1:56 Italian Tanks & Semoventi

Italian armor in 1:56 scale from Italeri

This box belongs to the range that Italeri aims at 1:56 scale. That matches figures about 28 millimeters tall, of the kind used in board and tabletop war games. The subject is Italian tanks and self-propelled guns, that is equipment far less well represented in the usual modeling scales than German or American types. The parts are ordinary injection-molded plastic, so you work with the same tools as on larger models; everything is simply smaller.

The real subject

During the Second World War the Italian armored forces built on tanks of the medium category and on self-propelled guns known as semovente. These came about by setting a gun into a low fixed superstructure on a tank chassis, which saved both weight and height and made the machine easier to conceal. Service ran from the North African desert to the battlefields of Europe, and after 1943 the equipment appeared on both sides of the front. Sand and gray-green finishes with irregular patches belong to it as inseparably as dust does.

Building and painting tips

In a scale this small it pays to airbrush the large areas and to finish the details with a brush at the very end. The decals are small, so a decal softener and a gloss base make them easier. If the model is headed for a gaming table, expect it to be handled and choose a tougher final varnish. Drybrushing on the edges brings out the shape of the hull better than fine shading does.

Who the set is for

• For players of tabletop war games in 1:56 scale
• For collectors of less usual Italian equipment
• For modelers who want to be finished in a single weekend
• For those who build smaller dioramas with limited space

The box contains unassembled and unpainted parts; glue and paints are not supplied, unless stated otherwise.