Italeri New releases for 2019 | Model Kits Review

When Hobbico left us at the beginning of 2019, the future of Italeri models seemed uncertain. Hobbico was the main distributor of Italeri models and other products in the USA market. Little we knew that Model Rectifier Corporation was going to get the steering wheel of the brand here in the States. But then there was a drought period that had many in the hobby speculating about the future of MRC. Some went to the extreme side and claimed that like Hobbico, Model Rectifier Corp went the way of the Dodo.

Those speculators were way off. Model Rectifier is alive and kicking. They changed ownership. The original owner of MRC was at 95 on his way to a well-deserved retirement. That’s what caused MRC’s hiatus. Not only there was a change in their administration, but also a physical move of their premisses which I’m told was a monumental task.

Among other kits from the brand, here is what’s new from Italeri in the 3rd quarter:

Italeri 1/35 M4A1 SHERMAN with U.S. infantry Kit 6568

CONTAINS 10 FIGURES – NEW GLUEABLE RUBBER TRUCKS – SUPER DECALS FOR 3 VERSIONS – COLOR INSTRUCTIONS SHEET

The M4 Sherman medium tank was the primary tank used by the US during World War II. It has been produced in a significant number of units and it formed the backbone of United Stated armored forces during at those time. It has been produced in several variants and versions. The first version to be produced on a wide scale was the Sherman M4A1 characterized by the rounded edges of the full cast upper hull. Even the turret had a rounded appearance. The Sherman entered combat in armored corps of United States Army in 1942 during the first months of the war. It was armed with the 75 mm gun that was replaced in the latest A1 version with the high-speed 76 mm gun. Thanks to its Continental R975 gasoline engine the tank was able to obtain good performances on all type of terrains. The Sherman was reliable, cheap and easy to produce in great numbers.

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Decals for 3 versions
Skill: 3
Model Dim.: 16.7 cm
Box Dim.: 345 x 242 x 60 mm
MSRP: $57.99 USD
The provided figures are from the Master Box Set MB-35164.

Italeri 1/72 Fokker F-27-400 “Friendship”

The twin-engine Fokker F-27 Friendship was developed during the 50s by a Dutch airplane manufacturer to provide a valid successor to the old traditional piston engine Douglas DC-3 in service since World War II. The Fokker F-27 immediately achieved commercial success in civil and military uses and it was even produced under license in the United States.

Thanks to its two 2.250 Hp Rolls-Royce turboprop engines the Fokker was able to reach the max speed of 460 Km/h. Since the start of its production, it was adopted by a lot of airlines that found in it the best solution for short-haul routes. The adoption of two turboprop engines, compared to traditional piston engines, reduced vibrations and provided improved comfort on board. The plane was very versatile and was widely used for freight transport activities, troop transport duties and maritime patrol.

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SUPER DECAL SHEET FOR 3 VERSIONS – COLOR INSTRUCTION SHEET

Type: Cargo
Period: from ’50
Skill: 3
Model Dim.: 35.6 cm
Box Dim.: 373 x 241 x 60 mm
MSRP: $58.99 USD

1/48 BYE-BYE Mirage F-1 CT/CR “Special Edition”

The Mirage F1 was developed by the French to equip the French Air Force (Armée de l’air) squadrons with a modern multi-role fighter. The Mirage F1 entered service at the beginning of the seventies and was characterized by a shoulder-mounted swept wing and the adoption of the Snecma Atar turbojet engine giving the aircraft a max speed of Mach 2.2.

During the years, several versions of the F1 were produced and most of them dedicated to export. For instance, the Mirage F1 CR was set to perform aerial reconnaissance tasks adopting internal equipment and external pods. The Mirage F1 CT was the ground attack version and was developed to replace the old Mirage IIIE. It was improved with more modern avionics and ground targets identification and tracking systems.
Decals for three versions.