Cromwells 1/76 Fiat 3000

The Fiat 3000 was the first Italian tank produced in any quantities - it was preceded by the A7V-lookalike Fiat 2000 - and although a copy of the French FT-17-design, it had several improvements when compared to the original. (For more info on the Fiat 3000, click here!) This kit is the only kit I know of the Fiat 3000 in this scale, and is made in that yellow, easily-worked resin typical of Cromwell. The main parts are the hull, the rurret and two track assemblies. There is also a number of smaller parts, including tail and exhausts. The mouldings are of excellent quality, again typical of Cromwell. (There is a moulding plug under the hull.)

Compared to the plans and photographs I've seen, the kit looks OK, but there are some exceptions: the exhaust shroud seems to be to short by 1,5-2mm, the mantlet for the MG:s seems to be not high enough, and the MG:s are a bit crude, and should have cooling fins. (New MG:s can be made by using the large springs in the steering assembly in the Airfix Mk I kit. ) But perhaps these are differences between different variants.

Another snag can be found in the trench crossing tail: some of the parts are very small and fragile, and the cross braces on the top of tail are missing. There is, as always, room for super-detailing: e.g. you could fit some towing shackles to the rail in the front of the vehicle. One problem is that this kit comes without any plans what so ever, and you need reference material to get i right. But fear not, this plan does NOT depict the Cromwell kit, but it can be used as an aid in assembly, especially the rather complex trench crossing tail - you can also see the missing cross braces. Well: another fine kit from Cromwell, well worth getting. It can be bought directly from Cromwell Models own site.

To see my completed kit, click here!