Savoia-Marchetti S.79

Italeri 1/72

Reviewed by Scotty Battistoni

Italeri's 1/72 scale Savoia-Marchetti S.79 is available online from Squadron.com

The Savoia Marchetti S. 79 Sparviero was first developed for the Italian Aeronautical Industry in the mid 1930’s. The first use of the S. 79 was for the postal service and racing. Then in the late 1930’s the first bomber version of the S. 79 appeared. The S. 79 would prove to be a faithful bomber to the Regia Aeronautica throughout WWII. Savoia Marchetti tried a follow on design called the SM. 84, but the aircraft was unsuccessful compared to the beloved S.79. The S. 79 was also used as a Torpedo platform for the Regia Aeronautica as well.

Now on with the kit review. It has been a great past couple of years for us Italian aficionados. With companies such as Classic Airframes, Pacific Coast Models, Aviation Usk, and now Italeri, the gaps in WWII Italian aircraft are slowly being filled in. First off, I want to say a big “Thank You” to Italeri / The Testor Corporation for getting me this kit as quickly as they did for review.

The Italeri S. 79 has been long in the waiting. Let me say that this is NOT a rehash of the Airfix kit. The Italeri kit is a completely new tool and has no commonality with the ancient Airfix kit. The kit of comprised of approximately 106 styrene parts (14 of these are clear parts).

Click the images below to view larger images:

The airframe components feature fine recessed panel lines. Also present is the “Ribbed fabric effect” on the fuselage, horizontal and vertical tail surfaces. While some modelers may feel this is a bit overdone, I myself do not agree. Many photos reveal that the S. 79’s have a very pronounced “ribbed effect” on the fuselage. Also, model building is an art, and as an artist, I prefer a little more pronounced fabric ribbed effect.

The cockpit comprises about 15 pieces along with molded on fuselage sidewall detail. As is the kit cockpit will look fine once the fuselage is all buckled up as you can’t really see much in there anyway. This is one area that modelers need to realize that Italeri had to compromise on tooling costs. The real interior of a SM. 79 is a nightmare. A good analogy would be a “Jungle Gym” inside of a fuselage.

All control surfaces are separate and you get boxed in wheel wells. The torpedo is well executed, as is the nifty and well done crew access door on the side of the fuselage.

I compared the kit to the drawings in the Ali D Italia books on the SM. 79. Everything lines up perfectly except for the following areas. The rudder hinge line is too far aft by about .030 of an inch. The trailing edges of the wing root fillet need to be slightly larger. However, that being said the kit definitely looks like a SM. 79 and it is a quantum leap over the ancient Airfix relic.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this new Italeri offering of a much-needed model. “For you guys at Italeri, Job well done and Thank You for releasing this kit”

Now if we could only convince Italeri for a new Cant. 1007 Alcione in 1/72, hint, hint...

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Model, Review and Images Copyright © 2003 by Scott Battistoni
Page Created 11 November, 2003
Last updated 15 May, 2006

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