The RAF's sole Savoia Marchetti SM-77 - Egypt, 1942

[kitbasher]

the Lancaster wasn't actually a thing of beauty either.

One of the better looking heavy bomber's IMO...

True, but it's a job making one of that period look good. To my mind maybe only the B-29 succeeded.

B-24J Liberator for me, Halifax III then the B-29.

Halifax III stretched forward of the wings with tricycle u/c would be a looker.

[PR19_Kit]

Work's almost complete on the starboard hull's nose turret, and I'll start on the port hull tomorrow. Weirder and yet more weird. 

One engine pair is done now, complete with the prop tube that goes all the way through and helps keep the two halves aligned while the glue is setting. All the props have been built too, with two of them assembled the opposite way round to act as pushers. (The rear engine runs in reverse remember...)

I've started on the engine pylon, thanks to a genius idea by Fed Zenrat who suggested wrapping some styrene sheet round a tube at the front and letting the rear halves take up a natural curve. As it happens the sprues on the SM-55X kit are SO huge that they made ideal formers for the front end, and here's the first pylon assembly. I put in a smaller spacer toward the rear to fill out the shape a little as the rear radiator cooling intake will be going through the pylon itself.




Here's the engine pair with its props in position shown in position relative to the pylon. I'll have to cut and trim the top and bottom of the pylon to match the engines and the wing centre section of course.

[Old Wombat]

 

[zenrat]

Not sure about genius Kit.
I forgot to mention, if you want to add a bit of a curve to the sides then cut appropriately shaped formers to glue inside.

As far as Bombers go i've always like the Stirling.  It's like a big clumsy oaf.
Fortress is I think better looking than the Lanc but the Dominater tops them all.

[PR19_Kit]

Yes, a Stirling is pretty impressive, especially with its height! 

But it always looks like a 1/48 fuselage married to 1/72 scale wings to me, a problem that I've been trying to resolve for some years now with my everlasting 'Long Stirling' project.

(See what I did then?  )

[PR19_Kit]

The OOB S-55X has two fins and three rudders, the third rudder's just suspended in the centre of the tailplane with no visible means of support, very strange. Sadly one of the outboard rudders has gone walkabout so I've modified the centre rudder to look like an outboard one. They're almost the same, just a bit of trimming was needed, and I'll procure a centre fin & rudder.

It may look as if it came from a Lancaster..... 

The second engine pair is well under way, and this one has a visible Merlin uncowled in the forward position, just because I like the idea.

And the port hull's nose turret is being put together. It's a pretty fiddly job as the turret base doesn't want to stay together until it's in place on the hull and all the filing and trimming has to be done very carefully or it all collapses.

Don't ask me know this, but it's handy that I've got a few Lanc kits with  me.....

[loupgarou]

The OOB S-55X has two fins and three rudders, the third rudder's just suspended in the centre of the tailplane with no visible means of support, very strange. Sadly one of the outboard rudders has gone walkabout so I've modified the centre rudder to look like an outboard one. They're almost the same, just a bit of trimming was needed, and I'll procure a centre fin & rudder.

It may look as if it came from a Lancaster..... 

The second engine pair is well under way, and this one has a visible Merlin uncowled in the forward position, just because I like the idea.

And the port hull's nose turret is being put together. It's a pretty fiddly job as the turret base doesn't want to stay together until it's in place on the hull and all the filing and trimming has to be done very carefully or it all collapses.

Don't ask me know this, but it's handy that I've got a few Lanc kits with  me.....

There is an horizontal strut between the outboard fins that steadies the central rudder, and also a diagonal strut from "that" point to the leading edge of the tailplane.
Parts are included in the kit.

[PR19_Kit]

There is an horizontal strut between the outboard fins that steadies the central rudder, and also a diagonal strut from "that" point to the leading edge of the tailplane.
Parts are included in the kit.

Yes, but that's for an S.55X. I'm building an S.77. 

[PR19_Kit]

The S77's got its first engine and pylon assembled now, and it's not looking too bad. It'll need some filler on the radiator outlets for the rear engine and I'll have to cut the scoops and outlets in the sides of the pylon, but it fits quite well.

Lots of work to do on the bottom of the pylon to fit it to the wing centre section of course, and I'm not quite sure how to do that yet.....



I've assembled the tailplane and fins/rudders now too, and very odd they look, very 1930s, but then that's when the S77s were built anyway.



As I surmised earlier, the centre fin did come from one of the Lanc kits. 

Don't worry Dave, there's almost an entire Lanc kit left over for you. 

[buzzbomb]

Still moving along swimmingly, now eagerly awaiting the "put together" part of the build

[PR19_Kit]

So am I, and there's LOTS of bits! 

[Flyer]

 

[zenrat]

...Lots of work to do on the bottom of the pylon to fit it to the wing centre section of course, and I'm not quite sure how to do that yet...

Place some sandpaper on the wing upper surface and rub the pylon from side to side until the profiles match.

[Flyer]

That is a very logical suggestion, I must remember that for use on some r/c models, make a template that way for transferring onto drawn plans. Awesome, fixes a long running issue I've had while trying to fit ready made wing's to a scratch built fuselage. 

Most simple (!) Solution I've used in the past was to saw the wing in half and trace out the section, then re-join and strengthen the wing... 

[PR19_Kit]

Good idea that, thanks. 

That'll be the 'final solution' (If I can use such a phrase these days...) to get a close match, but the centre section has such a curve on it that the pylon will need some serious scalpel surgery before I get that far.