TWIN-HULL SM55 FLYING BOAT FROM ITALY

Back in 1933, crossing the Atlantic Ocean by air was a big deal, so when Italo Balbo commanded a fleet of 24 Savoia Marchetti SM55 flying boats on a round trip between Rome and Chicago, it was a powerful demonstration of technical prowess and showed the flag for Italy, especially its Fascist leader, Benito Mussolini.

The SM55 hasn’t been a target for kit makers, but the gap has now been part-filled by a neat diecast model to 1:96 scale, from the Italian company Old Planes (top pictures). 1:96 scale seems to have been largely abandoned these days, with 1:100 and 1:144 the preferred scales for most manufacturers, but no matter, this SM55 is a neat model in its own right, with a wingspan scaling down to some 250 mm (9.84 in) and with well-applied markings. There are three variations at present, representing the aircraft of three pilots in the 1933 grand flight.

Later versions of the SM55 were developed for military use, including a torpedo bomber (bottom). By the time World War II started, Savoia Marchetti’s main military machine was the tri-motor SM79, which has been modelled by Airfix, to 1:72 scale.

Visit Old Planes here.

GIANT RETRO-LINER TAKES TO THE SKIES

Norman Bel Geddes was a mega-designer of the 1930s, and brought a streamlined style to all manner of industrial objects. These ranged from radios and cars to houses and theatre sets. But SMN reckons his crowning glory was the ‘Airliner Number 4’, an outrageous piece of fantasy that had multi-decks, an on-board gym, hangars for smaller planes to take off and land - and Bel Geddes even included plans for a full in-flight orchestra!

The AN4 was never built, but thanks to the excellent Fantastic Plastic company, you can now bring a piece of ‘the way the future was’ onto the work bench.

The Bel Geddes Airliner is a big hunk of kit - even at the small scale of 1:288, the wings still span some 560 mm (22 in). It’s not cheap, but for any retro-lover AN4 will make a fine investment, and look great with other 1930s-era items.

Check out the Norman Bel Geddes Airliner Number 4 at Fantastic Plastic here.