M32 Recovery Vehicle

Italeri 1/35 Scale (Limited Edition)

Reviewed by Jason Woollett

Summary

FirstLook

This is a limited re-release of Italeri’s 1/35 scale M32 recovery vehicle.

As many of you will know, the hull provided in the kit is from a "big hatch" M4A1 variant, which from what I've read wasn't used in WWII, but post war. The Italeri hull in the M32 kit is therefore wrong for a wartime M32B1, which is what it is intended to represent, but is fine for a post-war recovery vehicle.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The suspensions is the later style, with upswept bogies arms. Earlier hulls, like the small hatch versions, usually had the earlier horizontal bogie arms. So, if you were to make a completely accurate wartime M32B1, you would need a new hull, (DML M4A1 early) plus the above mentioned suspension. You could also cross-kit the Italeri kit with Tamiya’s welded M4 hull for an M32. If you don't care about this 'minor' issue, then it will be a nice model when finished. The 'turret' , while opened at the top has enough inside it to keep it looking busy, while the 'A' frame boom can be positioned in the extended or stored position.

In closing, with a bit of time, a correct hull and suspension, you can build a good model of this important recovery vehicle, Or you can just build it straight from the box. This choice is yours!

Recommended

Thanks to Italeri for the review sample.