BroPlan Caproni Aeronautica Bergamasca Ca.316 Reconnaissance Seaplane

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The Caproni Aeronautica Bergamasca Ca.316 reconnaissance seaplane presumed designed by Cesare Pallavicino (1893-1976) was intended for catapult operations from Italian Navy capital ships. The final development of the 1935 Ca.308 Borea ("North Wind") airliner it was a direct modification of the Ca.310 Libeccio ("Southwest Wind") Idro (Hydro) seaplane with larger pontoons on streamlined pylons underneath engine nacelles, revised nose with extensive glazing, the sole prototype first flown on August 14, 1940 thirteen aircraft were subsequently built none entering service.

The BroPlan Caproni Ca.316 Model Kit

BroPlan of Poland's 1/72nd vacuform styrene plastic kit with injected plastic detail parts is the only one of the Ca.316, total no-brainer I'd have to build it. A detailed article regarding the model build is being composed for the STORMO Magazine website photos of it already having been posted there, appreciating that this was the second vacuform model kit build of mine in 38 years thought it be of interest to folks here on Beyond The Sprues:

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[elmayerle]

Beautiful!!  And those streamlined struts for the floats certainly look the part.

[GTX_Admin]

 

[Frank3k]

The Ca.316 reminds me of a Yajk-6 on floats. It unusual to see a twin (vs 3) engine Italian plane.

[Robomog]

 Excellent  build,  you really wouldn't know it's a vacform 

[Inactive]

The Ca.316 reminds me of a Yajk-6 on floats. It unusual to see a twin (vs 3) engine Italian plane.

...Ca.308 transport consecutively numbered to Ca.316 all with same basic planform most common Ca.310, 311, 313, 314. CANT Z.1018 & FIAT BR.20 also were twins latter flown in combat during the Spanish Civil War by Italian & Spanish air units. The Z.1018 Leone (Lion) supposed best & most modern Italian "medium" bomber of WWII was built in trivial numbers, 1/72 scale 1980s-vintage KP Models resin, vacuform & injected-plastic parts kits later reboxed & issued by AZ Model & Legato are only known ones of the Leone all impossible to find as well. FIAT RS.14 all-metal, twin-engine, long-range maritime strategic reconnaissance floatplane fitted with low-power FIAT A.74 radials nevertheless saw good service some surviving WWII with the Aeronautica Militare till 1948, Massimodels' early 2000s-vintage 1/48th, Aviation USK/Xotic-72's 1996-vintage 1/72nd kit offerings only known ones myself building the Xotic-72 kit not that long ago.

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Excellent  build,  you really wouldn't know it's a vacform 

...Thick wing trailing edges dead giveaways here, should had sanded them to taper though doing so risked warpage whilst gluing them together. The engine nacelles & cowlings are splayed outwards well as not same size nor laterally aligned, faulty mainwing & engine cowling castings largely to blame, Vacuform Kit Building Gods resolving such trivialities triple-blindfolded. This mere mortal made do only with "Bear Skins & Bone Knives" ala X-Actos, lock & free-open tweezers, files, good ol' multi-grit Mylar-backed Testors Hobby Sandpaper sheets coupled with Tamiya fine & hardware store-bought coarse papers, nothing else whatsoever in way of tools & surface finishers except lotta cuzz'n & pray'n along the way, flat didn't want to spend penny more than nessary building the dang bugger!

[finsrin]

Excellent  build,  you really wouldn't know it's a vacform 

Goes for me too.  Got no vacuform vibes from pictures. 

[apophenia]

Oh that is lovely    The Ca.316 is a personal favorite but I don't think I've ever seen it modelled before 

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Oh that is lovely    The Ca.316 is a personal favorite but I don't think I've ever seen it modelled before 

...Uncommon Italian Bird indeed it was. Italians fetished over fitting floats to seemingly every pre- & early WWII aircraft design underpowered or no, e.g. Caproni Ca.100 unequal span biplane had number of Idro variants despite standard Regia Aeronautica Italiana land plane trainers having barely enough engine power to top 100 m.p.h., four-motor CANT Z.511 largest wartime Idro do believe, 85%-plus large as the post-war twin-tail Breda-Zappata BZ.308 "Italian Constellation" passingly resembiling Howard Hughes' pre-WWII tri-tail Lockheed L-049 Constellation. Nobody far as I know has posted pix of BroPlan Ca.316 builds, guess am the first :>)

[apophenia]

I know what you mean about the Italians' feticcio degli idrovolanti    Bless 'em for that 

Dare I ask if there has ever been a kit/vacuform/whatever of the four-engined CANT Z.511? 

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I know what you mean about the Italians' feticcio degli idrovolanti    Bless 'em for that 
Dare I ask if there has ever been a kit/vacuform/whatever of the four-engined CANT Z.511? 

Scalemates.com lists O'Neill Vacuforms U.S.A. releasing their 1/72nd CANT Z.511 vacuform kit in 1975 when I wasn't building models (resumed in 1978), Scalemates reports these mid-1970s O'Neill 1/72nd offerings:

- CANT Z.511 1975

- AGO Ao.192 Kurier 1974

- Fairchild 100 Pilgrim

- Sikorsky S-39B

- Sikorsky VS-44

- Mitsubishi Ki-2

- Yokosuka H5Y Cherry

Hignly unlikely anybody will model the Z.511 BroPlan included, nightmarish enough obtaining seven of their "Italians" never mind trying to buy Aviation USK's Caproni Ca.133 vacuform, flubbed bidding on two for sale on eBay months ago, first one would had been "walked" if had bidded more on it...grrrr!

[apophenia]

Wow! There's some obscure hydravions there! I'm dead impressed that the Z.511 was ever kitted ... but the Yokosuka H5Y!