Italeri 1/72 CANT Z.506B Airone Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The CANT Z.506 was designed as a civil aircraft that could also serve as an air-sea rescue platform. The type first flew in 1935 and the type went into production in 1937 with 37 built. A militarized version was also developed, designated as Z.506B. This version featured a raised cockpit and a gondola under the fuselage housing a bomb aimer in front, a bomb bay in the middle, and a rear ventral gunner.

The CANT Z.506B Airone (Heron) first flew in 1937 and two prototypes were followed by 332 production aircraft over a six year period. Serving initially as a bomber, the type was soon switched over to reconnaissance and air-sea rescue duties.

Having demonstrated very good reliability during World War 2, a number of Z.506B were retained for post-war service within the Italian armed forces along side a sole surviving Z.506.

Italeri is re-releasing the Supermodel series of 1/72 kits. I remember these kits from many years ago as these were (and still are) highly detailed models for this scale. Note that detailed doesn't always translate into complex.

Molded in light gray styrene, this kit is presented on three parts trees, plus a tree of clear transparencies, and comes from the raised panel line generation of molds. The panel lines and details are still nicely done.

The instructions are nicely illustrated and break the construction of this kit down into thirteen steps.

The kit features an interior that is nice straight from the box, while an AMS modeler could really have a field day with some Evergreen styrene strips to represent the internal structure of the fuselage interior.

A pair of bombs and a number of optional defensive gunner positions are provided to represent the early bomber variant. The kit also has a bomb aimer's window or a reconnaissance/observer's window for under the nose.

Assembly appears to be very straightforward with only the struts for the floats looking like any challenge. The kit also features a clear stand for the floats to display the completed aircraft, but this will also be handy as a jig to ensure proper spacing and positioning of the floats.

This kit provides markings for three different aircraft. The subjects are:

• Z.506B, 198 Sqn, 1198-3, pre-WW2 colors
• Z.506B, 73 Sqn, 73-3, Spanish Civil War markings
• Z.506B, Q8+K3, WW2 German Service, Red Cross markings

I'm glad to see this kit back on the market as this is the only kit of the Z.506B I'm aware of in styrene in any scale. Despite its age, it was an advanced kit for its time and kits nicely into contemporary expectations for detail.

My sincere thanks to Testors for this review sample!