Trumpeter Italian C1 Ariete MBT with Upgraded Armor (1/35)

[Slater]

For anyone who has built this particular kit, how's the overall fit and accuracy?

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi,

I built this kit some years ago, and I am resonably satisfied with it.

Some things could be better:

-the flexible tracks are made with a sort of black rubber that is very elastic and flexible, but the adhesion of the paint is poor. Besides they need to be shortened 2 links. Please, test the fit before doing this. Eventually, the tracks seem identical to those of Leopard 2;

-the driving wheels have a strange 'lamellar' inside that doesn't look very rigid; i removed the strange things and replaced them by a piece of plastic pipe with the good diameter to fit the pin; it could also be that the original thing functions well, but I don't think;

-there is a slot to add on the front of the turret, and the moulded-on  screws have to be replaced with those already included into the kit; check if spaces of the turret aside the gun have to be closed in some way;

-there is to close an opening inside the basket on the rear of the turret; it is to reduce the thickness of the plastic where some small box is moulded outside, but the inside should be a flat plate;

-hatches require some small surgery on the hinges to be made opened;

-check for some anti-sliding parts to make;

-the kit can't be built without the add-on armour unless you replace a wide part of the skirts.