| ICM German Assault Infantry 1917-1918 Reviewed by Edward Swaim |
The recent explosion in the availability of high-quality, inexpensive styrene in 1/72 and 1/48 scale aircraft, primarily
from Eastern Europe, not yet translated to vehicles or figures.
Though there are quite a few metal and resin figures on the market, they are not affordable and, because of the
materials and cost, do not lend themselves to conversion.
“You got a package from the Ukraine!”
Emhar from Great Britain has introduced a couple of new 1/72 tanks and some soft plastic figures of the same scale.
There are rumors of two new 1/35 tanks from Emhar, a St. Chamond and Mk V. Until recently, there have been no
styrene WWI figures in 1/35 scale that I know of. Modelers of that era have had to become adept at carving leggings on
WWII figures and adding equipment, such as the excellent resin German gear from Ft. Duquesne.
The Ukraine’s ICM has at long last provided what we can hope will be the first of many styrene Great War figures in
1/35 scale with its German Assault Troops. After hearing on a Missing Lynx Web forum that the kit had been released, I
ordered 3 from Hobby Terra. They arrived by registered mail in Arkansas 8 days after they shipped. Rather than
sending a bunch of air, Hobby Terra sent bagged kits with flat kit boxes.
Check out the ICM Web site for pictures of the sprues. First looking at them, you might get the idea that the figures will
turn out flat and lifeless. This is not the case after assembly. The figures are energetic and three-dimensional. Three of
the 4 figures have both feet on the ground, limiting the illusion of movement. The equipment, which is molded
separately, really provides detail and depth. Chin straps and rifle slings must be added. The canteens have a sink hole
in the side which should face out, so they have to be flipped over and a simple strap must be added to the good side.
As you can see, ICM’s sculptors have a better sense of movement and action than Dragon’s or Tamiya’s. The hands
and cloth folds are rendered more thoughtfully than on most non-resin figures. Another difference from the usual
plastic figures is the way ICM breaks down the figure parts. They often mold arms in several pieces and shape hands
around the objects they hold. Some heads are molded on torsos, while others are separate. The separate heads fit
very nicely into the collars.
I’m no uniform expert, but what tells my eye “WWI” more than anything is the style of the collar, the baggy blouses, and
the puttees. They also have big cuffs and the pocket flaps on the blouses have a good “W” shape. The leggings are
well rendered, and you can even see the ends are tied off! Each figure has knee patches, and the shoes are better
than average. The helmets are a bit thick around the edges and are sculpted with a bit too much restraint. They don’t
have the over-sized, coal-scuttle look that they need. You get 8 rifles, canvass gas-mask carriers, metal gas-mask
carriers, canteens, assault packs, separate mess kits, helmets, bayonets in scabbards, etc. Four of the rifles are full-
length, and the other 4 are carbines. One of the longer rifles has the bayonet lug—the tiniest piece of styrene molding I’
ve ever seen—molded on it. It won’t last long during building and painting. I have 3 kits, and each only has one rifle
with the lug.
Those who have opened an ICM kit in the past are familiar with their weird, greasy plastic. The Assault Troopers are
molded in a soft, white styrene. They have a considerable amount of mold release on them, but it washes off easily with
detergent and a brush. I like the soft plastic. It glues just fine, and it has a bit of give which keeps fine parts from
breaking off. It is easy to remove mold seams, too. With the back of a hobby knife or with a seam scraper, you can work
these down in minutes, and the soft plastic smooths over as you scrape.
Here’s the sergeant’s pistol. I have not snapped off the barrel yet, thanks to the flexible plastic! The hand is molded
right on the grip, so there’s no ugly gap.
The fit of the parts is exceptional. After cutting the parts off the sprue, I hit the attachment points with a 400-grit
sanding stick, put a little liquid cement on to start the plastic melting, then, after a minute or so, stick them on and add
another drop of cement. By allowing the cement to soak before putting the parts together, you can mush the parts
together and fill most if not all of the seam at the time of assembly.
Very little filler has to be used with the figures. The packs fit like gloves! The mess kits, which rest in the middle of the
assault packs, however, do not fit, so some plastic must be removed from the lower end of the kits or their nesting
places. A little filler has to go around the top and sides of the mess kits. Filler also helps in the gaps between the
figures’ hands and weapons. A thumb or two can be bent slightly for a better grip. This is possible with the soft plastic.
Some of the grenade bags need filler to make them snuggle up to figures’ sides.
For some reason, the sculptors represented the Frankenstein bolts for attaching supplemental armor to the helmets
with dimples. A fine drill and some stretched sprue fix this. The heads are flat above the eyebrows, so little chunk of
sprue on top provides something to glue the helmets to.
The shooter does not shoulder his weapon very well. My out-of-the box version has him in the process of bringing the
stock into his shoulder and cheek. It would not take much effort to adjust the parts for a better fit. His hands are very
nice, but don’t grip the rifle properly.
This set was built out of the box, but provides great raw material for conversion. With the addition of aftermarket heads
and some equipment from the Fort Duquesne set, you can have some first class figures cheap. The grenade bags
need a bit of help—perhaps just drilling some holes and adding stretched sprue potato masher handles sticking out.
Some variety is needed if you’re going to use these figures together, since all the heads look alike and the packs are
identical. The soft plastic is so easy to carve that you can re-shape the figures as needed for customization.
