It's nice to see other World War II armored vehicles now being made in plastic. This light tank had a short life on the Eastern and African fronts and worked its last days fighting for the Axis against the Yugoslav Partisans.
The kit has a partial interior, posable hatches, link-and-length tracks, movable suspension, a metal barrel, clear optical pieces, and markings for four Italian and one German vehicle. The enclosed reference booklet features walkaround photos of the vehicle, color illustrations, and illustrated parts breakdowns for those who want to scratchbuild additional details.
The lower hull is built up from six parts and poses no significant fit issues. The two side panels had minor ejector-pin marks I filled using super glue. After the hull was built, I painted the interior Tamiya X-1 white. Applying an oil wash of burnt sienna heightened detail and made it look lived in. No ammo rack or radio is included; if you want them, you'll either have to wait for the aftermarket or scratchbuild these yourself.
For the engine bay, two hatches can be posed open or closed. But no engine or mounts are included. Again, wait for the aftermarket or scratchbuild your own. The drive-sprocket teeth need filing so the tracks would seat correctly.
Not counting hatches and grilles, the hull top comprises seven pieces: a five-piece superstructure plus separate front and rear decks. I had to fill ejector-pin marks around the turret ring, and the 20mm muzzle has two large sprue attachments that needed work to erase. I found more ejector-pin marks on the commander's hatch, and was disappointed in the soft detail for the locking-handle hardware on the hatch.
With a choice of five markings, I finally settled on the Italian anti-Partisan tank with tricolor camouflage and Mickey Mouse decal art. Mickey was missing his eyes; I used a fine-tip marker to fix this omission.
I painted the hull according to the kit instructions with Testors Model Master colors, and used Tamiya X-1 white for the interior, Tamiya XF-56 metal on the tracks, and Tamiya pastels for weathering. Again, the reference booklet came in handy.
With the multipiece hull and a few difficult repairs, I would only recommend this to modelers with at least intermediate skills. Still, it was a nice 20-hour build, and with all the diorama possibilities - Eastern Front, Africa, Yugoslavia, or Italy - modelers can have a lot of fun adding this little tank to their WWII collection.
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