DOC MODELS 1/72 CV-33 (L3/33) Italian Light Tank By Kent Kirkpatrick

Overview

In 1929 Italy purchased some Vickers-Carden-Lloyd Mk VI tankettes. At the same time they received permission to manufacture them. Under the designation Carro Veloce (CV) 29, Ansaldo built 25 with auto parts from Fiat. The CV-33 light tank is a direct descendent of the CV 29, designed and built by Ansaldo from 1931 to 1932. There were a number of variants of this 3-¼ ton two-man tankette. Main armament was either one or two bow machine guns. Variants included a bridge layer CV-33 II although it was never used in battle.

The Kit

DOC MODELS box art is very well done as a reference with color plates on the back when you get ready to paint and apply decals. The color plates on the back of the box art contain references for the painting and marking of 3 CV-33s. This CV-33 kit contains 2 vinyl tracks and 1 styrene sprue containing 34 parts. The styrene parts molded in a green drab color with no sinkholes, injector pin indentations or flash residue. DOC MODELS seems to use a softer styrene for their kits. This is good in that small parts may bend but not break when mishandled. All parts appear to be well defined and in scale. The one-piece tracks are VERY delicate and thin but detailed on both sides. The lower hull is made up of 3 parts. The upper hull is nicely detailed from the engine deck vents down to the rivets. Parts detail compare to the actual pictures of the vehicle. A suggestion would be to drill out the bow machine gun barrels and engine exhausts. I suggest using a round dental bit to open up the headlight assembly (parts 16) for MV lenses. That would really enhance the appearance of this model. The nicely illustrated kit instructions are bi-lingual (Italian and English). The decal sheet is excellent in that the decal film is very thin and the printing of the markings are fine. There are markings for 7 Italian and 2 German vehicles. Unfortunately, they don't tell you what all the unit markings are. Pay attention to the color plates on the back of the box art for some of this information. Positioning of the decals do not appear to be difficult as they are all located on the upper hull sides. When built, this little model will be only 1 ½ inches long!

Conclusion

DOC MODELS initial venture into injection molded small-scale armor is welcomed. Italian AFVs have been largely absent from this segment of modelers. This little gem is of high quality even though there are few parts and it's a bit pricey. I hope this is an indication of how future releases will be from them. You will not be disappointed with purchasing this Doc Models product.

I would like to thank Squadron Mail Order for the review kit.