Ariete!

Historical Background

From the 1970s to 1995, the Italian Army armoured units were equipped with American M60A1 and west German Leopard 1 MBTs. In the 1980s, a decision was made to replace these tanks with a new, indigenous design. A consortium formed by Iveco-Fiat and Oto Melara called Consorzio Iveco Oto or CIO was entrusted with the development of the new tank. The basic specification called for a fast, day/night capable vehicle with the ability to fire on the move utilising sophisticated fire-control system. The new tank was designated C1 and given the name 'Ariete' (ram) in honour to the Italian 132nd Armoured Division 'Ariete' of World War 2 fame, The first prototype was rolled out in 1986 and by 1989, six pre-production vehicles were produces. The Ariete was supposed to enter service in 1993 but due to delays, the first vehicle was only delivered in 1995. In 2002, the 200th (and the last) vehicle was delivered.

The tank is of conventional design and bears a passing resemblance to other contemporary Western tank designs (especially the German Leopard 2). The hull, designed by Iveco has a very well-sloped glacis and flat sides. Armour is classified, although it is understood to be a laminated steel/composite type similar to Chobham armour protecting the Abrams and Challenger tanks. The Ariete is fully NBC treated and can be sealed so that it can ford rivers up to 5 meters deep. The turret, together with the main weaponry was developed by Oto Melara. The turret, which looks similar to the Challenger tank has well-sloped front face and short lower beaks, the latter to reduce shot traps. The gun, designed by OTO Breda, is of the 120 mm smoothbore type and able to fire standard NATO 120 mm rounds. It was provided with 42 rounds, 15 of which is in the ready-to-use locker at the rear turret bustle. Secondary armament consists of two 7.62 mm MG42/59 machine guns: one located co-axially with the main gun and another was placed at the loader's hatch. For self-protection, two four-grenade launchers armed with smoke or chaff grenades are placed on the turret sides.

The Ariete's FCS, designated OG14L3 TURMS was manufactured by Galileo Avionica, includes day and night capability for the commander's SP-T-694 primary sight and a stabilised platform for the gunner's thermal sight and laser rangefinder and also a FCS computer which calculates all the relevant data such as weather and wind conditions, elevation of the gun, attitude of the tank and even barrel wear to increase accuracy. The FCS is also part of the Ariete's communication system and can be used to share battlefield data with other vehicles. The Ariete is powered by a 25.8-litre turbocharged V-12 Fiat-Iveco MTCA diesel engine rated at 1,250 hp. This gave the Ariete a top speed of 65 km/h and a range of 600 km. Power was transmitted through a ZF LSG3000 automatic transmission with four forward and two reverse gears. The computer-assisted transmission allows the Ariete to accelerate from 0-32 km/h in 6 seconds, climb a gradient of 60 degrees and ford a depth of 1.25 m without preparations.

The Ariete has been used in peace-keeping operations in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s and also in Iraq following Operation Iraqi Freedom. In Iraq, the Ariete has an additional armour package added on the turret front and sides and the front half of the hull sides. An additional MG 42/59 was mounted on the commander's cupola and both roof machine guns have shields added to protect the user. An upgraded version, the C2, with a higher-rated engine, additional armour, autoloader, FCS and hydropneumatic suspension are scheduled to be in production in the 2015-2020 time frame.

The Kit

Trumpeter's kit of the Ariete (in fact, at the time of writing, the only one in 1/35) was released in 2005. The kit represents an early production vehicle, as the Ariete has undergone changes in the meantime. The kit consists of 229 olive-coloured parts, a small sheet of clear acetate for the optics, a length of twine,  a pair of single-length vinyl tracks, a small decal sheet and of course the instruction sheet. The parts look well-moulded although some details are not very well-defined, such as the track grousers, which looked cruder (but not by much) than the ones from Tamiya's Leopard 2 kit. There is essentially just one marking scheme (the 'option' is just whether to use the green or red rhomboid decals on the turret front). Colour is simply marked as 'TC10' without reference as to what it is called nor to its manufacturer. I suspect that it was from the Gunze range and after googling found out that it was part of their German Colour Set, specifically RAL 6031 Bronzegrun.

