Here are a few quick photos of my Italeri Autoblinda AB41(still very much in progress). I'm pleased that Italeri is offering kits of the Italian WWII vehicles like the AB 41 (and I hope it continues). However, with that said this isn't the easiest kit to build (especially in a smaller scale). It's got some of the same fit issues that it's larger cousin in 1:35 has. The kit is assembled as lots of individual plates (without a good stable hull piece to start with - only two plastic pegs to guide you holding the the sides together) which makes assembly a challenge and then requires some putty work to clean up the seams.










I'm doing this AB41as it would've appeared in Italy (1943-44) in German service. I added the tarp on the rear wheel well (which I have photo reference of) and re-worked the shovel and pick - sanding them down to make them smaller and more correct looking for the scale and also to remove the molded on lumps which were supposed to represent the vehicle mounting hooks, and replaced them with a bit of photo etch brass I had left over from a dragon 1:72 sherman kit (that I'm also working on now).

I did a bad job of attaching the width indicators on the front and had to remove and sand down the remaining plastic after removal. I'll have to re-paint those front outer wheel wells, hopefully it won't look too bad. There is also some touch up painting to do, I need to fix the shovel a bit as it looks like the handle is curved, then add some decals from the kit, and then I'm going to give it an oil wash and weather with mig pigments.

I know it's not the greatest but given the kit issues and that it's my first 1:72 build, I'm pretty happy to see it coming along.

Very nice airbrushing on that camo pattern! And on such a small subject. Very good work.
Btw, what paints did you use?

Thanks a bunch. I used Tamiya paints for the camo (it's Dessert Yellow, Olive Green, Nato Brown) and Vallejo "Panzer Aces" for the tools. I've got the wheels done as well I just didn't put them in the pic. My main worry is fixing my mistake on the front wheel wells. I'm also planning on putting some bush/tree branches on/around the vehicle for additional camo (I've got reference photos of AB41's in action with branches attached at the four corners to help break up the outline). So perhaps with the aid of some strategically placed branches/leaves any issues with the front wheel wells won't be so noticeable?

That's the problem with the wheels?

Looking great so far!

I have been eyeing off this kit for a while now. Seeing this and another build has made me finally make my mind up.

Mike

Here is a photo of the front. It's out of focus in the front but it gives you a better view of the outer wheel well damage. It's from my removing the width indicator sticks (they didn't line up correctly).



Hopefully some touch up painting will fix that and I can move on.

Oh yes, wheel wells, I should read these things twice before writing anything.
I bet some touching-up and strategically placed camouflage material will conceal the problem area nicely.

No problem at all...I'm not sure what the correct name for them would be (wheel wells prob isn't it). The good news is the paint touching-up is covering the damaged portion nicely and I've sourced some beautiful bush/tree branches with leaves from a Hobby Town USA store. Apparently this isn't something carried at all their locations it's something custom made by the wives of one of the employees. Here is a pic:



They had a large variety of all different types of trees/bushes, etc. Not sure how this tree type would work specifically for my purposes (vehicle camo) but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it (as I doubt they would have chosen a tree with white branches for their camo).

A few more pics of my 1/72 AB41 now that I've got the wheels on, touched up the paint, and got a coat of future on (ready for decals).

i see a good strat!　keep on!
the small car is so Lovable～

Phil,

Been following your build and you are doing an outstanding job of it thusfar. Keep up the excellent work. Without the coin next to the vehicle it would be hard to see just how small this model really is. Waiting to see more.

-Eddy

Thanks for showing interest and the kind words of encouragement both Char & Eddy! I really do appreciate it.

I got the decals on (that's all the markings I'm going to do). I didn't go along with what the instructions had for the markings, I instead went with markings I found in pics and info from my references. I was also considering doing another balkenkreuz marking on the back-facing door area of the turret as I've read that was common with these AB41's in German service. But I do have reference pics with that marking and without at that spot, so I guess it's up to my personal preference.

I'm going to do a light spray of future again over the markings to seal the deal and then I'll move on to the weathering & details. I'm also preparing a small base for this build, nothing spectacular just a dark stained wooden rectangle and perhaps a spot of rocky ground covering with a few tiny weed patches. I've been going slow on this build but I've got a few different ones going at the same time (1/72 Dragon M4A1 Normandy, plus I'm building the newly released 1/35 Tamiya Panzer II Ausf A/B/C kit for the Blitzkrieg campaign).

Here are some pics of my latest progress (holding turret in place for pics):
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the weathering will hopefully bring this even more to life that in already is!!