Italian armored equipment has never received the level of coverage than armored equipment from other countries has gotten. This book is part of recent efforts to correct that historical trend.

The book has 3 main sections: the walk-around of three preserved self-propelled units (two M 41 and one M 42), a section with line drawings, and a brief historical summary, with period photos.

The walk-around is clearly the most important part of the book. It covers three surviving Semoventi, the M 41 da 75/18 at Rome, the M 41 da 75/18 at La Spezia (this one is a full running Semoventi), and the M42 da 75/18 located in Rimini. The last one is in German markings and built to German specs, after the Italian surrender.

The pictures are in full color (for a total of 171 pictures among the three Semoventi), including interior pictures. They show every detail from the running gear to the weaponry, armor plates, external brackets, etc.

Wow. When this came in, I thought about first doing only a sprue review, but elected pass. Several other web sites have sprue shots, but to me, as a modeler, I want to see the build and not unassembled sprues. So I started right off building. A quick look at the kit: 17 sprues with 2 clear. The kit I had is the export version and has a clear cowling. This also includes the standard clear sprue, two sprues of pilots, and a stand. There are two PE frets, decals, and a masking set (not precut). There is also the gigantic instruction book. The kit is as nice as advertised – but enough preview, let’s glue and paint.

The set had very minimal flash and no ejection pin marks. The few mold lines there were easily removed with a sharp blade. There are no decals, and some painting instructions. ou will need to copy what you see in the illustration. There are not even any part numbers on the sprue, just a picture on the back of the box with the numbers listed next to the part.

The figures went together without a lot of shaping and filling. Two of them are balanced so they can stand without pins or glue. The tools and shells fit the hands fairly well and are nicely made.

Painting these figures will require quite a bit of research and thought before attaching any of the extra equipment and ammo. The photos on the back give you general idea of what the colors are, but my advice is to review your figure references for proper color.