Model Forum / General / Models / July 2007

so I purchased the Italeri Mercedes Dakar G-wagon kit today for an
astonishing $47 ....before hand I had never heard of this brand
before, nor have I had any experience with their kits, but for how
much it costs, I expected the utmost precision and quality....I
expected quality rivaling Tamiya's if not tromping it.

Needless to say, I am very dissappointed and somewhat angry even.

the entire kit has such an awful quality about it. firstly, opening
the box, I was delighted (sarcasm) to discover a few parts that were
broken, like the bullbar had broken off one of it's upper support
sticks, and one of the sway bar link mounts on the frame rail, were
snapped. And to find only 1 parts tree in a bag, and why are most of
the seams on the back doors open instead of molded in like the rest of
the body?

and that was BEFORE I had even started to build it. The parts trees
were absolutely shoddy, lots of the parts are supported at un-
necessary points making them difficult to get off without pliers and
then alot (if not ALL) parts fit so horribly, the driveshafts don't
even contact the transfer case, the fuel tank and exhaust pipe
interfeared (sp?) with each other so badly, I could only put one of
them on (chose to keep the exhaust pipe) as they would not fit with
each other at all. The frame rails are tweaked somehow and one of the
center bars won't even stay together as tension keeps pulling it
apart....also making it hard to set onto the car chassis.

the Revell and Tamiya kits I had built the week before went together
flawlessly and look brilliant, can't say that at all for this Italeri
model.

not even sure I want to continue with it, but needless to say, this is
one mistake I will not make again, no matter how cool of car one of
their shoddy kits are replicating, and I don't recommend them to
anyone.