Macchi M.C. 72

Ben STONE
Not a great kit but a great subject matter. Terrible quality but I think I can make a half reasonable job out of it. Lots of time cleaning up parts of flash and trying to get a semi reasonable fit. The problem I'm facing is having to pre-paint the pontoons and fuselage prior to gluing due to lack of access for painting and masking. There will be some filling and sanding required afterwards. Oh well.

Cristian Bordina
Hi Ben, another great Italian aircraft ;D. I built the Maresciallo Francesco Agello aircraft (who is born in my town) in 1/72 from the Delta model kit. It was been an hard job...but yours is beginning well... and better than the mine ;P

Ben STONE
Another plane I'll have to look into now Christian 🙂

Hanno Kleinecke
I'm thinking of buying this one as well, so I'll be watching closely. Beautyful bird, good work so far ! How is the Savoia Marchetti S.65 kit ? i did'nt buy it up,to now because it is quite expensive (49€). Is it worth buying ?

Ben STONE
I'm guessing you're referring to the Karaya kit? It's the only one I've got. Not great Hanno, it's the first resin kit I've bought so it's hard for me to compare but there's lots of flash and I'm missing the two main struts that link the wings to the tail section so I'll have to scratch build them. I'll battle through it as its a great subject matter.
Even with the MC72 I'm using bits and pieces from other kits. The windscreen/canopy is pretty bad so that's from from another kit, and I've added a seat and "control panel" from left overs, none are researched or correct but better than nothing.

Hanno Kleinecke
Yes,I meant the Karaya kit. Pity, that it's not worth buying then. Did you start with it yet ? ( some pics would be great😉 )Paint on your Macchi looks brilliant !

Ben STONE
Haven't started work on it but will take a photo so you can see what it's like. From memory it didn't cost much, certainly not 49€.

Ben STONE
Left this alone for a while. Attached the pontoons and struts today. Fiddly, poor fit and frustrating. In the end they're not too bad apart from being unaligned slightly.

Hanno Kleinecke
I startet to remove the flash off the parts of mine yesterday, and it dawned on me that this will be no easy one....
You did a great job so far ! Did you rescribe the radiator lines ? What made you paint the copper parts prior to the red ?

Ben STONE
Thanks Hanno. I didn't rescribe the radiator lines, probably should've but as they're more raised lines than scribed I chose not to bother, it's not a great kit so I'm not going to be too picky with it. I chose to paint the copper before as I thought it would be easier to mask that way and to try and save what I could of the radiator lines. Interestingly I have a similar problem with the canopy on this one, it's just a flat piece of plastic, I've fashioned something from an old model but it's not very clear.
Now to clean up the filler and mess from the pontoon struts, think about some more detail on the radiators and then rigging.

Ben STONE
Hanno, have you looked at any of the Noix model kits of the Air Races?

Hanno Kleinecke
I've got a Noix kit on my wishlist,but there nowhere to buy I guess....
My Macchi came without any canopy ,or should I say "windscreen", and as the thing is a very angular structure I will make one from very thin clear styrene sheet , which is available from Evergreen. Shouldn't be a problem really. I used that on the Supermarine as well, you just have to cut and bend it into the right shape.

Ben STONE
Try this.
swash-design.com/pro..y/page01/page01.html
And I'll get some pics of the S.65 Karaya kit also.

Es-haq Khosravi
Great job!

Ben STONE
Thank you Es-haq.
Hanno, Aerotech also make some interesting 1/32 air racers kits. Bit big for me but another choice all the same. Find some here.
marshmodels.com/modelList.asp

Hanno Kleinecke
Thanks for the link Ben, that`s one for the shopping list for sure ! 1/ 32 is too big for me either, 48 is already an exception, normally I `ll go for 1/72nd. Looks great anyway. Yeah, pics of the Karaya kit would be great,
thanks!

Ben STONE
First wire rigging added. The Cross wires between the struts were painted in place, the others I've cut and dry fitted but I'll paint them prior to fitting. Also touching up a bit of paint here and there.
I must say that it's hard for this model not to look like an Ironman toy.

Steve Wilson
...
Nice one Ben... and it's RED!
So Blue 'n' Silver, now RED 'N' GOLD... Cool!!!

Hanno Kleinecke
Hi Ben, nice progress with the rigging ! Is it wire or Styrene strips ?

Ben STONE
Uploaded a pic of the rest of the rigging awaiting painting.

Hanno Kleinecke
Oh I see, thanks ! 0,8 mm I think ?

