This article was written in partnership with Michigan Toy Soldier Company who provided the four paints. You can find more fantastic hobby content at News From The Front – The Michigan Toy Solider Company Blog.

---

There has been a sharp increase of 1/56 scale Word War II Italian releases, especially in plastic, over the past couple of years. Warlord Games, Wargames Atlantic, and Rubicon Models are all working to expand their ranges. The Italians have been overlooked for too long in Bolt Action and deserve some proper releases. Let’s dive in and crack open the Rubicon Models Semovente da 75/18.

In the box, we have two sprues, a single-piece casement, a decal sheet, and instructions. The decal sheet (a Rubicon staple) is jam-packed with more options than you’ll ever need including white kangaroo decals to use if you are building an Australian captured version.

As is standard with all Rubicon kits, the components are crisp, sharp, and often the only cleaning required is the contact points from where the piece is attached to the sprue. Rubicon has always done an incredible job with component quality and this kit is no different. Most the kit only required minor filing and cleaning.

Hull assembly is a breeze. The main hull is a single piece that didn’t even have any mold lines to clean! There are three fiddly bits, the tow hooks for the lower hull. They are annoyingly tiny and difficult to clean, but this is a minor gripe. Once you have the hull assembled there are a few items to add – exhaust on the left and right, a bundle of tools that are stored on the back of the tank, and two storage boxes on the left and right of the rear hatches.

The track assembly is easy with no individual road wheels or running gear (thank goodness). Assembly couldn’t be easier. However, this is one long mold line that runs the length of the entire track that needs to be scrapped off. This mold line is the worst part of the entire build. It’s the only downside to the modeled track construction. That being said, I’d much rather clean this one mold line than deal with individual track links, road wheels, and running gear.

Once you have the tracks built, you could leave off separate from the hull for sub-assembly painting. You’d have the entire tank in just three parts – hull, right track, and left track.

The casement for the gun is a single piece. Amazing. This bit also required almost no cleaning. The gun itself was a simple two-part build and allows for full articulation. Well, as much articulation as a forward-facing hull-mounted AT gun could have! You can swivel the gun left and right as well as up and down. It’s certainly not as much movement as a turret but a nice detail nonetheless.

You have the option to build the top hatches either open or closed. It’s always nice to have the option but in this case, I don’t see many folks opting for the open hatches. If you do, there is nothing on the inside of the tank. No crew compartment, no detailing, just an open void. With most tanks, this wouldn’t be an issue (as it’s just a small turret hatch), but this top hatch opening is so large you wouldn’t be able to help but notice the lack of a crew compartment.

As for additional options, you have a pintle machine gun and tank crew. The machine gun is a single piece (including the mount) that slots right onto the top of the hull, directly in front of the hatches. Gluing the machine gun in place is not required and you can easily pop the MG off and on depending on your need.

There is a single tank commander model included but, unlike the rest of the model, the detail on the commander is a tad soft. I’ve seen this before with other Rubicon crew and it has always puzzled me. If you are going with those open top hatches, you’ll probably want to snag some different crew models, such as these from Perry.

Interestingly, if you add the tank commander and the pintle machine gun, there is not a single bit leftover after the build. I figured this was worth calling out as many plastic kits these days include a host of additional components (usually for building a variation of the base model) but not so with the Semonvente. It’s a no-frills model and honestly, I have no issues with that.

Rubicon Models has done it again. Overall this is a fantastic kit. The individual parts are clearly marked and labeled on the sprues. The front tow hooks are fiddly and the mold line on the tank tread is annoying but everything else is stellar. I can wholeheartedly recommend this little Italian SPG.

The Semonvente 75/18 in Bolt Action

This Italian SPG comes in at 170pts Reg. for an impressive Armor 9, hull-mounted Med. AT Gun and optional pintle MMG (for +15pts). The Med. AT Gun includes the so-called “big HE” and can fire a 2″ HE template instead of the usual 1″ HE, just like the Sherman 75mm. But, it must also be noted that the Semonvente 75/18 also has Vulnerable, so watch those flanks! Honestly this is a solid unit choice for any Italian force looking to add some AT punch.