¹⁄35

Carro Veloce L3/33

Introduction

A bit of history

This Carro Veloce L3/33 or CV-33 was an Italian tankette produced in 1933 and used by several armies before and during World War II. Vehicle model designations changed as variants with slightly upgraded armor and weapons were produced or field modified. Such changes were welded, bolted or riveted armor and modifying existing tankettes with single to double machine guns. A common field modification was replacing a single 6.5 mm machine gun with double 8 mm guns.

The vehicle’s commander/gunner sat on the left and the driver sat on the right. The engine was mounted in the rear. A drive shaft between the crewmen connected the front transmission and the rear engine. Imagine, while two men operated the tank the drive shaft rotated between the crew! Between 2,000 - 2,500 units were produced from 1933 to 1935. This family of tankettes were used by Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Hungary, Spain and Italy.

Although both lightly armored and under gunned, this diminutive tank filled some important niche rolls. Recon and infantry support were typical unit orders. A flamethrower variant was also produced, designated “L3 Lf.”

About the model

This small model will amaze you, retailing at $50 plus. The completed tankette measures only 4 x 2 inches! Full interior, engine and transmission areas will keep you busy for months. Unfortunately, the build process is complicated because of the fully molded interior.

100% of my model was painted and weathered, all because of the superb detailing inside and out. However, this kit can be a walk in the park if one decides to overlook and close off the interior and engine bays. A very good sprue review of a similar Bronco L-Series kit can be found on Armorama’s website.

References

I winged the entire kit while references are concerned. I relied solely on web images found on Google, Wikipedia, WWIIVehicles.com and TankMuseum.org. Following this method, I was able to build a mostly-accurate CV-33 Italian tankette.