Italeri 1/24 Mercedes Benz Actros MP4 Giga Space Showtruck Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The Mercedes Benz Actros series was first introduced for the 2012 production year as a new series of over-the-road long-haul tractor that has become quite popular around the world. Not only has the Actros been widely employed in the civilian world, it is also serving as a prime mover for many military arms as well, including up-armored versions for combat zones. There is one place in the globe you won't find the Actros (with the exception of a few test trucks) - the United States. As you know, Mercedes Benz is a division of Daimler AG, and in the US market, Daimler owns Freightliner and the Western Star brands, but to date, the Actros has not been available in the US market. You'll see them in Canada and Mexico, but not inside the US. Perhaps someone can share why the Mercedes Benz Actros is not commercially available here since it was first introduced eight years ago?

Italeri has been producing kits of the Mercedes trucks for years now and first introduced their Actros MP4 Gigaspace tooling in 2016. This kit is a reissue that features new decals and new chromed parts. The kit is molded in styrene and presented on nine parts trees, one molded in clear, two molded in silver-gray, two molded in black, two molded in white, one molded in dark blue, and one chromed tree.

Among the features and options of this kit:

• Detailed chassis frame
• Detailed drive train and suspension
• Detailed engine, transmission, and cooling system
• Detailed wheels, brakes and hubs - choice of wheel hubs
• Detailed cab interior
• Cab designed with seperate interior and exterior surfaces for extra detail
• Cab can be displayed in drive or tilted forward to reveal engine bay

Markings are provided for the show truck 'Wolf' scheme or painted as a line truck using the significant collection of license plate markings included on the decal sheet.

If you're looking for an automotive project that offers some very nice details but won't take up much shelf space, this show truck is just what you're looking for. If you're wanting to do an in-service truck, Italeri also produces a nice variety of trailers to depict this tractor at work. For the super-detail modeler, there are some aftermarket options available for this kit, you'll just decide how you'll want to display the end result. Whether the cab is tilted forward or not, it will be a bit challenging to see that nice interior, but with the cab tilted forward, you can see those nice details that Italeri engineered into the kit. While the cab doors are molded closed, you could do some surgery to depict them open, but I think I have a better solution. The top of the cab is designed in such a way that you can leave it loose so you can show off the interior at the contest table. It will take a little bit of modeling skills to set that option up properly.

My sincere thanks to MRC for this review sample!