Kit Review : Italeri 1/4 Ton 4×4 Utility Truck

“1/4 ton 4×4 Truck” is what you call a Willys jeep when you can’t legally use the name on your kits, though the name “Jeep” was just formed from the pronouciation of the G.P. ( General Purpose ) in the offical title as “jeep”. So perhaps Italeri should have thought to add “G.P.” into the title.

This kit is a tidied up re-release of the original Italeri Jeep and now comes without the canvas top or the trailer but instead with a radio, .50 Cal Browning MG and wire cutter mounted on the front bumper. It’s a rather simple kit, coming on just two dark green sprues in a small open ended box, but despite the simlicity ( it is just a small jeep after all ), this is actually quite a nice kit and an improvement on earlier Italeri offerings.

This mouldings are a little simplified and lacking in the finer details but the sprues are cleanly moulded with no flash, minimal mould seams and discrete injector marks. Overall the fit and finish is reasonably good and although the instructions could be improved upon the simplicity of this kit makes it hard to get it wrong. Another improvement over some Italeri kits is that the sprues come bagged which cuts down the chances of loose and/or broken parts.

The chassis  is rather simplified and includes the lower part of the engine moulded as part of the frame. The wheels and tyres are one piece parts with good detail and there is a reasonable representation of an engine together with a battery. Separate parts include the exhaust, muffler, springs and shock absorbers.

The Body can have the bonnet positioned open if desired and includes alternate front guards. Gear levers and a dash are included though the gear levers are a little heavy and the dash is somewhat simplistic in detail, looking more like a series of bumps. A frame is included for a roof hood, though no hood is included, and a reasonably good radio set and aerial is included for use in the back. The grille that is included is the same one used with Italeri’s “Commando Car” ( ETO based SAS Jeep ) so it has the vertical bars removed which while correct for the SAS version isn’t for a general issue version so these will need to be rebuilt from plasticard.

Also included are a bumper mounted wire cutter and a pedestal weapon mount with an M2 Browning .50 cal machine gun to go on it. The wire cutters were field modifications using whatever was at hand so can be used or not at the builders discretion. The pedestal mount would work better with a .30 cal Browning M1919A4 machine gun as the .50 cal was seldom mounted on jeeps due to it being almost impossible to control accuracy when fired from the jeep. The gun itself if used is adequate though a little heavy in detail.

There are no figures included but considering the quality of Italeri figures in the original jeep kit that is a bit of a blessing as they were truely awful. There is however an optional rifle holder included though you will need to find your own rifle for it.

Decals are included for four vehicles – 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Armoured Division, Germany 1945 ( two variations ) : HQ Troop, 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Cavalry, 4th InfantryDivision, 1945 : 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, Hurtgenwald, December 1944.

Despite the simplification of a lot of the detail,  and the need to fix up the radiator grille this still makes up into a good model of a jeep, albeit one that can be improved upon a lot. If you want a Willys you’re limited to the Italeri or Tamiya offering so it pretty much comes down to what comes with each,  as this will make up equally as well as the Tamiya one, and equally it can be enhanced a great deal with some TLC and some fine detailing.

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