The fastest piston-engined hydroplane
Hello, guys.
This is my latest project just completed. Macchi M.C.72 established the world speed record (709 km/h) of piston-engined hydroplanes in April,1934. This record has not been beaten until now, and will not be broken in the future because new machines of this category are unlikely to be produced after all.
The most conspicuous feature of M.C.72 is the radiators made of minute metal pipes placed on the wings and floats. Dressed in red and brass-gold, as well as with its refined style, she is simply gorgeous and attractive. According to Wikipedia, a total of five machines of M.C.72 were constructed, and this particular machine I built (#181) was the one that established the speed record. One point I'm not sure is the shape of ventral fin of fuselage. In the AMP kit, the ventral fin a bit exceeded the edge of rudder, so I shortened the former to make the rudder and fin align, by referring to the preserved machine in a museum of Italy. However, by examining various period photos on the web, I found the shape of the fin varied among the machines. Does anyone know the exact shape of the ventral fin and rudder of M.C.72 #181 on October 23, 1934 when she made the world speed record?
The AMP model was good in general, though attaching the floats to the fuselage was difficult because areas of attachment were too small to support the weight of floats (to make the situation worse, I had put lead weights in the floats!). I used brass wires for rigging in place of etching parts in the kit. Although the museum machine and many drawings and images of kits uploaded on the web have riggings painted in red, I'm not sure they were really in red, so I temporally leave it unpainted.
Thank you for watching, and any comment is welcome!
Sharp seaplane model, Shun.
Thank you, Dan!
Looks good, Shun.
This is the 1/48 AMP kit?
Thank you, Tom!
Yes, it is an AMP.
Rigging tended to be unpainted (adherence was the issue here) so I think your decision is the correct one. A very nicely finished raceplane and excellent work.
Thank you, Christopher, for the compliment and suggestions.
Very nice result, Shun!
Thank you, Spiros!
A very nice build, Shun @shunichi654
Thank you, John!
Ahoy Shun. The little red Macchi Racer is one of the prettiest airplanes ever built! And you've captured its essence perfectly. Your model is superb and your photos are wonderful. Thank you.
Thank you, Thomas.
I totally agree with your opinion on this aircraft.
That is a true beauty, Shun @shunichi654! 🤩 Wonderful model with fantastic photos, what's not to like about that!?! 👍
Thank you, Gary!
I've only got a couple of AMP kits, but they are definitely what the definition of short run kits are. The beauty of this approach to kits , of course, is the variety of subjects we can acquire for building. I have the Supermarine S5B kit from them and someday, it will be added to my current build pile.
You've done a masterful job on this one, Shun (@shunichi654). Excellent. A real looker.
Thank you, Carl for your comment and compliment.
As you say, Ukrainian companies including AMP have actively released kits of less-known aircraft. This is surprising in view of the difficult situations in Ukraine. Even in my poor stash, a few kits of Dora Wings or Micro-Mir are sleeping...
Very sleek, and nice build! Well done.
Thank you, Greg!