Italeri

1/35 Camionetta AS 42 Sahariana

Kit Number: 6452

Reviewed by  Kip Rudge, IPMS# 40597 Photos by  Mike Carroll

MSRP: $59.00 I don't know if you've been keeping track of Italeri lately, but these guys' "cool factor" is increasing exponentially over the last couple of years. After a few years in the second tier model producing class mainly rehashing old efforts (which in all fairness were excellent for their time) and offering some real hit and miss new efforts, Italeri appears to have found a new lease on life. Projects such as the AB 41, LCVP, LCM, and amphibs (DUKW and LVT) have lifted Italeri out of the armor also rans. With that in mind, it's also important to understand that this is still Italeri, which isn't always a bad thing. And that brings me to our subject matter - the AS 42 Sahariana. I won't bore you with development or combat history - because I don't know much about it … but cheer up, nobody seems to! Suffice it to say that the Sahariana was Italy's answer to the British LRDG vehicles; a purpose-built design based on the AB 41 chassis designed to go chasing off into the desert after guys who like eel pie and talk like Austin Powers. Besides all-new body work, the design eliminated the rear steering and drive of the AB 41. Only a few dozen were built, but several online sites indicate that several found their way into German hands after the Italian armistice. These may have met their untimely demise on the Eastern Front. Cool, Huh? Well enough of that history crap; we're geeks so let's get to geekin'. This is one odd looking duck if there ever was one. Almost boat-like, there really isn't much to compare it to. As one would expect, the kit includes several chassis sprues from the AB 41. There are rubber (or vinyl, or something like that) tires, including the spare. There's a sheet of photo etch, clear acetate, a sprue of resin colored plastic and a bag of resin goodies. The resin goodies include a nice engine compartment and two figures. And the big bonus is a great little reference booklet that contains as many AS 42 photos as I have ever seen. Quite a nice package. As soon as I got this kit I knew I had to do the engine compartment and open this baby up. So I improvised with the assembly sequence, but of course most of us do that - even when we do use instructions (We don't need no steenkin' instructions!!). After asking around, I soon discovered that no one really knows what color the engine compartment was. Nor was anyone certain about Italian primer colors. I opted to paint the engine compartment primer red because … well there is no compelling reason beyond why would the Italians paint an engine compartment if the anal Germans didn't? Right? After assembling the chassis by the book - which went together with NO problems and was plumb right off the bat - I started figuring out how to approach the engine compartment. It was obvious right away that the engine needed to be painted and weathered separately and then installed in the chassis then the body work dropped in over it. The engine is a cool little kit in itself and went together almost flawlessly. These could find their way easily into your AB 41 - the kit chassis pan is the same. I was able to find out that the Italians left their engines either unpainted or painted them a metallic silver of some type. Modelmaster steel filled the bill. Okay with the engine done I began surgery on the body floor. The designers of the Sahariana were kind enough to design a tranny hump and plate right where I needed it - Thanks Boys! A little work with my trusty Tiger Saw (the 12th wonder of the modern world), and presto chango - the panel was out. At this point I completed basic body build. And now a few cautionary notes. It is my contention that the Far Eastern model manufacturers sold their allotments of knock-out pin marks to Italeri. Yes Italeri has a knock-out pin mark monopoly - or at least cartel - that rivals the Three Stooges monopoly on eye poking. Be aware at every step you will be dealing with a knock-out pin mark. The molding is good - no sink marks. However the knock-out pin marks appear to breed. Unfortunately Italeri is still refining their process for designing the kits so the knock-out pin marks are hidden. That and cold fusion will make the world into Utopia. Also be on the lookout for sprue B. Ummm it's kind of hard to find, and a lot of parts are on it. Italeri molded sprue B as part of sprue G. And the last of the gripes this session is Italeri's molders. For a new kit virtually every part with a mold seam was slightly out of alignment. And by slightly I mean just enough to annoy, not like you see from some Eastern European producers. This makes for a lot of clean up. Ok, enough melancholy. After butchering the floor, I assembled the body with the exception of the front hood (if you can call it that). The body was test