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M24 Chaffee (Early) ITALERI Kit#6431 |
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Reviewed By Jack Bruno, # 25313 |
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The M-24 Chaffee was no
match for Tigers / Panthers / Panzer IV's in Europe, but speed and the
ability to come and go where it was needed made the M-24 a success in
recon and support. In the early 1950s it was replaced by the M-41 Walker
Bulldog but still soldiered on in the service of other country's.
When I received this review sample I was expecting a bit of the same old reissue. Pleasantly, I was a bit surprised to see that a few changes were in store for one of Italeri's better Armor releases. Included on the "NEW" SPRUE "E" are new sprockets to fit the NEW steel track (rubber banded type) common to the vehicles of WWII and export versions to British and French units, additional storage boxes and tarps and new spare track sections to match the steel tracks. There is a fine decal sheet with markings for a Vehicle from 5 different Units and a clear plastic sheet for a windshield. As usual, with kits molded this long ago, additional after-market Photo-Etched would greatly enhance the kit, but with a little time and patience a very good contest model can be built. Ejector marks on the tracks on every other track link is a little time consuming to fix. On the up side, the tracks are detailed on both sides and with some minor dry-brushing can look like a million bucks. The armor plate itself is a little to "clean" for my taste, so a quick trip to the Dremel shop to make a few dents/dings on the plastic to give it that TANK look would be in order. For the purist, the liquid glue treatment on the plastic and dappling with a brush would bring out a cast effect that would be awfully neat. Some careful weld seams can be added around the turret too. One of my modeling friends, Joe Schock, taught me how to replace all the handles on the tools using toothpicks and a hobby knife to shape/carve new handles. Sadly, there is no crew figure included in the kit. No doubt one of the after-market company's can be of assistance here. The Chaffee is a nice build for any modeler with a couple of kits under the belt. It's not one of those shake and bake kits, but a very good representation of a US Light Tank. Throw in the movie "Battle of the Bulge" in your VCR or DVD to see Telly Savales run around the countryside and get whacked! RECOMMENDED!!! Thanks to ITALERI and John Noack for the review kit. |
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