Italeri 1/72 Caproni Ca.313/314,. previewed by Scott Van Aken

The Caproni Ca.313 was an Italian twin-engine reconnaissance bomber of the late-1930s. It was a development of the Ca.310. Its variants were exported to several other countries including Sweden and France (five of which were delivered prior to Italy entering the war).

The Caproni Ca.314 was an Italian twin-engine attack/torpedo bomber aircraft, used in World War II. Derived from the similar Ca.310, the Ca.314 was used mainly for ground attack and torpedo bomber missions. It was the most extensively-built Ca.310 derivative, and included variants dedicated to light bomber, convoy escort/maritime patrol, torpedo bomber, and ground-attack.

THE KIT

This kit was originally released in 1972 and has been reissued several times, the last in 2022. It was also reboxed by Revell. It is not difficult to find and is one of those kits which would benefit greatly from a set of canopy masks. Thanks to its vintage, the kit has a really basic interior and the exterior has raised detailing for the most part.

My example is molded in a greenish plastic. The cockpit has a floor, generic seats, a control and instrument panel and a pair of figures to help fill things out. The majority of transparencies fit from the inside and have large backing areas. There is no detail at all in the cabin. Upper and lower gun positions are supplied with an abbreviated crew member to man the lower gun.

The kit can be built with either a fully enclosed nose as on an He-111 or an stepped, airliner like one. This needs to be determined early in the build as there are two of the four markings options for each variety. Engine nacelles are also quite basic with engine openings, but nothing behind them. Gear wells also have no detail nor side walls so one can look into the engine intakes and see out the gear wells. Props are meant to turn and can be installed after painting. Wings have separate ailerons and this is true of the elevators and the rudder. Main landing gear is fairly well done and each main wheel has a mud guard. Since these are light bombers, a pair of machine gun pods is provided for the underside of the fuselage.

Instructions consist of four steps, each of which is basically an exploded view. There is only color information for the exterior and that is with generic shades. Four markings options are provided. Three of them are of the standard, fairly heavily mottled camouflage that you normally see on WWII Italian aircraft and these are all Ca.313s. One Italian, one French, and one Swedish option. The Ca.314 torpedo bomber (the kit does supply the torpedo and mounts) is in a later Italian scheme of a solid green upper surface and light grey underside. The decals are very nicely done, though I have my doubts if they will still be viable. This can pose an issue as there is not much in the way of aftermarket for this aircraft.

Though not everyone's cup of tea, it is still a viable kit that builds into an interesting looking aircraft. For sure, it will look nice on your shelf when done.

KIT #:	106
PRICE:	Currently @$25.00 or so
DECALS:	Four options
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	1972 tooling