fitted to the chassis and fit very nicely. The engine compartment was built and painted on both the chassis and body. The compartment builds very full and goes together pretty well. Getting the exhaust and fan supports to line up was only a little problematic, but after all we ARE modelers, aren't we? Before I attached the body to the chassis I test fit and marked the location of the panel I cut out … glued it to the chassis and then attached the body. Amazingly it fit. I've always been a "measure twice, cut three times" kind of guy, so I bought myself a beer. The gun mount, crew seats and driver's paraphernalia was added along with some accessories and the interior was painted and weathered. I masked the engine compartment by Blue Tacking the hood in place. This was left in place for painting the exterior. The Italeri color call-out for the basic vehicle color is their sand 4720 in the acryl colors. I'm not sure on what that is based since it is very, very pale - almost beige. But like any good geek who doesn't like to think too much I went along with it 'cause I don't know better. While I waited for the paint, washes and pastels to dry, I finished the 20mm cannon. I replaced the barrel with an aluminum 20mm German barrel due to mold shift and the detail is a little soft there. I also added a photo-etch spider web sight from the spare PE drawer. The gun finishes up nicely and will be super nice once after-market barrels become available. I painted and weathered the gun, and set it aside. I then set about finishing the exterior of the beastie. This is where one encounters Italeri's bulletproof photo etch. I won't complain about the thickness of the PE simply because it's pretty much scale on for the sand channels. It's weird to bend but works well everywhere except the jerry can holders on the front fenders, where it is slightly over scale and is weirdly designed. It is a one-piece design and features a couple of strange fold-overs and over lapping flaps on the top. If I were to do it again (and I might) I would wrap the PE around the already completed jerry cans. Also I wasn't real crazy about the pre molded jerry can racks on the sides. They are too uniform. I understand it reduces parts count by about 30-50 but I think leaving one or two out would make a nicer kit. In any event, a capable modeler can scratch build the racks easily. Finding Italian jerry cans may be a little harder. But there weren't any real build issues on the exterior. I left the wheels and sand channels off during painting and weathering and finished them separately. Several outfits have come out with AS 42 tires but frankly I see no reason at all to use them. There are no fit or size issues with these tires. Some have said there is a lip on the hub, but I can't see it. Also the tread pattern in the kit is the only one I could see on AS 42s actually in combat. The wheels were given a light dusting with radome tan to simulate dust and then thinned yellow ochre oil paint was flowed into the tread pattern. Before final weathering the decals were applied. The big Italian flag on the rear deck took some work to get snuggled to the louvers. I spanked that decal with Solvaset a few times and had to take a sharp 11 blade to slit the fronts of several louvers but it finally set very tight. Final finishing included washes with thinned Vandyke brown oil paint. I use either Turpenoid or another synthetic paint thinner - Daler-Rowney low odour (hoity-toity) thinners. I've found neither attack my acryl gloss base and it flows very nicely. I also dry brushed lightly with the base color. I added more chips and flakes than normal, due to these vehicles took an incredible beating in the desert. You'll see when you get the little booklet. I did not do the figures for two reasons. First I'm not good at figs. Second is that the figs in my kit were not well molded and had substantial chucks of resin where the molds were already deteriorating. I'd rather have seen them in plastic so they possibly could be salvaged. I really like this kit. It shows some cahones by Italeri to produce kits of little known vehicles like this. And it ain't German - the preoccupation of every modeling company east of India and west of the International Date Line. If you put aside the clean up issues, this is a sweet little build. It was one the more complex paint processes I have undertaken due to engine compartment, interior and exterior and details having to be painted separately. Plus weathering was pretty extensive. Will I do another? Just soon as somebody offers the evil looking Solothurn AT rifle for the weapons, I'm on it. Thanks to Italeri for this review kit.

About the Reviewer: Kip Rudge is a founding member of the Blue-Grey Renegades IPMS Chapter of Lynchburg VA. He one day hopes to be named king of his own country.

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