ICM 1/35th German Assault Troops (1917-1918)
|
 |
General Contents
86 very light gray (almost white) injected styrene parts.
Instructions are one, two-sided black & white sheet.
Box top art is glossy, color, and attractive with a color painting guide
on the rear cover as an aid to that provided on the instruction sheet.
Considering the sheer quantity of World War II (and later) military
miniature figures saturating the market, I figured it was only a matter
of time that kit manufacturers ran out of ideas there and finally discovered
the vast and untapped potential in World War I subjects.
Thanks to ICM of Ukraine we finally have what may be the start of something
big.
Their choice of subject matter I think is excellent, and hopefully will
encourage many further offerings to quell the drought that us WW I figure
guys have felt for so long now.
 This
is not to say that we haven't had anything before, but they've always
been in resin (Model Cellar), or in white metal, and of odd scales (Metal
Models 54mm). Though all of those are high quality offerings, they just
don't have the selection, distribution system, or the prices to appeal
consistently to the less 'well-heeled' scale model and diorama builder
without a lot of specialized hobby shops to search through.
These new figures are best compared with those WW II offerings from Tamiya
and DML/Dragon as to quality, poses, equipment, and ease of assembly.
(That's because we really have no WW I injected figures to rate them against
- believe it or not, these are the first from a larger manufacturer that
I'm aware of!).
With figures, there are four very important areas.
The first is the most important and is the pose.
With an unnatural or stiff pose it really doesn't matter how well it's
assembled and painted. If it looks like Frankenstein's monster it's just
never going to look good. I'm happy to say that these figures pass that
first test with flying colors - no gargoyles in this bunch!
The second most critical feature is the faces.
With figures, a good face is necessary, because with the human form
that is what always draws the viewer's eye. And as modelers, just what
else are we trying to achieve but someone's interested eye?
These figures are mostly good in this category. The faces are well proportioned,
but a bit plain and a little featureless looking. This isn't entirely
a bad thing, as you can add hair and such to make them more unique, but
at the same time, if they were a bit more detailed they would be easier
to paint. Still, compared to Tamiya or DML/Dragon I'd say they were at
least equal, and definitely useable.
But if you don't like the expressions (one shouting, the three others
mostly expressionless), and because these ICM heads are separate pieces,
you can substitute an excellent resin head from Hornet, Verlinden, or
other if you see fit.
Thirdly, we look at the equipment included.
ICM has done a pretty good job with most of these pieces, for example,
providing two rifles for three of the figures - one the standard German
army rifle of WW I (the Gehwer 98), and also a the shorter assault stormtrooper
version with folded bolt (Mauser Kar98A carbine). The Gehwer 98's bolt
should actually stick straight out, rather than be shown as folded down
against the stock, but that's up to the modeler to change here.
 The
gas mask canisters are also quite nice and well detailed. The breadbags
(haversacks) provided are good too, but a bit too much like the WW II
variety, but easily modified to suit.
The entrenching tools provided could use added detail and the extra ammunition
'bandoliers' are accurate and to scale as well. The backpacks (of the
assault pack variety) are of a good shape and size, though lack detail.
The assault troop's classic grenade bag carriers (two each, slung around
the neck) are a bit misshapen and will need some attention to look good.
Fortunately these are also separate items so they can be worked on off
the figure.
But probably the weakest link here is ICM's representation of the standard
German M1916 steel helmet. They've provided four separate helmets that
look much more like their WW II cousins than the classic 'coal scuttle'
type of WW I. The general shape seems okay, but the angled 'apron' around
the back and sides is not deep enough, nor the visor long enough. These
helmets are also lacking the distinctive side 'lugs' that really exemplify
the type. The lugs can be easily added with sprue, but the rest will be
a bit more difficult to rectify. Still, they're a better representation
than those provided with some of Cellar Models German WW I figures in
my opinion.
Fourth and last (but not necessarily least!) are the uniforms represented.
ICM has modeled these figures in late 1917 through to the end of the
war. This stage of the fighting brought a few changes vs. the uniform
the German Army started the war with in August of 1914. Namely, these
figures all wear the M1915 tunic with continuous button 'fly' in front,
and leg 'putties' instead of the full jackboot. These are well represented
by ICM.
The trousers knees and tunic's elbows show leather patches, which were
also common with assault troops near the war's end.
(However, at this stage of the war the earlier M1914 tunic and jackboots
were still pretty commonly seen, and any diorama would be well advised
to include a variety of uniform types and details, maybe ICM will release
some with the earlier uniform?). The Germans were famous for squeezing
every last bit of use from all issued clothing and uniforms, so it was
very common to see eclectic mixes right up to the end of the war.
Conclusion
Overall this is a fine set that ICM has released and is long overdue
for WW I figure enthusiasts. Let's hope they continue with more from this
fascinating and long neglected era!
Recommended.
Thanks to ICM Holding for the review
sample.
|
|
