Italeri War Gaming Sets x 3

¼ ton. 4x4 Truck (Jeep) fast assembly kit
Zis 3 AT Gun with Crew
PAK 40 AT Gun with Crew

Italeri 1/72 Scale

Reviewed by Glen Porter

Summary

FirstLook

Over the last couple of years, Italeri have been producing some kits especially for War Gamers. Some have been in the form of extra parts in a normal 1/72nd scale kit to make it a  fast build, less detailed subject and some have been specifically for the War Gamers with two sets of parts per kit. These three are of the latter.

I am not a War Gamer so I am looking at them from the point of view of a normal Braille Scale modeller. The War Gamers themselves may take a slightly different view.

The Models

The Jeep

In my opinion, the best Jeep in this scale is the Airfix/Heller offering. It is quite accurate and although a lot of modellers aren't aware of it, it is 1/72nd scale. The Hasagawa and Academy kits are well moulded but have some bigger problems  but none the less, I have seen some good models made using those kits.

Although this model from Italeri has only 11 parts it corresponds closely to the Airfix example in shape and size and has almost as much detail. Like the Airfix, but unlike the other two, it comes with a canvas tilt and would make a very good background model for a diorama or, with a bit of extra work, could be brought up to normal Braille Scale standard. 

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The Zis 3 Anti Tank Gun

Considering the small parts count for the gun, it is surprisingly well detailed, however, I noted a few ejector pin marks here and there which may cause a problem but again, it would probably work quite well in the background and I doubt the War Gamers would be too concerned by them.

The figures, on the other hand, are top notch and in hard plastic too, I note that some people claim they are soft plastic but it's not the soft rubbery stuff you get from Airfix etc. There are areas on two figures where he is holding a shell close to the body and it's just shown as a flat top with no gap in between. The other four are very usable with good poses and a variety of uniforms and head gear including the quilted clothing often worn by the Russians in WWII.

The disadvantage of this, and the Pak 40 kit, is the plastic is not that normally used by Italeri and does not respond to plastic glue so either Super Glue or Two Part Epoxy will be required.

Pak 40 Anti Tank Gun

Like the Russian gun, this one has good detail and also some pesky ejector pin marks. The left hand side of the gun mount however, is moulded separately while the right hand is moulded on to the gun. This is a pity.

The old Esci Pak 40, recently re-released by Italeri, was quite a good kit but one fault stood out. The barrel was moulded in the recoil position. Now, had Italeri not moulded the RH mount on to the barrel and recoil mechanism of this new one, it could have been used as a replacement part for the Esci kit. Just another little mystery as to why people do thing the way they do. Also noted, Italeri have put the wheels in the wrong place on the gun. They should be one position further forward toward the shield and are therefore too wide apart but I think this can be corrected without much drama.

Again, like the Russian Gun kit, the figures are very good but with the same pros and cons.

Conclusion

As I stated above, I'm looking at these sets from a modeller's perspective and the War Gamers may see thing differently. Indeed, the faults that I have pointed out may not to them be faults at all or they might see faults or indeed advantages that I can't. Even so, these kits can still be used by modellers especially as background items and the Jeep in particular could, with some extra work and imagination, be built into a contest winner.

Recommended.

Thanks to Italeri for the review sample.