Here is another Italian aircraft that I had not heard of before.
Developed originally in 1936 from the Ro.37 land-based biplane,
through the Ro.43 two-seat [biposto] reconnaissance floatplane, the Ro.44 was
meant to be a floatplane fighter. Although totally obsolete, the Italian Regia
Marina ordered 35 and these were used to provide fighter cover for the entire
Italian Navy.
Octopus has released a 1/72 scale kit of the interesting IMAM Ro.44.
Unlike most other biplanes, both wings on this model attach to
the fuselage. If you were to affix the lower wing and allow it to set, you could
then attach the upper and while the glue was still soft, place the interplane
struts in-between and then get everything aligned. It would certainly be a
change from the usual problems associated with biplane upper wings.
Another advantage of this kit is that they a neat little 12 part
beaching trolley is supplied, complete with it’s own build instructions and
painting guide. You won’t be able to see much of the interior so the level of
detail is quite adequate, only needing seat belts. With the resin engine, a
similar situation exists.
Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:
Mounting the main float on the other hand, could be a challenge.
There are four large struts, which will have to be glued to either the float or
the fuselage and kept at the right angle to match up with the mounts at the
other end.
The only other issue that I can raise with this kit is the lack of any kind of
rigging diagram. The box art is not much help either, as they are only side
profiles.
Decals, by Etech, are excellent as is usual for Octopus [Pavla], and cover three
aircraft with one of them having markings for early and late.
Over all, this could be a very interesting build, even with the possible problem
of fitting the float.
Recommended.
Thanks to Squadron.com for the review sample.
Review and Images Copyright © 2005 by Glen Porter
Page Created 08 March, 2005
Last updated 08 March, 2005
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