Italeri
407

This set of accessory weapons and gear from Italeri still stands up relatively well after 20 years. You see a lot of this gear in the early Verlinden and Paine dioramas and most of it would work well today.

While the DML Allied Weapons set is your first choice for arms, it has been long out of production and hard to find. Tamiya's equipment set is equally as good if less inclusive.

Of particular value in the Italeri box are the M1 Garands, Thompson submachine guns, and the M1 carbine. The 81mm mortar seems a bit more refined than the one in Tamiya's "U.S. Gun and Mortar Team" set. The M9 Bazooka would work in a pinch if stowed unobtrusively on a halftrack rather than being primary focus. The ammo pouches are also usable, if not as detailed as what we enjoy on resin figures. And there is a good field binocular and tripod that would look fine in a forward observation post setting.

For British fans, the Brens, Stens, Lee-Enfields and bayonets are quite good. The Boys anti-tank gun was exclusively a British piece, I believe, and this is the only version in plastic I'm aware of. There are four "soup dish" helmets for the Tommies that look to be in scale, at least compared to the U.S. helmets.

On the downside, the .30 machine gun and tripod is better replicated in Tamiya's first "U.S. Infantry Weapons" offering (which is still subpar DML's gun in the "Pusan Perimeter" Marines figure box).

Curiously, all the backpacks are of British style, none American. There are a couple good sleeping bags and rolled tarps. The several wooden crates, metal boxes and petrol can come in handy to dress up a Sherman or Bren Carrier.

All told, this set still has much going for it and it's light years better than the follow up "Accessories II" from Italeri.

-tss-