1:35 Italian Tanker - Part. 2 - WWII

The Italian carrista, part two: resin figure in 1:35

A continuation of the pair of figures of Italian tankers from the Royal Model brand. The stance differs from the first part, so both figures can be placed by the same vehicle without the scene looking doubled.

The setting the figure belongs to

The crews of Italian tanks spent most of their time outside the vehicle, in the desert and in the Balkans alike. Inside there was heat, dust and almost no room, so the typical scenes came about: men leaning on the armor, sitting in the shade of the hull, with a jacket laid over a shoulder. The pair of figures in this series captures that rhythm well and helps bring a scene to life where the equipment alone would look static. While there are plenty of German and Allied crews in the modeling range, Italian figures are scarce, so this pair fills a gap that otherwise has nothing to fill it.

The face, the hands and the small details

The face decides the most. Build the skin up from a darker mid tone, put the highlights on the forehead, the nose and the cheekbones, and suggest the eyes with a dark line rather than an exact rendering of the white. Lighten the hands less than the face, otherwise they look like gloves. Unify the finished figure with matte varnish and leave only the eyes and the metal buckles in a fine sheen.

Where the figure stands out

• in a pair with the first part of the series by one vehicle
• on a small base as a standalone painting showpiece
• in scenes of Italian units of the Second World War

The casting is supplied unpainted and unassembled; a base is not included.