Regia Marina 1/700 Oriani Class Destroyer Vittorio Alfieri

Reviewed by Timothy Dike

The Vittorio Alfieri was a member of the Italian Oriani Class Destroyers built shortly before the Second World War. She was a fast ship with a potent armament and she served throughout the Mediterranean during 1940 and 41. Her career was cut short  at the battle of Matapan March 28th 1941 where she was sunk with her sister ship Giosue Carducci. A third sister Vincenzo Gioberti was sunk late the next year HMS Simoom, while the lead ship of the class Alfredo Oriani survived the war only to be turned over to France for reparations.
Statistics:
Length 350'
Beam 33' 7"
Draft 11' 2"
Displacement 2,470 t
Machinery 3 Thornycroft Boilers driving 2 Parsons turbines connected to 2 shafts
Speed 39 Knots on tials.
Armament 4 x 4.7"
4 x 37 mm
6 x 13.2 mm
6 (2x3)  x 21" Torpedo's
56 Mines
Crew 207
Regia Marina has produced another important ship in their line of Italian Navy subjects. This one can be used to build any of the four sister ships in the class and parts are provided to do just that.
The hull is cast in a two piece mold that eliminates the over pour typically found on some resin kits. The resin is fed in from the bottom resulting in little casting gates that will need to be sanded off. The plus is that they are on the in a place where they will not show. The casting quality is very good, with no air bubbles to be found on my sample. The surface detail is nice and crisp, and includes a fair amount of surface detail. Much of the superstructure is cast in place simplifying the assembly. Click images
to enlarge
The superstructure parts are cast on resin sprues and are almost like plastic injection molded kits  in the way they are laid out. The splinter shields are thin and have only a minimal amount of flash. The two main gun turrets are open with separate guns that will result in a more realistic effect when completed. The other fittings are very delicate
A nice stainless steel photo etch fret is included with all the railings and detail parts to finish off the kit.
Instructions consist of three pages showing an exploded view of where the parts go, and several detail views of the ships at various times in their careers. Camouflage diagrams also show the colorful schemes worn at various times in their careers. The instructions are in Italian making it a little hard to interpret the notes but the diagrams use simple initials to identify the details and there should be little problems understanding them.
Conclusions:click to visit the website
 

Another nice kit of an important Italian WW2 Destroyer. This Regia Marina kit has the potential to build a great ship right out of the box. The included Photo etch makes this a great value, and a must for WW2 Italian Navy fans.

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