Trumpeter 1/72 Italian C1 Ariete MBT

To begin this entry (and probably each and every subsequent one), a disclaimer. I am NOT an expert. On anything. Whatever I write is from a position of hobby enthusiast and should be read and used as such and only as such.
With that out of the way let us talk about Italian MBT, the C1 Ariete and Trumpeters model of it in 1/72.

BACKGROUND

Putting usual derogatory rhetoric reserved for Italians and their tanks aside, I like those scrap piles (tanks not Italians) and am curious to where indiginous development would lead them beyond 1945. As it is, in years following World War 2 what was left of Italan army was equiped with mostly US and British equipment. With old allies becoming new enemies and threat of communist invasion looming over horizon Italy became part of NATO and received substantial amount of equipment among which was M47 Patton tank and later M60A1 and Leopard 1A2 which was also localy licence produced. Experience gained by Leopard production led to effort to develop MBT for export first in conjuction with West Germany named Leone, (export version of Leo 1) that evolved into OF-40 MkI and MkII in OTO Melara and Fiat cooperation.

Established industry, experience and need to replace aging M60's and Leo1's led to consortium of Iveco-Fiat and OTO Melara's (CIO) creation of new main battle tank named Ariete that began equiping army units from 1995. It is 2nd (as stated by the Iveco-OTO Melara website) generation tank of standard design from early 80's with four crewman, 120mm smoothbore gun, torsion bar suspension, composite armour, NBC protection, thermal sights and focus on accuracy (with excelent (claimed by some) TURMS fire control system) and firepower (from 120mm OTO Melara L/44 smoothbore compatible with all NATO rounds) but lacking in engine power and armor protection. While I have no data for frontal armor I guess it is close to Leopard 2A5 with its sloped front but nowhere near Challenger 2 or Abrams A1M1 (HA) and its sides seem thin. There are add-on composite armor kits available: PSO side armor package (used during „Antica Babilonia” operation for example) and WAR package to help improve tanks survivability. Also, CIO, aware of issues with engine and need for modernisation suggested in early 2000's Mk.2 upgrade package with 1.600 hp MTCA engine but budgetary constraints cut it short.Other possible upgrades include upgraded fire control system with 3rd gen. thermal sights, autoloader replacement for 4th crewmember, modular armor, potentialy L/55 smoothbore gun.

New 2017-2019 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale sees Ariete life extended to 2028. when it will be replaced with new Ariete 2 MBT for which Italy is looking to possibly cooperate with Spain, Austria and Poland according to https://www.portaledifesa.it/index~phppag,3_id,3607.html.

MODEL

After this disjointed introductory narative time to get to the model. If one wishes to have this interesting tank in 1/72 his only option (aside diecast models) is Trumpeter set number 07250. Unfortunately I have not taken pictures of sprues, instructions nor of build progress but only of finished tank but it is a well made model with great detail and my only gripe with it would be its rubber tracks. They are not bad themselves but I am allways sceptical of their longevity compared to standard link and length hard plastic ones.

I did some small work on making all handles from wire, sanding down rubber mudguards, drilling holes in attachment points, remaking tow cables from wire (originals are cast together with hull so it requires careful surgery and sharp knife to remove them), scratching storage boxes for rear compartment, nothing extravagant but it does in the end give much better looking model. In hindsight, I might have scratched a gunshield for Beretta MG42/59 secondary armament.

Painted model in gray green improvised from the Vallejo acrylics available to me and then washed it slightly with black oils. I am pleased with how it came out. Tracks were painted steel and black rubber with rust overall. Again nothing fancy but effective and I like how it came out. Decals are small and contain standard C1 Ariete markings. Note: Wooden handles of tools are same color as rest of vehicle because they are like that on real mbt's.

In conclusion this is a great model of an interesting vehicle and I recommend it to everyone. In my opinion it is excellent for beginners since it does not require too much work to have a beautiful looking miniature.