Ente Scambi Coloniali Internazionali

ESCI was a well-known model aircraft manufacturer. It is no longer in business. It specialised in static models.

They started manufacturing aircraft, military vehicle and car kits aruond late '70s early '80s. Some of their kits were famous and also officially awarded for their accuracy and smoothness. They were pioneers of engraved panel lines at injection moulded kits alongside with Hasegawa. Although some of their detailings and surface shapes were fictious on several kits (F-18, Mig-29) the whole appearance with stunning boxart, yellow based paper decals and simply elegant box and instructions leaflet design made their kits something exclusive. The other big Italian plastic kit manufacturer Italeri seemed a bit fade to gray beside them.

From the 1/72 aircraft offerings their Mirage F-1, F-104, F-15 and F-5 kits were excellent at their age for their accuracy. The best 1/72 F-104 and F-15 Eagle kit was replaced by hasegawa later but F-5 remained the best. Their 1/72 soviet supersonic bomber line (Tu-22, Tu-26) was less accurate, but who did care with a so astonishing theme?

Almost the whole 1/72 military vehicle line is also worth mentioning as ESCI was the first manufacturer to take the theme in that scale really serious. Strangely their 1/48 arcraft line had inferior accuracy and detailing in spite of the interesting themes (Mig-23, Mig-27) and eyecatching boxarts.

Interestingly their WW2 line was limited to ground vehicle themes (in 1/72, 1/35, and 1/9 motorbikes also!) in exception to the famous two crisp Henschel aeroplane kits (Hs-123, Hs-129) in 1/48.

The US ERTL company has emerged the manufacturer arount early '90s. The period of unchanged kits under ESCI/ERTL label was pitifully short. Till mid '90s they completely disappeared from the market. Although several kits has been re-issued under AMT logo they lacked the aforementioned exclusive appearance. Well after 2000 Italeri begun some revisioned reissue of some interesting and still sate-of-the-art ESCI kits, this time with the deserved appearance. Till then modelers are waiting every year an exciting announcement of an Italeri disguised "deja-vu" kit.