Macchi M.52 (Porco Rosso)

Porco Rosso (Japanese: 紅の豚 Hepburn: Kurenai no Buta, lit. Crimson Pig) is a 1992 Japanese animated comedy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on Hikōtei Jidai (“The Age of the Flying Boat”), a three-part watercolor manga by Miyazaki. Toshio Suzuki produced the film. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Japan Airlines and the Nippon Television Network and distributed by Toho. Joe Hisaishi composed the music.

 

The plot revolves around an Italian World War I ex-fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing “air pirates” in the Adriatic Sea. However, an unusual curse has transformed him into an anthropomorphic pig. Once called Marco Pagot (Marco Rossolini in the American version), he is now known to the world as “Porco Rosso”, Italian for “Red Pig”.

 

– courtesy of Wikipedia

The finished model:

The story:

As I’ve already discussed in detail during my build projects for the Savoia S.21 and the Curtiss R3C-0, Porco Rosso (1992) is more or less my favourite Studio Ghibli film. In a nutshell, it’s got a neat story with lots of flying scenes featuring float planes and flying boats.  However, one of those planes stands out in my mind from the rest… and I’m not just talking about the Savoia S.21. Obviously EVERYONE loves that plane, including me.  However, I’ve always been enamoured with the Macchi M.52 that makes an all-too-brief appearance, flown by Porco’s friend Ferrari during the escape from Italy portion of the film.

Truth be told, like all the other planes in the  story, the Macchi has been subjected to a bit of artistic freedom. It’s sort of an amalgam of both the Macchi M.39 and the M.52. Regardless, I’m not sure exactly what it is, maybe it’s the fact that symmetrically it looks more like the float plane counterpart to Curtis’ R3C-0 – which makes sense, considering the real-life Schneider Trophy rivalry between the two. Or maybe it just looks cool… either way, I like it. So much, in fact, that it’s inspired me to WHIF up another Schneider Trophy stalwart, the Supermarine S.7.

The build:

Now, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to include a Macchi M.52 in my Studio Ghibli build project, but wanting to and being able to are two different things.  Strangely enough, for such a famous line of planes, there are no full production injection-moulded kits available.  Luckily there are a couple of rare resin short runs out there… but you really have to dig.

Once I had the Vintage Macchi M.52(r) kit in my sights, I hunted high, I hunted low, I hunted here, there and everywhere.  And for a long time, I came up empty handed.  This kit was the “Holy Grail” of all the kits I’ve ever been looking for.  So, when one finally popped up on eBay, I latched on for dear life.  I had to fight (and pay) to get it, but in the end, my valour steadfast and my credit card rang true… I got it.

The thing is, after going through all that to get it, I was a bit afraid to actually build it. What if I screwed it up? This wasn’t an Academy Messerschmidt that I could just pop out and get another boxing of.  So I decided to try something new… recasting.

When you add-in the cost of the silicone for the mould and the resin for the pour(s), it wasn’t cheap, but I think it was worth it.  By recasting the main parts, I’ve given myself the ability to make several M.52 builds without damaging a rare kit in the process.  That might be a bit philosophical, but after searching for so long, it seemed a prudent move.

Getting the moulds just right was a learning experience, but it was an education that would pay off in plenty of other builds, like my Lupin III Fiat 500 and my Tintin Peugeot 403.  One-part and two-part moulds have different challenges, and knowing when to use each of them wasn’t quite as straightforward as I first thought – alignment errors are always potential trouble.  However, once I had the main parts recast, it was pretty smooth sailing.  I was pretty picky about my colour choice, so like the Savoia S.21, I decanted some Tamiya “Italian Red” lacquer paint from a spray can, just to be as accurate as possible.

Given my self-induced pre-build hype, I’m only partially happy with the results.  Luckily, I can re-build it again in the future.  Feel free to let me know how you feel about it though: