take notes, I don't know how many might be interested, but some passages, if carried out before others despite what is indicated, become less rich in pathos, local and imported divinities.

 

And in the meantime, as I was saying, I study. The units that formed the Buscaglia Group following the armistice of September 8, 1943, were initially standard SM79s, later modified specifically for the torpedo role only, called SM79bis.

These examples, overhauled by SIAI-Vergiate, had specific features and a monochromatic paint scheme.

For example, here we have the B1-09. We are therefore in the midst of the Buscaglia Group; the aircraft in the background has the Italian flag on the fuselage, the camouflage is monochromatic, there is a teardrop antenna on the back and a rod antenna on the hump, the prop's spinners are missing, and it has very elongated engine exhausts for flame suppression, given its night-time operational use.

also, it's clearly visible an additional window on the starboard fuselage, thus to give more internal space to manouver the two mg, which were implemented at 12,7 from 7,7mm. the difensive machine guns were reduced by 5 to 4, and were furnited of flash dampers.

maybe the bigger difference from a standars Sm79 is the absence of the ventral gondola for the bomb aimer and mg station: being the torpedo role a very low level operational environment, there was no need for the gondola.

 

In particular, the so-called "Wellington" or "night-time" exhausts seem to have derived their name from a British bomber who, after being shot down, provided a sample of the flame dampers later developed for the SM79. In the official description, they were called "Oscur-type gas exhaust ports." I found this table:

 

So I guess I'll have to do something along those lines... I haven't gotten around to examining the fuselage yet, but I expect the nacelle to disappear, the windows to be modified, and the exhausts too, it seems like the bare minimum.

The engines themself are also a disgrace: at this scale they could have been gems, but instead they're just needlessly heavy, metallic toys-like affairs. I simply added the spark plug wires and the front lubrication lines, and I'll try to disguise them with some targeted weathering. Amen.

 

The few available photos of the original are inspiring, but to do justice to these Alfa Romeos built under license by Bristol Jupiters, they would simply have to be replaced with something that isn't even available on the market and that the customer doesn't want anyway. What a shame.

 

Even though I reluctantly decided not to ask too many questions and try to proceed quickly. This is a half-wing; beyond the central composite spars, the ends beyond the engine nacelles become plastic waffles, increasing the overall weight, but at least making the whole thing less fragile.

 

sequitur.

cheers, P.

 

[LSP_Kevin]

What a fascinating project! Great work so far, Paolo.

 

Kev

[geedubelyer]

That is big!

 

Are you going to weather the kit engines to represent the reference you showed?

[Trak-Tor]

That looks amazing indeed!


Juraj

[monthebiff]

42 minutes ago, geedubelyer said:

That is big!

 

Are you going to weather the kit engines to represent the reference you showed?

+ 1 from me, a very interesting project and some quality paintwork and weathering will really lift this from the toy like look you wish to avoid as much as possible.

 

This will look spectacular once you have worked your magic.

 

Regards. Andy

[mc65]

Thanks everyone for your interest and support, this thing is going to take a lot!

 

Geedubelyer, I'll try my best to paint the engines, like everything else, to obtain a less toy-like look, but I doubt I'll get great results. Maybe big, yes, but not truly great.

As I said in the last post, things are moving pretty quickly, if everything goes smoothly.

This is part of the undercarriage truss, the actuator piston support, or rather the cornerstone of the assembly. It should be positioned in the joint between the fork and the struts.

 

Here perhaps you can understand how important this piece is, especially in a model that will weigh quite a lot when finished:

 

If, however, even just one screw is undersized, and there's no suitable one either in the kit or at home (and there are screws in the house, of all damn sizes), things get annoying...

the simplest thing would have been to ream the holes and install a pair of slightly larger screws; I have those. It's a shame that tungsten carbide drill bits, besides staying sharp and being available in practically all sizes from a tenth of a mm and up, are also extremely fragile and not at all elastic.

That means if for some reason they break, they're a real pain. If they break in a blind hole in zamak or similar material, there's no way to extract them.

So I spent several hours milling the material in a spot that wasn't visible after the work, and that wouldn't compromise (too much, hopefully) the piece's strength, to extract the tip fragments, reboring the piece this time with a through hole, and then inserting a brass shaft, countersinking and threading the ends, securing everything with a new pair of screws, this time significantly smaller than the originals...

