The exceptional lines of the Savoia S.65 are a sheer delight, and although it never delivered what it promised, and did not actually compete in the Schneider Cup, the mere act of contemplating it is a source of aviation bliss.
Karaya is a firmly established model manufacturer with a
wide catalog that includes, to my delight, many Schneider planes. Karaya's
reputation is good, but apparently my first encounter with their products was
unfortunate, as I purchased a sadly inaccurate S.65.
To start to make this flawed look like the real thing, the
following was done:
-Correct the spurious cut out on the fuselage top and sides,
restoring the correct, continuous shape
-Install the side windows, deleting the spurious extra
radiators (located above the correct fuselage radiators)
-Correct the shape of the elevator horn balances
-Add the headrest
-Correct the wrong position of the insertion of the float
struts into the fuselage bottom
-Substitute the ridiculous resin butt-joined booms for metal
inserted ones
-Correct the mistakes on the rigging
-Revise position of "V" struts at the end of the
floats, moving them back as per photos
-Add boom fairings that continue on top and bottom of the
elevator
I am sure there were others, but that should be
entertainment enough.
A seemingly nice kit, certainly nicely molded and with good
detail, completely let down by its many very visible inaccuracies. And not just
minutia: blatant mistakes made absolutely obvious just by looking at photos of
the original plane.
The list is too long, but you may like to have a look at my
many encounters during the build with frustrating errors, and to add insult to
injury an engineering that left a lot to be desired, and not particularly accurate
decals:
Still, propelled by the sheer beauty of the type, some
modifications were made, parts replaced with better ones, engineering revised,
and many details corrected to obtain a model that if still not totally accurate,
at least resembles much closely the original.
This is a missed opportunity: such fantastic plane, and a
kit that came too short, not sure why, as the general quality of the parts
(accuracy and engineering apart) is good.
The modifications to obtain a more credible model are too
involving, and I wouldn't have done it if I knew from the start the challenges,
but I started blinded by the good reputation of the manufacturer (whose other
kits reputedly are accurate and nice to build). So I went on, feeling bad about
trashing a kit of such beautiful plane that besides cost a pretty penny.
So here are the results of much huffing and puffing, and
having to continually look at references in order no to fall into accuracy
traps.
A paradigm of Italian design that produced a very stylized racer,
and, if nothing else, a wonderful "oggetto
d'arte".
That is a really nice model, and thanks for the heads-up on the corrections required.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteAnd welcome ;-)
Great build, handsome model
ReplyDeleteUn hermoso trabajo como es usual en vos!!!
ReplyDeleteMuchas Gracias, Gustavo!
Delete