I picked this up two weeks ago and I am about to start on it. Anyone else doing so at the moment?

Just wondering if I should just go aftermarket tracks?

Whoa, where'd that come from? Is that the Italeri kit reboxed for Academy?

There are video clips of this kit on YouTube in Korean. But the side of the box clearly has an Italeri logo on it and the parts are definitely the Italeri kit.

The Academy Italeri thing still has me confused also. I have been trying to understand are the companies the same or only joint on certain projects? If so, why only some?

I came close to getting the AFV version. I then came across this one and really wanted to check it out as it runs half the cost versus AFV.

Two different companies. Academy - Korean and Italeri - so obvious it's Italian. They only rebox each other's kits time to time. I don't know why - must be some sort of marketing advantage. Reminds me of Toyota and Pontiac making Matrix and Vibe: http://www.guideautoweb.com/en/articles/3357/pontiac-vibe-vs.-toyota-matrix-six-of-one-a-half-dozen-of-the-other/

It's not just between Academy and Italeri. Tamiya does it with Italeri often. Academy sold some reboxed AFV Club Strykers and Tasca (Asuka) Shermans before. Tamiya has reboxed the same Italeri Paladin kit before. It happens quite often.
As to the accuracy of the kits, AFV Club kit blew the Italeri one out of the water. It's immediately obvious when you compare the two that Italeri one is old old.

Italeri has been reboxed by just about everyone for decades Tamiya, Testors, Revell, Zvezda and Academy are just some. Most of the companies will add there own figures, some different parts but on the whole it's an Italeri kit in a different manufacturers box. This allows Italeri kits to hit markets that may not be familiar with their name. Testors was their U.S. front, Tamiya was Italeri's access to Japan and it looks like Academy is their door to Korea.

Very savvy marketing on the part of Italeri to partner with well established national names to get their goods into another market.

Academy has provided parts for the Italeri M113 ACAV and the Academy M3 Stuart was sold in an Italeri box. Italeri provided the launcher in the Academy M4A3 with calliope.

MPM also partners with Italeri on the airplane front. Academy kits have also appeared in Airfix boxes.

Most of the Hobbycraft tooling was done by Academy. A few Esci and Italeri aircraft kits were tooled in China or Korea way back when so you'll see an Asian knock-off that is actually just the original tooling company.

And when you get to China all bets are off. The plants there switch back and forth with what is made so Barbie furniture is made one day and Trumpeter models the next. The same is/was true in Russia with Alan, Eastern Express, Maquette, Ark and others sharing tooling.

Scalemates can barely keep up with this game of musical boxes and tooling.

When Zvezda first appeared their kits were molded in odd colored or mixed colored plastic. Turns out the kits were originally made with waste plastic from other state sponsored manufacture.

all of these posting are basically the handball game going on inside my head of trying to understand it. So many stories of this I give up trying to learn it. As long as they glue together I am happy.

Model companies are a business selling a product and thats all about marketing.

Research shows this would sell in this market, well, we don't have one. Do we have the budget to tool one? No. Can we partner with someone to sell their tooling in our box?
Send me x number of kits to put in our box.

Wow, it sold so well, maybe we should do one of our own... (And children that's how the Tamiya M4A3E8 was born)

Italeri is also pretty savvy jumping on the WoT crowd. Putting out cheap kits, most likely from their old molds so they don't have spend anything on new molds and research. The kits don't have to be accurate, just have nice box art with World of Tanks plastered everywhere.

For years Zvezda just reboxed old Dragon kits. No correcting the flaws just their own boxes. Everyone reboxes kits, maximizes their profit with out having to make their own molds.

Don't forget all the Zvezda kits that Italeri reboxed! Almost every Russian subject they make was originally a Zvezda kit! And all the Peerless Max kits Italeri took over and a couple even eventually ending up in Zvezda boxes!(M3A1 scout car)

And once upon a time Dragon reboxed Alan and VM kits!

By the way it's often better to get a Zvezda kit in the Italeri box unless you get the latest issue of said kit. Zvezda has always had very indifferent packaging, instructions and decals. But at least they don't molds kits in Kelly green or lime anymore.

Zvezdas Star Destroyer is great, Revell is reboxing it as a limited production kit.

All this info has helped me understand much more now. I was asking myself why the joint affiliation with this kit but not this one and so on so on.

When I was younger I was Tamiya brand loyal. Growing up in Germany and loving armour, Tamiya was it for me.

Since coming back to modeling, the most amazing company I have come across is Bandai and the grades of offering they do.

some updated pics of the kit before it starts its paint scheme as seen in current use in Europe.


quite a few errors in directions and the parts included is funny.

Don't forget AFV's rebox of the Black Label Patriot Missile System. I guess the M983 is a re-box of a re-box,being originally from Italeri. Hasegawa and Revell Germany trade 1/32 scale aircraft kits also.

most of Italeri kits are not worth the time wasted building thier kits