 

I got a headache -again- just describing it.

 

be that as it may, this is the piece in place waiting to be filled.

 

And once this is done, let's be happy with it. A coat of paint will make everything invisible, or almost.

 

continuing with the assembly of the wing, we arrive at ailerons and flaps.

Besides being independent, meaning they can move independently of their counterparts on the other wing, they're also poorly designed: the ailerons have minimal downward travel, and the flaps can move up at will, well beyond their maximum retraction point—an impossibility in reality—but only down by a few degrees. Meh. Without further ado, I simply enlarged the slots where the hinges slide, by 2 and 3 mm for the ailerons and flaps, respectively. The necessary adjustments are listed here.

 

and here 5 minutes later. easy peasy.

 

And here we are. The engine nacelles, ailerons, flaps, and slats are temporarily installed to check the assembly and clearances.

 

Not that you can tell much, on the bench... we see with a uniform background: all the surfaces in neutral and retracted positions.

 

with ailerons in right turn position, flaps and slats extended.

 

also view of the belly, landing gear retracted

 

and down.

 

All this stuff will need to be dismantled (no big deal, it's just screwed together) for the first round of painting the interior surfaces of the nacelles and the engines.

 

That's all for today, I'd even say too much.

cheers, P.

[Dpgsbody55]

A fascinating build.  

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Greif8]

What I neat and unique project Paolo.  I am sure you will make the best of the build with your skills.  It certainly looks very large!

 

Ernest

[AngryJazz_Models]

Holy moly that is a impressive kit! Very fun to follow along! Nice work 😊

[mc65]

thank you all!

 

Incredibly, I've made considerable progress with the assembly; of the 110 separate packages, I've used a good 90 so far. If I closed my eyes and took everything out, it could be completed in a couple of days. Obviously, it won't be that simple.

By searching and studying, I'm realizing that from serial number MM24479 to 24528, delivered between may and december 1942, the designation "aerosilurante" (torpedo bomber) is documented, thus with all the changes made to the so-called "bis" series. These were quite significant, and required some work on the model. I'll try to list the main and most visible features; please correct me if I'm wrong:

 

-Alfa 128 engines replaced the previous 126s, equipped with "Oscur" exhausts and T.52 feathering propellers.

-The machine guns became four SAFAT 12.7s equipped with flash dampers, with the ventral nacelle completely removed.

-The windows of the two defensive weapons in the fuselage were changed and fitted with armoured panels.

-The bomb bay was emptied of its bomb racks, and the bomb bay doors were also eliminated (or blocked, I'm not entirely sure). At least two types of supplementary fuel tanks were installed in the resulting empty space, depending on whether they were built directly at the factory or later during overhaul: 350 and 725 liters, to achieve a final operative range of over 11 hours of flight.

-A series of interior accessories were removed, such as various panels deemed superfluous and the flight engineer's seat.

-Reduction of the crew by one: from 6 to 5.

-Improved electrical system and instruments: autopilot, more powerful radio, radio altimeter, compass repeater, direction finder, and intercom were added.

-Torpedo release control on both steering wheels, crew armor (later removed to lighten the aircraft, apparently).

-Modification of the hump by eliminating the "telescope" closing segments, although I've seen photos of later examples that have them.

 

Here are two profiles that point in the right direction: 120cm radio antenna on the hump; vent on the back for the additional fuel tank; gonio antenna enclosed in a teardrop fairing; weapons and engine exhausts with flame damper; modified fuselage windows.

 

 

Speaking of propellers, from period photos I see that the later models, which could be feathered, were black both front and rear, with a white vertical band on the back and yellow tips on the front. What I can't find is a clear image of the round decals on the blades themselves. They're definitely a trademark, but I can't find anything definitive on the matter. In this photo, you can clearly see them, and also the flame dampeners on the exhausts and on the front 12,7 SAFAT machine gun.

 

While thinking, I've started to put the underside of the fuselage on the workbench, which will fill the gap left by the nacelle, and I need to figure out whether to remove and plane the bomb bay doors or simply leave them closed.

 

In the background, you can see the cockpit floor and the central engine. It's time to start thinking about interior colors; I'd say we can and should do better than this! It seems the best choice is an anti-corrosion green for the cockpit and a light gray for the rest of the fuselage.

 

sequitur, P.