Reviving a project

I have an odd strategy that I use sometimes to trick myself into rescuing a stalled model from the Shelf of Shame. I find an unstarted model that will make a good companion to the unfinished one and try to push them both to completion at the same time.

Since I’ve always liked transport aircraft and I’ve always liked Italian types, why not combine the two and go after Italian transport types? And so my interest in the Savoia-Marchetti series of (mostly) three-engined cargo aircraft was born. I’ve got copies of most of the kits that have been made in 1:72, though I haven’t built many of them. Some of that is due to the lack of good paint matches for the intellectual swamp that is Italian WW2 colors, and some is just attention being spent elsewhere.

When the Italeri SM-82 first arrived, I started it almost immediately. It was new, different, large, and seemed like a genuinely nice kit. But somewhere along the line the momentum bled off and it eventually found itself on the mostly built shelf with no good prospects for completion. So recently I decided that it was time to reinvigorate the effort. And what better way to make it a little mini-project with another kit.

My choice is something that I’ve had in the stash since the days when Tom Friske was running the eastern Washington modeling bastion known as Aviation Usk. He had done a short-run injection kit of the SM-84. Tom was always fond of Italian aircraft and saw some marketing opportunities growing out of that. Unlike his Uskian version of the SM-82, this one was all injected, though the canopy is vac.

So here is a shot of the companions on their way to the 72 Land production line. I’m concentrating mostly on the Soviet trainers at present (in terms of construction) so it may be a little while til I make significant progress. And I’ve just had my hours increased at the temp job, so my evenings may consist of frozen pizzas and an early bedtime til I adjust once again. But at least there is one less citizen of that Shelf. And wait a sec, are there other SM types sneaking into this pile.....