The Automotore FS 206/207/208 was a family of Italian licence-built variants of the Breuer IV, a light railway shunting locomotive developed by the German company H. Breuer & Co in the 1920s.
It is estimated that nearly 400 shunters based on the model IV were manufactured by the companies Antonio Badoni Lecco (1932-1969) and Officine Costamasnaga di Como (1929-1932).
They served with the Italian State Railways and private companies at least until the 1990s, so modellers interested in building derelict vehicles may easily find colour reference photos of abandoned, rusty shunters awaiting their end at the sidetracks.
In July 1942, the Italian engineers restored the railway line from Tobruk to El-Alamein which would be then used for transporting troops and supplies for the Regio Esercito and Afrika Korps.
A few dozens of Automotores delivered from Italy on 26th July 1942 became the main pulling force on this route until November 1942.
In North Africa the shunters, whose most common nickname had been “sogliola” (“sole”), assigned to them due to their typical shape, were instead called “scatole di sardine” (“sardine cans”) or “armadi viaggianti” (“moving wardrobes”).
This 1/35 scale kit can be built either as the World War II variant used in the North Africa or a post-war model featuring several distinctive modifications.
A 19 cm-long railway track section and Italian Engineer Corps NCO figure are also included.
Features
- Over 180 plastic parts for the shunter and a section of railway track.
- Optional parts for WWII-era and post-war variants.
- 1 Italian Army NCO figure.
- 4 painting/marking options.
