1/72 Airfix Savoia Marchetti SM 79 Spaverio

by Mark Davies

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The SM 79 was one of the most important Italian bombers of World War II.  

Before the war it established numerous records in its racing and military versions, and served with a number of diverse countries from the mid-30’s until after World War II.  It was also developed in twin engine guise, with a distinctly different fuselage and engines. SM.79’s served widely as a day and night bombers; but it was a land-based torpedo bomber that the type earned its place in military aviation history, being regarded by many as one of the finest torpedo bombers of the war.

I have always had a soft spot for the SM 79 due, I think, to its combination of historic interest, fine lines with a touch of quirky ugliness and many appealing colour schemes.  I can remember building the Airfix kit as a kid in the 60's in the UK . My second kit was manufactured under license in  New Zealand (my home), in the same pale blue plastic as my 60’s kit.  It cost NZ$5.00 (a bit over US$3.00) second hand.  I decided I'd have to build whilst I waited for the new Italeri kit to arrive in case I lost motivation after the newer kit's release. 

Click on images below to see larger images

My SM 79 has added scratch-built interior detail and a superb Falcon vac-form canopy and hump that corrects Airfix's incorrectly profiled hump.  I re-profiled the rear of the engine nacelles and widened them where their upper surfaces blend into the wings.  To more accurately reflect the original, I mounted the engines on cone-shaped supports obtained from a Super Model SM 81 and the engine nozzles from a monogram Snap-Tite F-14!  Airfix's incorrect 14 cylinder engines were replaced with resin copies of MPM's Blenhiem engines, which in this scale look very convincing as 9-cylinder Piaggios.  Other corrections and modifications included the bombardier's gondola, which was partly made form a modern drop tank and scribed leading edge slats.  I also refined the undercarriage doors, tail-plane struts, DF loop, pitots, cowlings etc and added hypodermic needles for guns.  Decals were mainly Esci, I used bare metal for the bands around the cowling, and a combination of Xtracolour, Modelmaster, Gunze and Humbrol paints.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable build. Now that I have two Italeri kits (one currently being converted to a Brazilian Army SM 79 T) I have decided I will in future combine the best of the Italeri and Airfix kits together as I prefer the more restrained fabric effect Airfix’s tail surfaces and rear fuselage.

Mark

Photos and text © by Mark Davies