Special Hobby 1/48 IMAM (Romeo) Ro.37 "A.30 engine" 
Reviewed by Zac Yates
Scale: 1/48
Item #: SH48183
Price: ?43.40 direct from Special Hobby: https://www.specialhobby.eu/imam-romeo-ro-37-a30-engine-1-48
Also available through quality hobby retailers worldwide.
Contents: four grey and one clear sprues; 27 resin pieces; one sheet of masks; one sheet of acetate film; four decal options. Background:The Meridionali Ro.37 Lince (Italian: "Lynx") was a two-seater Italian reconnaissance biplane, a product of the Industrie Meccaniche Aeronautiche Meridionali (IMAM) company. It appeared in 1934 and had a composite structure of wood and metal. The aeroplane first saw operational duty in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935?1936) and Spanish Civil War (1936?1939), and during the Second World War it saw duty on almost all fronts, except for Russia and the English Channel. It followed the Ro.1 as the main reconnaissance aircraft for the Italian Army.
An early photograph of an Ro.37. [Photo from Wikipedia]This was a biplane of mixed construction, with two seats, and a 420 kW (560 hp) Fiat A.30 R.A. V-12 engine. It reached 300 km/h (190 mph; 160 kn) and perhaps even more with this engine, the same as that of the Fiat CR.32. The Ro.37 had a 7,000 m (23,000 ft) ceiling, 3,000 m (9,800 ft) climb in 11 minutes, over 1,200 km (750 mi) range, carrying three machine guns (two in the nose and one dorsal), twelve 15 kg (33 lb) bombs, and good agility. It was similar to the Hawker Hind, rather than a light army aircraft, and its performance was similar to the later Westland Lysander and the contemporary Hawker Hector.
An Ro.37 in flight. [Photo from Comando Supremo]The Ro.37 was generally liked by pilots, and the only complaint was that aircraft was prone to damage to the undercarriage, and had some engine faults. The aircraft was produced until 1939 with a total of 569 (237 + 332bis) produced, and as late as 1940 there were provisions to have 17 Squadron equipped with this machine. In fact, the Ro.37 continued to be used as reconnaissance aircraft for years, since its replacement, the Caproni Ca.311, proved unsatisfactory.
Side view of an Ro.37. [Photo from Comando Supremo]Ro.37s were also quite widely exported (ten to Uruguay, 16 to Afghanistan, 14 to Hungary, eight to Austria, and one to Ecuador) and about 280 were in service in 1940, in thirty squadrons consisting of 215 aircraft. Some were in service up to 1943 and perhaps even later. They were very vulnerable, but in World War II Italy did not have sufficient resources to produce a better observation aircraft. (Thanks to Wikipedia for doing the heavy lifting here!)
Special Hobby?s model:This 2017 kit is a rebox of the Classic Airframes kit released in 2004 (I previously reviewed the Special Hobby rebox of the Ro.37bis kit HERE) but with a new sprue replacing the original cockpit structure.
Some of these parts are no longer present on the sprue but are still marked not-for-use on the instructions. Confusingly the instructions still label Sprue E as Sprue A and show a separate Sprue E which is actually part of Sprue A, but these issues are obvious enough that any modeller will be able to figure it out.
Although Scalemates shows the radial-engined kit to have been released second, the fuselage halves have that variant?s firewall-forward section moulded in and will need to be removed and replaced by new cowlings. Thankfully this surgery follows some panel lines as no indications are given on the inside of the parts.
Small amounts of flash are present on most parts (including the new sprue), filing/sanding will be required where sprue gates continue into some parts, and ejector pin towers will need to be removed to allow the wing parts to mate. As with many CA and older SH kits there are no locating tabs or many parts, although they are present for wing struts. Thankfully the horizontal stabilisers are moulded as single pieces, although they are butt-joined to the fuselage. A light cross-hatching simulates fabric covering but this will hopefully disappear under paint.
One area where extra care will be needed to locate parts is the mainwheels: two decal options feature wheel spats, but the spat halves have no holes or indications where the wheels mount inside. The wheels themselves are ?sandwich? assemblies with seven components in photoetch, resin and styrene which will require care and patience to assemble.
The clear sprue with five parts is also of excellent detail ? very clear parts with distinct framing to aid in painting. Although no masks are included with this kit these raised frames should make painting these parts relatively easy.
In a separate bag there are 27 resin parts covering the various areas including the cockpit, observer?s position (Scarff-style ring and Breda-SAFAT 7.7mm machinegun), tailwheel, and a single-piece wooden prop. These parts are beautifully cast with exquisite detail.
A photoetch fret provides 27 parts including seatbelts, control horns, instrument panels and wheel hubs. Like many of its contemporaries the Ro.37bis had wire spoke wheels which are delicately reproduced, but as previously discussed are covered by spats for two of the markings options.
A small acetate sheet provides instrument panel backing parts, two of which are not for use with this kit. There is also a small, pre-cut self-adhesive sheet with two arrow-shaped masks.
Instructions:The instruction booklet is in full colour and helpfully points out nine injected parts and two acetate instrument panels not intended for use in this build. Colours are called out from the Gunze range. Twenty-one steps guide the modeller through construction, the last being a rigging diagram ? given there are a comparatively low 26 pieces of individual rigging this could be a good introduction to this art for those inexperienced in this area.
Markings:The kit features four marking options.
1. 115-3, M.M. 11115, 115a Squadriglia, 67? Gruppo O.A., Regia Aeronautica, Bologna-Borgo Panigale, November 1938. This aircraft is a second series machine built at Caproni Taliedo and wears a camouflage of Yellow, two shades of Brown and two of Green over Blue-grey. It is fitted with wheel spats.
2. M.M. 10985, ?sterreichische Luftsreitkr?ftem April 1936. This Austrian Air Force machine wears the same camouflage as the previous aircraft and also has spats.
3. 31-4, M.M. 10954, 31a Squadrigilia, 5? Gruppo O.A., Regia Aeronautica, Bari, 1940. This aircraft wears the classic ?sand and spinach? splotch scheme of Yellow and Green over Blue-grey, and uses the included masks to apply large arrows over the exhaust stacks.
4. Black 6, M.m. 10566, 103a Squadriglia, Regia Aeronautica, Mek?ele, occupied teritory[sic] of the Ethiopion[sic] empire (Abyssinia), 1935. This aircraft wears all-over Linen with striking red arrows on the upper wing, for which decals are provided for those (like myself) not eager to mask them all! It is also the only markings option to use the resin, fixed-pitch propeller.
Decals:The decals appear to be thin with minimal carrier film and are of excellent design quality. The smaller lettering is perfectly legible without magnification and the colours look spot on. One potential issue is that the white decals appear rather translucent so the modeller may need to add a backing, be it paint or more (spare) decal?or finding aftermarket replacements.
Summary:I think fans of Italian aircraft will need to have one of these on their shelves and I don?t believe this kit will have any competition any time soon. While it?s no shake-and-bake this kit has a lot going for it and the patient, experienced modeller will be rewarded with a decidedly different airframe for their collection.
Verdict:Recommended for experienced builders.
(Review sample kindly supplied by Special Hobby. Please support the businesses that support your Forum.)
