¹⁄35

This is the first in the individual reports of a series which will be under the N'Berg '07 title. To start, we look at the Italian manufacturer, Italeri, a company which is going to be making a HUGE impact during 2007...

For a while it seemed as if Italeri was simply 'coasting along' until some interesting developments began. The first of these was undoubtedly the AB41 Armored Car, followed, last year, by the Sahariana - both of which were subjects on many modellers wish lists. Now, after talking with Italeri they are continuing with a program which is aimed SPECIFICALLY at the enthusiast and not simply at the casual 'buyer'. This strategy is something which should be supported and welcomed by the modeller as, on few occasions, the 'Majors' target us as an important 'consumer-group'...

This is taking the form of 'Multi-Media' kits which although the basic elements are in styrene, Photo-Etch and Resin are also included. The next in line is:

6459 - Staghound Mark 1

I was, thanks to the invaluable assistance of the people on the Italeri stand able to get some good photos of the PROTOTYPE model - the PRODUCTION model may vary slightly...

On to the other releases. What Italeri are doing, is coming out with some very interesting variants on previous kits along with some TOTALLY new mouldings. The full list (1/35th scale) is here

6233 - Chevrolet 15 Cwt Truck (Re-Issue, Ltd. edition)

6446 - DUKW (Reworking with wheel sponsons)

6448 - Sd Kfz 140/1

6455 - ABM 42 (Sahariana) with 47/32 mm AT gun

6456 - AB40 Ferroviaria (forerunner of AB41 for use on railway lines)

6457 - Opel Blitz with Coal boiler

6458 - Bofors AA gun with crew

6459 - Staghound Mark 1

6461 - Sd Kfz 140 Flakpanzer 38 Gepard

6462 - LVT-2 Amtrac (NEW Tooling)

About the images. Only the Staghound was available to photograph, the rest of the images are principally from the new catalogue.

I was also told to expect several MORE 'surprises' during the year, that this was NOT the end of the story at all -watch this space!

My grateful thanks to some of the staff of Italeri in compiling this report!