So what's the deal with Italeri?

Well, if a subject is also available from Hasagawa, Tamiya or Fujimi, you are likely to get a better product outr of the Japanese manufacturer. At 10 times the price of the Italian offering, that is..! So if you can afford better, go for better. If you like slightly more esoteric subjects and do not mind working a bit on them to turn them into show-stoppers, go and get some Italeri kits...

One word of advice though, Zvezda kits are marketed under Italeri label and those can be rather attrocious! Ask here first!

They did some superb kits in the late 1970s-early 1980s. Among their jewels are the M-47 Patton tank and Leopard 1A2. Both are still the best variants produced of these two tanks. Also the M4A1 Sherman and Willys Jeep hold up well even today, although both have been surpassed within the last 5 years or so. Others like the Kubelwagen and Schwimmwagen were superior to the older Tamiya kits, but not as good as the newer Tamiya offerings.

If you want an M109 howitzer variant, you will be building an Italeri kit regardless of the box it comes in.

They did take over some very old Peerless/Max kits like the Dodge 3/4 tons and the old White Scout car. These suffer from age today. Some of their newer stuff is not done quite as well as the older stuff. Take the US 5 ton truck and 10 ton HEMTT, both readily available for inspection, but neither one done very well.

Right now Italeri also reboxes the old Esci M60 Blazer and M60A1. Both of these kits are superior to the Tamiya or Academy kits. Many times if you see a Revell of Germany armor kit and Italeri does a similar kit, it most likely is a rebox of the Italeri kit (M109A6 Paladin, HMMWV, Jeep come to mind).

Best advice is to ask about a specific kit. If you wanted to spend $15 on a Jeep kit, I'd tell you to bypass the Italeri kit and buy the Tamiya Willys MB. On the contrary, if you wanted the best Leopard 1 kit, I'd tell you to avoid Tamiya's Leo 1 and buy the Italeri (or Revell) Leopard 1. The opposite would be true for the Leopard 2A5, buy the Tamiya and bypass the Italeri.

Confussed? Welcome to the club.

I like Italeri ... yes they have their stinkers in the closet, but what company doesn't !! They have decently engineered kits, the best price on the market and some subjects that no one else has ever touched. They are a little more "hands on" during the construction phase, but still very workable.

For what its worth I also like the Italeri kits. I don't always have 50 or 60 bucks for a Tamiya kit. And they do have some decent kits.

I'm not saying which company is better, the one great thing that Italeri has done is make some kits from some of the most unigue subjects. They are the only company you can get a panzerwerfer from (yes, you can do a conversion from others), a sdkfz 234/3 with open gun placement(out of production), and some other unique armor pieces.

I think that is a good thing

The question sould be "What makes a good kit to you"

Is it the way the pieces fit?
Is it how good are the instructions?
Is it the replicating detail?
Is it the number of pieces?

i see most of the replies here concerned armor, does anyone have an opinion about their aicraft kits? i awaiting a b58 hustler kit which will be my first from italeri.
i do agree that they have some interesting subjects and am considering some of their armor kits in the future

My experiences with Italieri armor are positive. The kits can vary, so just keep asking specific kit information and you should be able to avoid the stinkers.

good luck, have fun,

I've always liked the diversity of kits, but have found that the kits go together rather fussily at times, more so than Tamiya. So if your looking for a unique subject and can't find Tamiya or Dragon, buy it. I'm not so sure Tamiya or same cost ten times Italeri for similar kit.

"It is well that war is terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

Dhaley,

my comments apply to aircraft kits as well.

I've never built an Italeri kit I didn't like, and that includes both armor and aircraft (but mostly armor!). I started building them decades ago, when I thought they were Testors kits (they were distributed by Testors back then).

I've heard that the new Italeri M1A2 is possibly the best kit of this vehicle out there now.

QUOTE: Originally posted by J-HulkI've heard that the new Italeri M1A2 is possibly the best kit of this vehicle out there now.

It is, but it is only marginally better than the older DML M1A2.

I just completed the italeri Tiger (P) Ferdinand (non-Elefant) kit. Very nice build, good quality
and really builds well.
Replace the plastic barrel with a aluminum barrel, much better quality and realism.
Yeah Italeri has made some duds, but for the price of some of their kits, they are worth it.