HPH Caproni Ca3 in 1/32

[Michael Scarborough]

While I would love to do a Caproni in 1/32, I bear two things in mind:

1. The well documented issues the Macchi builds had with accuracy.

2. I have heard far too many stories of resin wings sagging, even in 1/72 scale. I can only imagine how many times that problem might be magnified with the surface area of something this large.

[Des]

You bring up a very good point Michael. I have built only four resin kits, the Battle Axe Fokker E.III, Omega Mosca MB.bis, the Alley Cat  Bristol MI.c and the HpH Macchi M.5 with all kits being 1:32 scale. I have already noticed wing sag with the Mosca and the Bristol, only slight but noticeable, the Macchi has only just recently been completed so there has not been enough time for the wings to sag. A model in resin of the Caproni CA.3 in 1:32 scale would need some type of wing reinforcing, metal rods cast inside the entire length of the wings would offer good support. The metal would need to be of spring steel so it always retains its original shape, I don't know anything about casting resin but going by the Macchi M.5 kit it has metal rods cast inside the struts which makes them quite a strong item.

I would love to see a kit of the Caproni CA.3 but HpH would have to make some huge improvements before I would consider buying a kit, they did a fair job with the Macchi M.5 but there were areas that could have been done a lot better. Like the Macchi, the Caproni has fully exposed engines so they would need to be well detailed, this is one area where the Macchi was sadly lacking.

If, and that is a big if, HpH produce a dimensionally correct kit with acceptable detail, a PE set and a good selection of decals, they will have a real winner, but I fear the price will be the killer for a kit of this magnitude.

Des.   

[LukasTheLight]

Hello guys,

I believe that HpH guys are using different technology for their big kits (for big parts - fuselage, wings) - believe that it is glassfibre...

Lukas

[Kai]

Wings will be fibreglass, just like the big, glorious Catalina they did.

The Cat has a parts count in excess of a thousand & costs €600.  As I type this, I realise that Sterling is pretty strong at the moment, so much so that the cost of a Cat is now £430.

Still an awful lot of money - nay, a small fortune - for a kit but this leads me to two conclusions:

Firstly, it is on the far verge of being affordable for me now. It offers a good 6-12 months of build time, so in terms of value it's not too bad.

Secondly, the Caproni is significantly smaller - 1,000 square feet of wing area, against 1,400 for the Catalina - whilst the interior is nowhere near as complicated as the Cat. Google the pics, it's utterly amazing, especially considering it's all buttoned up and hardly visible once finished. This leads me to the hope that the cost, whilst high, will not be as bad as I originally feared. Maybe around the €300 mark, around £215, which compares most favourably with WNW's big Felixstowe.

I'm keeping a close eye on this!

[Des]

If you have a look at the HPH website you will see they are advertising their 1:48 scale XB-Valkyrie for €475, that's a lot of money ($729AUD)

Des.