There is no doubt that the Italians did not build really ugly aircraft. They have the same passion to planes as they do to cars. A good case in point is the Fiat RS.14 float plane torpedo bomber. The RS.14 first flew in 1938 and was an exceptionally clean design without the usual plethora of struts and wires of other float planes of the period.

It's good aerodynamics made it a maneuverable aircraft that allowed it to breeze through acceptance trials and into production. By the time that Italy was into the war, several squadrons were flying the type, mostly from bases in Sardinia and the Aegean. The RS.14 was operated in two versions, one of which had a detachable lower gondola that would allow the carrying of bombs or a single torpedo. Without the gondola, the aircraft was restricted to the SAR mission. A total of 150 aircraft were built, some of which flew with the Co-Belligerent Air Force and some may also have been used by the Germans. Unfortunately, photos of the type are rather rare so the modeler will have quite a job locating color schemes for it.

Xotic 72 contract their mold making to manufacturers in the Czech Republic (your editor thinks it may be MPM). As a result, the kit is well done and should not present any real surprises to those who have done a few short run kits. Probably the biggest hurdle will be the vac clear parts as the entire nose is a two-piece vacuform construct.

There are no resin pieces with this one, instead, all but a few parts are in injected plastic. The small etched fret contains an instrument panel and parts for the exterior such as mass balance horns. There are two main options. One is whether or not to use the central gondola. The other regards the cockpit section and several options regarding usage of the vac pieces.

Markings are for two aircraft. One is the box art airplane from 170 Sqd and it can either be done as shown or in a two-tone grey. The other is for a two-tone grey plane from 186 Sqd. The decals themselves are very well done and appear to be produced by Propagteam. Ali d'Italia Mini #3 is the recommended reference for building this kit and perhaps it will provide other markings possibilities as well.

Overall this looks like a very nice kit of an equally interesting aircraft. If your penchant is for either Italian planes, or for float planes, then you should seriously consider picking up this kit. You can get it direct from the link below.

Review kit courtesy of the fine folks at Aviation USK Nebraska. Thank you for your support.

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