Italeri 1/72 7051 – Autoblinda AB 41

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Hello all,

I would like to apologize for not posting much work lately due to a massive amount of work and home life commitments, the real world rears it ugly head again!

Any way back to business. I really love Italian armour and especially Italeri Italian armour. I don’t know why but I just do. I wanted to try out a new product I came across on another modelling forum. It is a liquid filler that can be applied with a brush to get into those hard to reach places. It is called “Mr surfacer 1200”, there is several grades “500” as well as “1000”. I think with a bit of practice I can see really working for me.

The build was nice and easy for a change, a few problem’s with the smaller items like towing hooks and petrol caps that got eaten by the carpet monster. I wish manufactures would include more stowage on kits, this one to be fair did have several Jerry cans and separate pioneer tools which always add a bit of realism to a model rather than moulded ones.

The tires are a bit of a let down due to the fact that they have no tread what so ever, bald as a coot. There are resin ones on the market but I believe the other Italeri kit has tires with treads. It is a minor moan because the tires and hubs are separate with means it is easier to paint .

Once assembled the next stage was the decals. It came with three options and I had to go for the colourful police version. They went on very well as is normal I find with Italeri decals. A little help with micro-sol was needed to give a really good painted on look. A tip I found was leave off the front towing eye and petrol caps till after the decals are on.

The weathering was a heavy wash of pro modeller dirt wash, left to dry and then lightly washed off with a cotton bud. There is dirty and then there is driven into a pig sty! A pencil was used on the edges to give an illusion of scraped metal and general ware and tear. Then the whole model was brushed over with Tamiya weathering powder for that sandy look.

Cheers Rich.

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