Construction

As usual with armour kits, construction starts at the bottom. All the suspension parts were cemented to the lower hull, starting with the shock absorbers. While Trumpeter have you finish one side before moving to the other, I decided to add the similar parts on both sides before tackling the suspension arms. So I only fit the latter after all the absorbers have been cemented. The suspension arms have positive locating tabs so there is no issue of misaligned suspension here. because of the lack of poly caps, the wheels (and also the lower hull sides) were first painted, with the wheels being painted on their sprues. They were then cut off the sprue, the scars retouched and the wheels mounted on the suspension, bar the drive sprocket. The tracks are also left off at this time.

I then moved on to the upper hull. It is of single mould with separate engine deck and rear panel. The air intake is moulded solid but with nice grille effect (still it can't beat a PE grille). The driver's hatch has separate periscope parts but unfortunately they are of solid opaque plastic. The headlights, track grouser, grab handles and some small but not fragile parts were also added at this time. It was during the assembly of the upper hull did I realise how close the Ariete resembled the German Leopard 2. I then returned to the lower hull. The tracks were painted, with the metal parts (on the real thing) washed with AK Interactive track wash. They were then looped and the pin heads melted down with a heated screwdriver. The upper hull was then cemented to the lower half and the side skirts can now be put in place. The spare track at the rear of the hull and the vulnerable rear-view mirrors were left off.

While the hull reminded me of the Leopard 2, the turret looked fairly similar to the Challenger. The turret assembly kicked off with the mating of the barrel halves. Fit is okay although there is a tiny bit of seam line down the middle. The barrel comes moulded with the muzzle reference system, meaning a bit of detail of the system was lost. The clear acetate for the vision blocks were painted clear blue and the cut off the sheet and superglued to their places. I wish that clear styrene was used here. The gun assembly was then put in its place and the turret halves were glued together, leaving the gun moveable. The turret hatches were assembled and as there were no figures whatsoever, were cemented in the closed position. The various small parts for the turret were then cemented. While most feature decent detailing, the smoke grenade tubes look very plain. Trumpeter also suggested the builder to replace the moulded-on bolt details on the turret face with separately-moulded bolts (Part C53) if one so wish. The tools and the roof machine gun were left off at this moment to facilitate painting.

Painting and Decalling

As I mentioned before, Trumpeter stated that the colour for the Ariete is TC10, without reference to any model paint manufacturer. I have a hunch that it was from GSI Creos (ex-Gunze Sangyo) and after a short Google search, I found out that it was NATO Green. I used my tried-and-trusted Tamiya XF-67, lightened with some 20% XF-2 Flat White.The tyres and mudflaps were painted GSI H77 Tyre Black while the MG42/59 was painted Flat Black and when dry, were 'polished' with graphite powder. After paint had dried, the decals were placed. As the numbers involved are quite small, this was quickly completed. I used the red rhomboid decals, just to make it stand out from the green of the hull. Although not really needed, I gave the decals a Mr Mark Softer treatment. The model was then given a black-brown wash.

Finishing

There really aren't much to do here. The tracks were painted XF-64 Red Brown overall and XF-1 Flat Black was then applied to the 'rubber' parts. They were then looped and the ends secured with superglue. I don't bother using heated screwdrivers or something like that, and the connecting posts were left as they were, since they will be hidden behind the skirting. The tools were painted their respective colours and then cemented to their places on the turret. The lower hull, running gear and the tracks were then covered with a thin mixture of water and Mig Productions' European Dust pigments. Once dry the excess were removed. The AA MG was put in its place and since I don't have anything to put inside the turret stowage basket and that I have run out of brass/copper wire for the aerials, the build ends here.

Conclusion

The Ariete is one of Trumpeter's 'modern' kits and it shows in the quality of moulding and engineering. While the details do not reach the level of say, Dragon, what was in the kit is enough to satisfy the average modeller. The fit was also good, where no putty was needed. Of course Trumpeter has gone from strength to strength and established themselves as one of the leading companies in the industry today.