Italeri’s Infantry on Board kit is comprised of 10 of figures posed and equipped to assault the beaches on D-Day. In fact, this kit is comprised of a couple of the figure sprues from Italeri’s repackaged Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) kit #6524, which was released in 2014.

The kit includes 4 sprues of light grey styrene, with 2 of the sprues making up the figures, and the other 2 sprues making up the weapons and equipment. In actuality, the figure sprues are identical to each other, with the recommended poses being the only difference. The equipment sprues are identical too, with two sprues of the same equipment.

Each figure is made up of six parts, with helmets, weapons and most equipment being molded separately. Assembly is simple, but there are no instructions for which arms to use for each of the poses, so the modeler needs to pay close attention to the black and white photos of each completed figure to make sure you’re using the correct arms for each pose. The torsos and legs are all the same, but five different arm poses and five different faces are provided to make 10 unique figures.

Overall, the molding provides nice details on the uniforms, and equipment, but the detail on the faces is a little soft and there is some flash on the hands and mold seams for each piece. Still, the cleanup is simple and quick. I was able to assemble one complete figure in about 30 minutes, and I’m sure with practice that would go quicker. I would recommend attaching the legs and torso, then ammo belts, pouches, canteen, and entrenching tool before attaching the arms. I realized this would have made things easier after the fact.

The equipment sprues are nicely appointed with a variety of weapon choices. Each figure is supplied with a M7 waterproof gas mask bag, prominently worn on their chest, a backpack, entrenching tool, canteen, and helmet. The M26 life preserver, worn by all soldiers during amphibious assaults, is molded directly on the torso. One SCR 300 radio is provided as well.

The equipment sprues also have the weapon choices, and there are a lot to choose from. There are 4 M1 Garands, five hand grenades, a Colt pistol, a M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, a M1 Carbine, a .30 machine gun, a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun, a M2 60mm mortar, a M1A1 Bazooka, a Bangalore torpedo set, and a M2A1 Flamethrower. There are plenty of choices to equip a rifle squad, or heavy equipment squad and the equipment is well-detailed, but does have some mold lines as well.

Painting instructions are in the form of art work on the back of the kit box. Paint colors are provided in Italeri acrylics. Since these paints are not commonly found, Italeri’s website provides a nice color conversion chart with the appropriate Tamiya, Humbrol, Gunze, and Revell color matches. Also, although the cover art, and painting instructions show insignia, rank, and equipment markings for soldiers and equipment displayed, no decals or transfers are provided to replicate these, sometimes very obvious, identifications.

If you’re building a LCVP, or DUKW, these figures will make a nice addition to it.

Thanks to Italeri, Hobbico, and IPMS/USA for the review kit.