When I began construction, I was going through a phase of just wanting to get some models completed. My model production has been almost non-existent for so long... I went from 2004 to 2010 without completing a single kit. And then again from 2012 to 2021. From 2000 to 2024 I completed a grand total of only 21 models. Granted, my life has had many ups and downs over that period of time, but still, that's a pathetic build rate for someone as passionate about the hobby as I am.

So this past year, in 2025, I made a commitment to get back into the hobby that I love so much, and committed myself to actually completing many of the models that I had started, but never finished, over the past couple of decades. I'm happy to report that during this past year, I did manage to finish 12 models so far; not bad I would say. One huge downside to this flurry of activity is that I didn't approach these projects with writing reviews for them in my mind. I just wanted to GET SOMETHING DONE. Consequently, I am going to be posting reviews for many of these models over the coming weeks, but they will be rather short, and without any pre- or mid-construction photos to help illustrate my build process.

Fiat 621 w/CKM

Back to my original point... I started building these two kits from First to Fight with a very FAST BUILD mindset. I wanted to simply build them out of the box, to give them a nice paint job, and without any aftermarket or extra effort to improve them. I still think that was a laudable goal. However, as the painting progressed on these, with the truck in particular, I started to feel really good about how they were turning out. The paint chipping on the truck's cargo bed I thought was looking particularly nice. And then I ran into a problem with the CKM machinegun, specifically, snapping it into several pieces. I recently had discovered the Polish company Syndikate Co., which has quickly become my favorite maker of 3D-printed detail parts, and they produce an upgrade set for this truck kit, which includes a new, and far superior, machinegun. So I had to have it. I set the project aside long enough to order that set (along with several others...) and get it in the mail, and then got back to work.

Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to get back to building, and as I said, I wasn't really thinking about writing a construction review, so I never took photos of the unpainted parts of the upgrade set. The pictures I include here are used with kind permission from Syndikate Co.

Although I primarily wanted the new Browning wz. 30 machinegun, the new headlights were also especially welcome because it saved me the work of trying to carve open the kit headlights to fill them with something clear. The other items in the set are similarly very well done (particularly the lamps, printed in clear resin!).

As for the construction of the truck kit itself, there really isn't a whole lot to say about it. You can see what the parts look like (except for the machinegun) in Michal Derela's excellent review of the First to Fight Fiat 621 kit here. The assembly was quite easy and took no time at all. But... there was a problem with my kit in that the chassis was warped, as was the floor of the cab. I tried to bend them straight, and thought I had done a decent job of it, but when I compare the side view of my completed kit with the side view from Michal's article, I can see that mine is still bowed a bit. And I don't like how the front wheels sit in their wheel wells on mine; too high and too far forward. For the life of me, I cannot understand why; they look very different than Michal's kit. I must have mis-glued the axle in some manner. Also, it appears as though I glued the tailgate to the cargo bed upside down... What a dumbass.

So, why am I whining about sticking to my plan? Because overall I am very happy with how the truck turned out in the end. So happy in fact, that I wish that I had planned on making more improvements to the base model as I was progressing through the construction of the kit. Such as superdetailing the driver's cab, making the fixes that Michal described in his review, such as cutting in the cab's rear window, scribing in a wood board pattern to the rear wall, PUT IN A WINDSHIELD, etc. There are so many minor tweaks that I could have made that would have turned this into a real prize-winner, but I didn't think about doing them until it was too late. Oh, I added the numbers on the license plate from my spare decals; none are included in the kit. The numbers are completely conjectural, and were chosen simply because they fit.

Bofors 40mm AA Gun

As for the 40mm Bofors, I also made a couple of substitutions, specifically new wheels, again from Syndikate Co., and a replacement gun barrel from Master Model. In all honesty, the kit parts really are not too bad, and don't really NEED replacing, but in this case, the replacement parts are simply so fine that I couldn't resist. Particularly the tread pattern on the 3D-printed wheels.

Again, I apologize for not having any pre-assembly scans of the kit parts, but you can see what comes in the box at Henk of Holland's website. Assembly was straight-forward, replacing the wheels and gun barrel was very simple to accomplish, and there were no problems with putting the model together. Except... there is either a slight twist in the frame, or I attached one of the wheel axles crooked, as the left rear wheel does not touch the ground. Always a fear of mine when building wheeled kits...

Altogether, I am very happy with how these turned out, especially with the aftermarket upgrade parts that I used. I feel like the First to Fight line of kits was originally intended as quick-builds for wargaming, but they truly are very high quality models. Like S-Model, they blur the line between wargaming kits and those for static display. I can highly recommend all three manufacturers that are included in this review.