ESCI – 8031 – Italian 75mm. Fiat-Ansaldo 75/18

Description:

Italian 75mm. Fiat Ansaldo 75/18

Unassembled plastic model kit in 1/72 scale of an Italian WWII assault gun Semovente da 75/18, produced by FIAT-Ansaldo over the chassis of the M13/40, M14/41 or M15/42 tank chassis, fitting the 75mm Obice da 75/18 modello 34 mountain gun in a fixed armoured upper structure in the classic way of assault guns or tank destroyers. Only around 260 units were produced, with production split in 60 for the M40 chassis, 160 for the M41 and the rest on the M42 chassis.

After Italian capitulation in 1943 around 130 of them were seized by Germans and immediately pressed into service.

This is one of the famous ESCI kits that didn’t reached the ESCI-Ertl stage, it w believed to be lost for years till Italeri re-released it, sadly including the same bad single piece tracks without inner detail. ESCI tooled this kit in 1975, and again it was mostly a nice detailed kit, with exception of the tracks, the couple of figures included, which are in the basic detail below rest of the kit, and some pin ejectors marks here and there. In the good things the kit even includes some interior detail as engine.

The original decal sheet include three Italian markings, for North Africa if we are not wrong and one German marking.

The kit was also released in the 70s under Revell and Hasegawa brands, and as per today, remains as the only kit in 1/72 scale (in any of their releases) of this interesting Italian piece which performed decently in the battlefield. The kit shared one full sprue including running gear and low hull with the ESCI – 8030 – Fiat Ansaldo M13/40 kit.

Same kit was later released with new decals by Italeri a Italeri – 7045 – Semovente 75/18 M40-M41.