Italian Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 tank

[Sejmitar]

Why Italians?
You know, there were other parties on the Axis side besides the Germans, right ? Italian contribution to the Axis war effort is often skipped over, but it is still very important part of the WW2 history. Italian army is very colorful and distinctive, both in tactics, equipment and look; those factors made it very popular 'secondary army' choice among the wargamers. 'The look' and overall popularity of one of main Italian war theatres - North Africa - are also very appaeling for modellers.

Why M13/40
Fiat Ansaldo M13/40 was main Italian tank in the World War 2. Nice silhouette, trademark riveting (would look avesome in 1/56 scale), almost no alternatives available on the market. With popularity of Italian army among wargamers it is excellent choice for any manufacturer. To increase appael of the kit, I think it is possible to create mutli-option M11 & M13 & M14 model. Such 'ultimate Italian med tank'would be a hit!

Summary
Forza M13/40!

[Pinky]

I agree this would be a great kit.  There have been a couple of previous discussions about it - Rubicon have pointed out that vehicles with this many rivets are a major headache to design (but they look fantastic when done right - as with the Crusader).  My suggestion was an M13/40 with optional parts to build a Semovente.  It should be easy to fit all the parts onto the sprues, as it's a modest size and the suspension can be done almost literally in 1 piece.  And the Semovente was also used by the Germans, so there's added versatility there.