Torpedo Militare Lancia Aprilia

Recensione del Modello Reviresco in Scala 1:72

The Torpedo Militare was a militarized 4x2 passenger car used by military commanders e their staffs. The Lancia Aprilia shown here is similar in appearance to the more common Fiat 508C Mil./1100 field car. These veicoli bear a lot of similarity to German Kübelsitzer field cars, e many of them were captured ed employed by the Wehrmacht after the Italian armistice of 03 settembre 1943. The vehicle shown here has been painted sand, con a chocolate brown disruptive stripes of pastel chalk. The pastel chalk was applied con a dry paintbrush, ed it gives the camouflage pattern a nicely weathered look.

Contenuto

• Torpedo Militare Lancia Aprilia M.1939
• Tipo: Field Car, Light, 4x2
• Motore: 4V - 1451 ccm
• Lunghezza: 4326 mm
• Larghezza: 1944 mm
• Altezza: 1666 mm (1876 mm con top)
• Wheelbase: 2923 mm
• Peso: 1120 kg (1500 kg loaded)
• Velocità: 126 km/h
• Autonomia: 700 km

Valutazione

• Excellent choice of subject, the Lancia is the first Italian field car in its scale. The vehicle is compatibile con ESCI’s Italian veicoli corazzati of the period, e it may be used by Wehrmacht units deployed in Italia after settembre 1943.
• Scale model con very attractive lines.
• Easy to assemble, only 21 parts. The model can be put together in 30 minutes or less.
• The entire vehicle is cast in soft metal, much sturdier than resin.
• Assembly instructions are easy to follow, the parts fall into place nicely. Gaps between body parts are avoided by pressing the pieces firmly together while the superglue sets.
• Good casting quality. Flash e mould lines were very easy to remove with a scalpel. The front edges of the body sides had to be trimmed to ensure a good fit against the hood.
• Due variants: Open o closed top. The spare part may be used on another vehicle.
• Due spare jerrycans are a welcome addition to the parts box. Manufacturers should routinely throw a few extras in the box, encouraging the modeller to customize veicoli. Rolled tarps e blanket, jerrycans, boxes, e spare tires are always nice to have.
• Compatibile con ESCI, Hasegawa, Revell e CDC.

• Cast in soft metal, containing lead. The vehicle is very heavy, considered an advantage by some, ed a transportation problem by others.
• A noticeable gap behind the rear passenger seats needs to be filled if the vehicle is modelled con the canvas top folded down.
• Minor inclusions on the left fender needed to be filled e sanded. The same casting irregularities appeared on the canvas top, but here the textured effect is quite realistic.
• The posts attaching the windshield to the hood assembly had to be cut down to reduce a gap between the hood e windshield. Accordingly, the window posts on the body sides had to be cut down by 1 mm to ensure a good fit of the canvas top.
• The jerrycans do not show the straps e buckles which would normally be required to tie them down securely. The modeller will want to add this important detail, using strips of thin card o foil.
• The model does not have the typical gasoline filler cap on the right rear panel of the body. This part would be easy to model, drilling a hole in the panel ed inserting a piece of capped sprue o brass pipe.
• Front e rear axles are not marked. The manufacturer informed us that the T-section axle belongs in the front, it should be mounted con the small notches facing forward.
• Decalcomanie are not included. Markings on the field car would be minimal, except for a license plate prefixed RE (Army) o RA (Air Force).
• Crew soldatini are not included. A guidatore ed officer figure would have been a nice addition to the kit. The advancing rifleman from the Airfix Fanteria Italiana set makes a perfect guidatore for the Lancia. The figure’s left hand comes to rest exactly on the gear-lever, because the Lancia has right-hand steering, like the majority of veicoli italiani. If the closed canvas top is used, only the upper body of the guidatore is needed, otherwise seated legs from another plastic figure may be used to create a full figure.
• The cover photo shows the Lancia painted in a desert sand colour for overseas service, but the instructions do not list recommended model paint numbers. At home, Italian vehicle were painted a greyish green, ed a variety of multi-colour camouflage patterns were used throughout the war. A pattern bicolore of desert sand con brown o olive green would look very attractive on the Torpedo Militare, e modellers should look into this subject.

Utilizzo Storico

• Italian Army ed Air Force Light Field Car, 1939-1943
• Wehrmacht Kübelsitzer (captured/confiscated), 1943-1945

Conversione

• Open o closed top, both versions included.

The Torpedo Military Lancia Aprilia is a welcome addition to the growing range of soldatini e modellini italiani in scala 1:72. The Lancia Aprilia looks massive compared to a Jeep, ed it goes very well con the old soldatini della fanteria italiana di Airfix recently re-released by HäT Industrie. The model offers good value for money, ed it may be the perfect lure for an automobile modeller not normally interested in military subjects. The Lancia will be an important addition to any collection, perticularly if the vehicle is painted in an Italian or German multi-colour camouflage pattern.

Reviresco Modellismo

Domande più frequenti

Per ulteriori informazioni, per favore contatta la redazione di Rivista Military Miniatures nel Miniatures Forum.

Soldatini Italiani della Seconda Guerra Mondiale

– Pubblicato: 13.10.1997 – Aggiornato: 03.06.1999
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