Marc Mercier Briga Autocarro CEIRANO 47 C "Carro Soccorso"

This kit gives you a specialized version of the Ceirano 47 Italian truck, with additional equipment (1,500 kg capacity crane, air compressor to start engines,…) to serve the aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica.
Contrary to many resin manufactures, GB still ships their products in unprotected plastic bags, only backed up by the folded assembly manual. Obviously, this augments the possibility that parts will be broken during handling and transport. As a result, in my kit, a support piece of the chassis had been broken off. Luckily, it will be simple to glue on.
. The parts are finely cast in cream-coloured resin, with no discernable warping, but with a little flash that needs to be cleaned up. Both sides of the chassis are sufficiently detailed, as is the cab, which is ingeniously laid-out with four main parts: the cabin (including bonnet and fenders), instrument panel, the bottom (which is part of the chassis) and the rear plate (including the seat). This construction allows the modeller an easy access into the inside of the cabin as long as the rear plate isn’t glued on, which is great for painting everything before closing the cabin. Windows will need to be made out of clear styrene, which is not included.

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The grills on the generator are nicely reproduced. The way the canvas top is represented is less impressive. Keeping the hot weather in the Mediterranean theatre in mind, the master kit builder has represented this, safely stored behind the cabin, together with its support beams. Unfortunately, everything is cast in one piece (see the "U form" part right on the picture) with very soft detail. I’ll certainly replace the support beams with some fine copper wire for more individual detail.
The tire profile on the wheels is nicely reproduced. However due to the complexity of the profile, each wheel has a number of imperfections which will be difficult to clean or correct.

Some parts are really puny and will demand extreme care to remove them from their pouring blocks.
Fixed to its pouring block by some well-chosen attachment points, all the long thin parts (like the crane boom) were cast perfectly straight. The crane, when in use is a delicate construction. A hook and pulley are also provided.

Reference pictures of this vehicle are rare, only a couple of blurry ones were discovered on the internet. See the pictures at the bottom of the GB Modelli page. However, it appears that these trucks could be equipped with different types of cabins. On the other hand, the cargo area seems pretty uniform.
--	The manual is hand drawn and sufficiently clear. Some colour advice is given here and there. No decals are provided.

Conclusion This is a great kit of an exotic vehicle that can be built into a nice model straight from the box, but also has enough potential to undergo a superdetailing session that could turn it into a little masterpiece. Due to the subject chosen, it is definitely also useful for the 1/72 aircraft builders, servicing an Italian Fiat or Macchi fighter. Preview sample provided by GB Modelli This model can be purchased from

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Article Last Updated: 24 August 2015