Italeri

1/35 MTM "Barchino"

Kit Number: 5604

Reviewed by  Randy Colvin, IPMS# 31754

MSRP: $35.00 Imported by Model Rectifier Corporation (MRC). Background: The MTM "Barchino" was a touring boat modified by the Italian Navy to be run into the sides of enemy vessels at the water line and explode, either sinking or severely damaging them. This was not a suicide boat as the operators ejected themselves off the back of the boat just before impact. The most successful operation for these small boats was the sinking of the Royal Navy heavy cruiser H.M.S. York and the Tanker Pericles on the night of 25-26 March of 1941. Six MTMs participated in the operation and all six operators were captured; in fact not one single MTM driver ever lost his life during any of these operations through out the war. Contents: The kit consists of 44 plastic parts molded in light grey with a decent amount of detail for Italeri, a one piece figure, and a photo-etch fret containing 40 parts, 30 of which are tiny butterfly nuts. It all comes packed complete with a reference manual containing some great museum photos of the MTM and a box sized "poster" of the box art very suitable for framing. Unfortunately the box art shows a red-hulled MTM speeding across the water but yet I can find absolutely no reference indicating any MTM had a red hull. The figure is a very nice treat considering it is a one piece mold with no assembly. References: The only reference I used was the Photographic Reference Manual that Italeri refers to as the RPM series of kits.

Construction This was a very easy and quick build. It took me longer to detail and paint than the basic construction did. Parts fit was generally good for an Italeri kit, but I did have to add some scratch built spares to the interior where the explosive drum was stored as it is a very visible area if you leave the cover off. Piece 5 is a bulkhead that separates the engine compartment from the stored explosive compartment and in photos it shows to be a solid wall and that's about the only serious modification I made. I also added a throttle quadrant and all the wires and hoses that I could see in the reference photos from the manual that is provided with the kit. The most time consuming item was the 28 photo-etch butterfly nuts that were supplied. Italeri gives you 2 extra so don't lose more than that. I probably spent somewhere around 10 hours on the entire project.

Painting The entire kit was sprayed with Model Master Light Ghost Grey and then Dark Grey pastels were added in all the recessed areas, followed by a flat coat and then dry brushed with an extremely light shade of Humbrol Grey. Except for black on the bottom of the hull, the only other color used was a light Blue-Grey used in the cockpit area. The stand the boat sits on has more colors on it than the boat does. I decided to add a little contrast to the stand by painting the colors of the Italian flag before applying the only decals used on the whole kit, which was the "MTM Barchino" logo. For the review I have used the stand, but I've also started on a diorama base that will be used for the craft sitting dockside in the water. Conclusion I hope this is the beginning of a new era for Italeri exploring subjects that are sort of "off the beaten path" for 1/35 scale modelers. It's easy to complain about the lack of detail on a kit that probably didn't have much detail to begin with. The big disappointments is that Italeri could have supplied the Alfa Romeo 90hp 6C 2500 six cylinder engine with the kit and if a manufacturer is going to supply a "Reference Manual" with the kit than they should look at it before producing molds. Thank you to Italeri for making the kit, to Akiko and Bob at MRC (importers) and to IPMS for allowing me to build it.

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