Italeri 1/35 20' Military Container Kit First Look

by Michael Benolkin

First Look

Here is a simple kit that I am quite happy to see and surprised it hasn't been produced before now. This is a simple 20' shipping container with positonable doors. You've seen these containers everywhere and are used worldwide. These are the ISO standard containers that come in 20' and 40' lengths and stack nicely on trucks, trails, and container ships.

So what is the big deal about a container kit? In the US military alone, these containers are used to haul cargo into the field, but then the containers are re-purposed into shelters, sleeping quarters, offices, etc. Some of these modifications happen in the field, but there are many companies out there that will reconfigure these containers into just about anything you can think of. In addition, I've seen many containers repurposed for test and training duties. Why go to all of the trouble of building a mock-up of a location for live fire training when it is only going to be destroyed? Use containers instead, then recycle the scrap metal. Need another set of containers for more targets? Order more supplies!

This kit comes with one container that has interior and exterior detailing so you can pose the container with the doors open. I'm hoping Italeri is planning a 40' container as well because you can create quite a few modern dioramas and vignettes with these containers and your favorite Humvee or MRAP kits.

Markings are provided for containers in US Army, USMC, and Italian military markings. There is another 20' container announced which is this kit with commercial markings.

This little gem is going to create numerous possibilities for improvised camps and training ranges. Now if only they sold them by the dozen...

My sincere thanks to MRC for this review sample!