Italeri 1/35 Cannone da 47/32 Model 39 with crew
By Don Barry
Overview
Italeri's kit #6490 is a 47mm anti-tank gun used in the early/middle stages of WW II in Italy’s wars in North Africa. The gun is built with the wheels demounted, as could be done with the real article, in order to lower its silhouette to facilitate emplacement. Also included is a five man gun crew, the separate wheels and stub axles, an ammunition box, and six shells. All the gun parts are on one sprue, while the figure parts occupy the second.
The Kit
Molded in medium grey styrene, the plastic is softer than that of other manufacturers, not yielding to scraping as readily as a harder material. Surface detail on the figures is also on the soft side, with simplistic facial and uniform sculpting. They are also oversized, being closer to 1/32 scale. The gun is a bit better detailed, though fit issues marred its construction. The breech block is at least 20% too small, and the breech itself was quite out of square on my review kit. Ejector marks marred parts in several areas, many being too constricted to readily clean up.
The barrel is a single piece, but the hollowed out muzzle piece does not match the barrel size, necessitating much sanding to blend it in. The parts have large attachment points, joining to sprues in excess of ¼ inch in diameter in some spots. Painting instructions are two drawings of representative figures on the box back, with paint color codes for Italeri Acrylic colors the only option. I followed the paint color names, followed by a sepia wash, and selective dry brushing for the photos.
Conclusion
Italeri does not seem to be taking any cues from other model manufacturers, as far as improving fit, level of detail, etc. Perhaps we as modelers are spoiled, but at this price point, this reviewer was not impressed. These would be good figures for the beginner to work on, though the gun would be challenging. I found this kit not well recommended. Thank you to MRC for supplying this review kit.
