Marc Mercier Briga Iveco Light Multirole Vehicle (LMV)

GB Modelli recently released a kit of the Iveco Light Multirole Vehicle (LMV). This vehicle, in service with several armies around the globe, is one of the most successful Mine Resistant light vehicles build in recent years. It has seen widespread use in numerous conflict areas like Afghanistan, Lebanon and Mali and is therefore a welcome addition for fans of modern stuff, not in the least because of the wide variety of colour schemes possible. The model in the kit is the basic LMV variant, featuring a pintle mounted 50 HMG. Some nations adapted their vehicles to suit specific roles (mostly light reconnaissance) by added smoke grenade launchers, remotely controlled armament or jammers antennae and the like. Should you want to model a specific type, better check your sources. Contrary to many resin manufactures that provide sturdy cardboard boxes, GB still ships their products in unprotected plastic bags, only backed up by the folded assembly manual. Obviously, this augments the possibility that parts will be broken during handling and transport. This is something I find difficult to understand, you make a first class resin kit (often containing numerous fragile parts) which, next, you pack in a simple plastic bag. Luckily, in my sample, only a few small parts were broken, but nothing that I cannot repair myself. Now for a closer look...
The parts are finely cast in cream-coloured resin, without warping, but with a little flash that needs to be cleaned up. No air bubbles were seen on my sample. Detail is sharp all over. Some parts are really puny and will demand extreme care to remove them from their pouring blocks.

. A rather complete interior is provided. The front doors are moulded separate and have detail on the inside, so leaving them open is an interesting option. The luxuries crew seats are nicely reproduced, (they just lack their safety belts) while the dashboard looks just as complicated as on the real vehicle. Windows will need to be made out of clear styrene, which is not included.

The anti slip rectangles on the roof may look overdone but these are quite prominent on a real vehicle too. Just took a look at this Belgian vehicle (left), whose driver was so kind to overturn his ride especially for this picture. Note that the roof hatch on this version is in a different location than the one in the kit.

The tire profile on the wheels is nicely reproduced. However due to the complexity of the profile, each wheel has a small number of imperfections which will be difficult to clean or correct.
The manual is hand drawn and sufficiently clear. The parts are not numbered, but since the drawings speak for themselves, this is not an issue.

A very nice decal sheet is included. Colours are vivid and in register. However, a drawing or colour sheet is missing in the kit, so you have to figure out yourself what they stand for and what colour scheme the vehicle has to be in. I found the following combinations possible : • Italian army, ISAF (four different license plates) • Italian army in UN mission • UNIFIL with UN licence plate • Croatia EUTM Mali deployment • Croatia standard version • Spain (Guardia Civil)
As said before, the kit gives you a basic LMV vehicle, but there are some parts included that are not mounted on every vehicle. The instructions manual shows you how to install the long air intake tube (next to the driver screen) and the longer exhaust tube at the back. In reality, the longer intake tube can be taken off, one can see numerous vehicles driving around without that feature, even during operational deployment. On the other hand, according to photographic evidence, the longer exhaust is rarely installed; I have only seen it on some Italian vehicles and those of the Spanish Guardia Civil. However, the exhaust tube GB provides is much too thick, the real one is long and slender. The spare tire carrying system included in this kit seems to be a particular type that is not commonly used. I've only seen it on the LMV vehicles build under licence by Kamaz in Russia, where the vehicle is called the M65 Rys. I've noticed at least two other types of spare tire carrying system in use, for instance, the Belgian system has a quite sturdy bar placed between the tire and the vehicle, while the Spanish version sports a different type of tubular construction. In reality, since the vehicle is equipped with a run-flat system and because the spare tire carrying system can be removed, the spare tire is often not carried (this allows you an easier access to the trunk through the rear hatch). The antennae platform at the back of the vehicle is also a special feature and not installed on every LMV. It looks a bit too thick for my taste, but has otherwise the correct shape.
Conclusion This is a kit that will please many a modeller of modern vehicles, not only because of the widespread use of the LMV, but also because GB has made a good job of it. It should be an interesting model straight from the box, but with a bit of extra scratchbuilding, it could be turned into a more specialised version. Preview sample provided by GB Modelli This model can be purchased from

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Article Last Updated: 30 November 2016