Italeri's 1/35 LAV-25 Air Defence Vehicle
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LAV-25 Air Defence Vehicle
As stated on the side-panel to
the kit box, the U.S. Marine Corps had chosen this version of the amphibious
vehicle LAV-25 as its standard antiaircraft tank for the nineties. The
weapons system is based upon an added turret packed with sophisticated
gear to aim and fire the Stinger missiles which are in easily replaceable
containers. Furthermore, it is equipped with a rapid-fire 25mm gun for
close distance defense..
The Kit
The LAV-25 AD depicted on the boxart is very nice and would help you
in painting and weathering of your truck after assembly. There are some
pics of a built model as well as a Model Master color reference on the
side panel.
In the box you will find an eight-page illustrated instruction booklet,
three large sprues of parts molded in mustard yellow styrene, one sprue
of parts in clear styrene, and a decal sheet. The instruction booklet
is referenced in nine different languages. All parts are documented in
a parts location diagram. All parts are very well molded with virtually
no flash or sink holes to speak of. Steps 1 and 2 assemble the eight-wheeled
suspension system and mates to the lower hull. This is the most time consuming
part of the assembly of this kit as the suspension system will require
careful alignment.
The upper hull is assemble in step 3 using 11 parts. There is a note
informing you not to use a number of parts but do not tell you why. Perhaps,
it is due to this version of the LAV-25. The rear of the hull is detailed
in step 4 and 5 using parts for detail such as doors, handles, tow lugs,
gas cans, etc. There is a painting reference for the tail light units.
Lots of little parts here but they are nicely molded with hardly any flash
to speak of. Steps 5 and 6 add further detail to the upper hull in terms
of head light units, tools, muffler, grab handles. I would drill out the
molded headlights and replace with MV lenses. As with some of Italeri's
other kits, the tires are NOT black vinyl moldings but are two-part styrene.
The tread pattern is correct and very well detailed. Some sanding may
be required when you mate the two halves together. These are mated to
the suspension system in this step. The air defense turret is assembled
in step 8 - 10. This is where you will use the enclosed clear styrene
parts for the turret window glass. Don't forget to use white glue for
the windows as super glue will 'frost' them up. The 12-piece 25mm gatling
gun is very well detailed is going to require steady hands to assemble
this five-barreled monster. Its an odd looking turret to say the least
but it must be functional or the Marines would not have chosen it for
air defense. Step 11 completes the assembly of your LAV-25 AD by mating
the turret with the hull.
You have a choice of two LAVs to paint, mark and weather. One is the sand-colored
development vehicle from the Yuma test range in 1993 and the other is
a dark green one from an unknown Marine unit. As usual, Italeri's decals
are some of the best quality around.
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Conclusion
The LAV-25 AD kit is a very good version of this versatile wheeled design.
For the large number of small parts Italeri did a very good job of mold
craftsmanship. This enables the small parts to contain virtually no flash
to be found on this kit. They even put the injector pins off most of the
parts instead of directly on them. You can beat the midrange price for
such a kit. If you are a Marine AFV builder I would highly recommend this
kit. I would like to thank Testor's
for the review kit.
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