I’m very pleased with this set. Please, please, please make more WWI figures, ICM!
from Eastern Europe, not yet translated to vehicles or figures.
Though there are quite a few metal and resin figures on the market, they are not affordable and, because of the
materials and cost, do not lend themselves to conversion.
“You got a package from the Ukraine!”
Emhar from Great Britain has introduced a couple of new 1/72 tanks and some soft plastic figures of the same scale.
There are rumors of two new 1/35 tanks from Emhar, a St. Chamond and Mk V. Until recently, there have been no
styrene WWI figures in 1/35 scale that I know of. Modelers of that era have had to become adept at carving leggings on
WWII figures and adding equipment, such as the excellent resin German gear from Ft. Duquesne.
The Ukraine’s ICM has at long last provided what we can hope will be the first of many styrene Great War figures in
1/35 scale with its German Assault Troops. After hearing on a Missing Lynx Web forum that the kit had been released, I
ordered 3 from Hobby Terra. They arrived by registered mail in Arkansas 8 days after they shipped. Rather than
sending a bunch of air, Hobby Terra sent bagged kits with flat kit boxes.
Check out the ICM Web site for pictures of the sprues. First looking at them, you might get the idea that the figures will
turn out flat and lifeless. This is not the case after assembly. The figures are energetic and three-dimensional. Three of
the 4 figures have both feet on the ground, limiting the illusion of movement. The equipment, which is molded
separately, really provides detail and depth. Chin straps and rifle slings must be added. The canteens have a sink hole
in the side which should face out, so they have to be flipped over and a simple strap must be added to the good side.
As you can see, ICM’s sculptors have a better sense of movement and action than Dragon’s or Tamiya’s. The hands
and cloth folds are rendered more thoughtfully than on most non-resin figures. Another difference from the usual
plastic figures is the way ICM breaks down the figure parts. They often mold arms in several pieces and shape hands
around the objects they hold. Some heads are molded on torsos, while others are separate. The separate heads fit
very nicely into the collars.
I’m no uniform expert, but what tells my eye “WWI” more than anything is the style of the collar, the baggy blouses, and
the puttees. They also have big cuffs and the pocket flaps on the blouses have a good “W” shape. The leggings are
well rendered, and you can even see the ends are tied off! Each figure has knee patches, and the shoes are better
than average. The helmets are a bit thick around the edges and are sculpted with a bit too much restraint. They don’t
have the over-sized, coal-scuttle look that they need. You get 8 rifles, canvass gas-mask carriers, metal gas-mask
carriers, canteens, assault packs, separate mess kits, helmets, bayonets in scabbards, etc. Four of the rifles are full-
length, and the other 4 are carbines. One of the longer rifles has the bayonet lug—the tiniest piece of styrene molding I’
ve ever seen—molded on it. It won’t last long during building and painting. I have 3 kits, and each only has one rifle
with the lug.
Those who have opened an ICM kit in the past are familiar with their weird, greasy plastic. The Assault Troopers are
molded in a soft, white styrene. They have a considerable amount of mold release on them, but it washes off easily with
detergent and a brush. I like the soft plastic. It glues just fine, and it has a bit of give which keeps fine parts from
breaking off. It is easy to remove mold seams, too. With the back of a hobby knife or with a seam scraper, you can work
these down in minutes, and the soft plastic smooths over as you scrape.
Here’s the sergeant’s pistol. I have not snapped off the barrel yet, thanks to the flexible plastic! The hand is molded
right on the grip, so there’s no ugly gap.
The fit of the parts is exceptional. After cutting the parts off the sprue, I hit the attachment points with a 400-grit
sanding stick, put a little liquid cement on to start the plastic melting, then, after a minute or so, stick them on and add
another drop of cement. By allowing the cement to soak before putting the parts together, you can mush the parts
together and fill most if not all of the seam at the time of assembly.
Very little filler has to be used with the figures. The packs fit like gloves! The mess kits, which rest in the middle of the
assault packs, however, do not fit, so some plastic must be removed from the lower end of the kits or their nesting
places. A little filler has to go around the top and sides of the mess kits. Filler also helps in the gaps between the
figures’ hands and weapons. A thumb or two can be bent slightly for a better grip. This is possible with the soft plastic.
Some of the grenade bags need filler to make them snuggle up to figures’ sides.
For some reason, the sculptors represented the Frankenstein bolts for attaching supplemental armor to the helmets
with dimples. A fine drill and some stretched sprue fix this. The heads are flat above the eyebrows, so little chunk of
sprue on top provides something to glue the helmets to.
The shooter does not shoulder his weapon very well. My out-of-the box version has him in the process of bringing the
stock into his shoulder and cheek. It would not take much effort to adjust the parts for a better fit. His hands are very
nice, but don’t grip the rifle properly.
This set was built out of the box, but provides great raw material for conversion. With the addition of aftermarket heads
and some equipment from the Fort Duquesne set, you can have some first class figures cheap. The grenade bags
need a bit of help—perhaps just drilling some holes and adding stretched sprue potato masher handles sticking out.
Some variety is needed if you’re going to use these figures together, since all the heads look alike and the packs are
identical. The soft plastic is so easy to carve that you can re-shape the figures as needed for customization.
I’m very pleased with this set. Please, please, please make more WWI figures, ICM!
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