Originally published on
KitMaker Benelux, Manuel Willems [ MANUELKE ] gives us his insights of Italeri Models, S.L.C. 200, "Maiale", in this inbox review.
"The Siluro a Lenta Corsa (Slow Moving Torpedo), better known as "Maiale" (Pig), was first developed in 1935 by Captains G.N. Toschi and Tesei; the idea was to make the medium arrive, with a crew of two men, under the hull of enemy ships at anchor, to anchor a delayed burst explosive charge to a cable taut between the anti-roll bilge keels. During the Second World War, the SLC damaged or sank 16 ships overall, including the two English battleships Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, for a gross tonnage of approx. 200,000."
The Box, and what's inside...
When you see the beautiful box art of this little kit, the diorama inspiration comes almost direct to your mind. Italeri includes in the box an extra box art poster with no text pressed on it, and it looks pretty cool above our workbench! It's a little small kit, with only 44 parts in gray plastic, on two separate sprues. There's a little fret of PE in the kit, but this is very thick, and also a little decal sheet and some clear film, and also a good manual, and a beautiful reference book.
We will start with the building instructions. The complete build is spread over 14 steps, and are very easy to follow. The steps are actually real pictures of the model and I see this as a big plus, but that's personal. The colour codes that Italeri use are from Model Masters , and that is not always easy, at my local hobby shop, they only sell Tamiya and Revell/ Humbrol paint, so this needs some blending of other colours to get the right colour.
The reference book is a real bonus and it's a great extra to the kit. It includes a lot of detail pictures of the real thing today, and during action in WW2.
Then the parts, the parts are in grey plastic, and have very sharp details, with almost no flash and sink marks. The photo etched sheet is very thick, and it needs some very hard bending to get it right, but it brings a beautiful extra to the model, and that’s the final goal. There's a little decal sheet with some numbers on, and a clear piece of film, to make lenses for the gauges and the goggles for the diver figures. The figures are so sharply sculpted, they are the best I ever seen in a plastic model kit. They are a real piece of art. There is also a beautiful stand for the model included in the kit, and with some extra paint and weather work it should really looks amazing!
Editor Note
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