"The Macchi M33" is an Italian seaplane, originally manufactured around 1926. It is widely considered to be the prototype for the red aircraft flown by protagonist Marco Pagot in the Japanese animated film Crimson Pig. I first saw the film about a decade ago and immediately thought the plane looked magnificent. That said, some argue the film’s aircraft was actually based on a biplane, with Hayao Miyazaki allegedly misremembering it as a monoplane – though I can’t speak to the finer details of that theory.

Regarding my in-game replica of this aircraft: I actually began constructing it two years ago. After completing the fuselage, I shelved the project because I’d hit a creative block, and only recently revisited it to finish the build. According to the blueprints I sourced, the plane had two distinct vertical tail fin designs – I’ve opted for the left-hand version shown in the diagrams.

As for controls, there are no special techniques or toggles – it handles like any standard aircraft in the game. Truthfully, I’ve no idea what unique features the real-world counterpart might have had. But I digress. In any case, enjoy your flight!