Ben STONE
About that Hanno, it's in a tube of smaller rod so I can't remember

Hanno Kleinecke
Great progress Ben ! I like the way you managed the joint of the float struts to the fuselage, not an easy task I would say. Rigging looks super as well ! Currently I´m rescribing my version of this kit, so it will take a while. I managed to break all of my tiny drill bits, so I´m waiting for replacements at the moment. That gives me time to work on the cockpit........ 🙂

Ben STONE
Thanks Hanno. I would've like to use thicker rod but it's ok. Bit of cleaning up, then a coat of clear, bit of weathering detail and Decals, coat of clear and done. Oh and the canopy. 🙂

Hanno Kleinecke
Great Result with the Alclad- Prop Ben! White Aluminum I guess ? Definitely will try that on mine too, already have it waiting to be used....
🙂

Ben STONE
Alclad chrome Hanno. Was going to use the stainless but happy with the outcome. Black gloss underneath and then the Alclad, it's a match made in heaven.

Christian Meyerhoff
Very nice racer with an excellent paint job!

Michel Huijghe
👍

Kees Kleijwegt
Great build Ben, and a great subject. I really like those Italian racers!

Kees Kleijwegt
What paint did you use on the prop?

Ben STONE
Thanks Kees, much appreciated. Alclad chrome on the prop, sprayed over enamel gloss black.

Ben STONE
Finished. The last coat of varnish is a bit too glossy so I might give it another coat with a bit of satin added. I learnt a lot from this kit, that I can get a good outcome from a poor kit and planning a complex paint scheme. Plenty that is wrong, starboard pontoon is on a slant, I didn't use the provided windshield and my attempt at a scratch built one wasn't very good so I adapted an old one from another kit. All in all I'm happy and all part of a learning process. Thanks to everyone who took interest.

Hanno Kleinecke
Great result Ben, well done ! I hope I can achieve something similar as good with mine. The windshield doesn`t look strange to me at all.
👍

Ben STONE
Thanks Hanno. Going from what I've seen of the cockpit seat yours is going to be fantastic.

Ben STONE
If there's I've thing I've realised with modelling is, as with most things, it's about the journey and not so much the destination. There are some models I've done that I look at which at the time I don't think we're very good but I grow an appreciation of them over time, I hope this is one of them. Each model is a reflection of our talents, our path and a reflection of our selves at the time we made them........grasshoppers 🙂

Christian Meyerhoff
This is a beautiful model of a beautiful aircraft! Very well done!

Greg Baker
How didn't you find this kit, Ben? I've been dissuaded by the 1/50 scale... and I'm still looking for a Macchi M.52 in 1/72... but your work makes it look intriguing. 🙂

Dale Marston
I've always wamted to build the Schneider Trophy planes. Are there more in the range?

Ben STONE
@ Greg. 1/48, 1/50 what's the difference?
🙂
Look it's not a great kit and it's that soft white plastic that melts a bit and thus all struts got the floats are very flimsy, but it's a great subject. I've done a few racers and doing a Supermarine 1/48 s6 at the moment.
@Dale. Noix Models do a very good range of Schneider Trophy planes but they're very hard to find and expensive, I assume they are out of business. I came across one at a local hobby store and I swear it was 1/72 and not 1/48, it was tiny and expensive so I'm a bit confused about them.
Karaya do a few in resin and you can do the Savoia s21 and the Curtiss RC3-0 from Fine Molds Porco Rosso kits.

Greg Baker
The difference is that neither is 1/72. I'm hoping for a Vintage Models kit of the M.52 but have been eyeing the M.C. 72 kit from Delta which seems slightly easier (I.e. Not impossible like the m.52 seems to be) to lay your hands on.

Ben STONE
Greg, if I can do a half reasonable job of this kit anyone can. I'd suggest getting some other material for the struts. It's a good size and just ignore the 1/50 bit.

Julian Herrero aka Yuri
Very good work on a dog of a kit

Gary Brantley
That is fantastic Ben! Beautiful work indeed. I love those old racing planes from the "Golden Age". Are you familiar with the old Testors air racers in 1/48? They are reissues of ancient Hawk models. I've built their Supermarine S-6B and the Howard Ike. There are several others too, including the Curtis R3C, Travelair Mystery Ship, a GeeBee and a few others I can't recall at the moment. The fancy paint work on the GeeBee has stopped me from trying that one however...🙂

Ben STONE
Doing the S6 at the moment Gary and already done the Gee Bee which while not a great kit I still get a smile from when I look at it. Great topics for models.