Although I had previously built 1/48 scale tanks, I had never worked on a wheeled vehicle before. In fact, I don’t have much experience with wheeled models at any scale. I think I only built a 1/72 bus once. The Italeri 1/48 Autoblinda AB 43 somehow ended up in my hands—I don’t even recall how. So I decided to build it.
The assembly itself wasn’t too challenging. I assembled all components except the wheels. Wheeled vehicles usually have more complex undercarriage parts, but even so, this kit didn’t give me any trouble.
The front and rear window covers didn’t fit into place properly. I wasn’t sure if they were meant to be left open. Aside from that, nothing else caught my attention as a major problem.
After finishing the assembly, I primed the model in white instead of gray, thinking it would give me more flexibility in shading. I also added black pre-shading to enhance contrast during painting.
For the wheel hubs, I used a darker color, intending to spray a lighter red over the spokes. Unfortunately, my airbrush wasn’t precise enough for that, so the hubs ended up staying dark overall.
Since I wanted to paint the vehicle as an Italian police car, I needed a red finish. I bought Vallejo Flat Red for this. But red paint almost drove me insane.
When I added white to lighten it, it turned pink. Adding yellow turned it orange. Adding black gave me a nice brown instead. That’s when I realized that trying to adjust red tones is a nightmare.
Eventually, I bought several different shades of red. I used the darker tones where needed and the lighter tones elsewhere, and that solved the issue. If you ever plan to paint a red vehicle, follow this advice—or you might lose your sanity too.
Once I resolved the color issue, I turned back to the wheels. I first sprayed them with a darker red base, then lightly misted lighter red over the spokes. That gave me the tonal variation I wanted.
For the tires, I used Vallejo Tyre Black. I had considered using anthracite, but I’m glad I didn’t—Tyre Black turned out to be the perfect match.
Since the vehicle lacked heavy detail, painting was fairly straightforward. I painted the side antenna wire in anthracite, the rear machine gun in anthracite with metallic dry brushing, and the rear exhaust in rust brown. This completed the main paintwork.
Although I had stopped using gloss varnish on military vehicles, I returned to it for this build since it was a civilian-style subject. I let the gloss coat dry completely before moving on.
I then applied the Italian police decals provided in the kit. Italeri’s decals are extremely thin and almost melt into the paint layer. I was really impressed.
After the decals were set, I applied another layer of gloss varnish and let it dry completely before starting oil paint work.
I began with a filter using white oil paint, followed by burnt sienna. Once these dried, I dotted different oil colors onto the surface and blended them with turpentine—both on horizontal and vertical surfaces.
To create shadow effects, I applied black oil paint to recesses and blended it with turpentine. Although this technique looks easy in videos, I found it challenging. The black paint kept spreading too far, and cleaning up the excess was difficult. Be careful with this step.
After the oil stage, I left the model to dry thoroughly. Oil paints are beautiful to work with, but their long drying time really tests my patience. I usually do oil work right before night shifts so the model has time to cure while I’m away.
Once dry, I applied a pin wash using a black enamel solution. Since I had already shaded the recesses with oil paint, I focused this wash only on panel lines and shadow areas—not across the entire model.
After finishing the oil paint application, I left the model to dry again. Oil paints are a beautiful medium to work with, but the long drying time really tests my patience. I usually try to apply oils the day before a night shift, so the model has time to dry while I'm away.
After the wash dried, I applied a matte varnish to seal everything and provide a textured surface for weathering. I then began weathering the lower hull with muddy and dusty washes, and added a few oil stains here and there.
Since I had never weathered wheels before, I researched different techniques. The one that appealed to me most was applying pigment, wiping off the excess, and leaving it in the crevices. I used this method and was pleased with the result.
Next, I added soot around the grills using a black pigment. I avoided covering the entire area—just soft, rounded smudges for realism.
I had already painted the exhaust rust brown. To break up the monotony, I applied a pigment fixer followed by sponged-on pigments in various shades.
To simulate dust and mud splatter, I loaded a toothbrush with pigment and flicked it onto the model. Unfortunately, it worked too well—too much pigment stuck to the surface. The overdone effect wasn’t to my liking.
To eliminate the plastic look and add a metallic feel, I used a pencil to highlight the sharp edges. I also corrected a few remaining mistakes and considered the build complete.
This was my first wheeled vehicle model, so it turned out to be an educational experience. Although I wasn’t completely satisfied with the final look due to some mistakes, the process was enjoyable. I placed the finished vehicle in my display cabinet and moved on to the next project.
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