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Built Review
135
German Tank Riders 1942-45
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by: Darren Baker [ CMOT ]

Introduction

In this review I get to take a look at the German Tank Riders 1942-45 set from ICM. The set consists of four figures, with 2 in seated positions, one kneeling and the other stood upright.

Contents

The product is packaged in a cardboard tray with card lid. The single tan sprue is packaged inside a re-sealable plastic bag. The only other thing in the box is an instruction sheet.

Review

First impressions are good, with the mouldings having only small seam lines present. These seam lines are easily cleaned up with a light scraping with a sharp blade. The parts are free of moulding deformities such as flash and sink marks. The figures follow the typical breakdown of torso, legs and arms. The heads are all separate and have excellent facial detail for injection moulded plastic figures. The hand detail is also of a high standard, with some of the hands being separate parts which is a plus.

The uniforms are typical of the period and well replicated. Two of the figures have smocks on which I am especially impressed with, the reason I am impressed is the tie down detail on the front of the smock. The crease detail is good where it matters, but this does make it that little harder to remove the moulding seams without damaging the crease detail. Another aspect of these figures that I like is that the body parts are recessed where needed for the application of equipment; a good example of this is that one of the figures has a stick grenade tucked into its belt, a portion of the belt and the stick grenade has been moulded separately and so fits into the torso in a more realistic manner.

The weapons included in this set consist of an MG42, a Kar 98 and two MP40’s. The weapons are not slide moulded and so the barrels will need to be drilled out to improve the look of the finished items. The MG42 has an ammunition box, folded bipod and breach, the ammunition box also has a separate handle. Also provided with MG gunner is an accurate representation of the tool pouch. Each of the figures is equipped with a gas mask, canteen and bread bag, the bread bags have a recess for placement of the canteen and ICM have not duplicated 4 identical bread bags as each is slightly different. Each of the figures is equipped with the correct ammunition pouches for the weapon assigned to it. Three of the figures are supplied with helmets which are hollow as ICM has not moulded the figures with flat top heads.

Assembly

I cleaned and assembled two of the figures to check the fit of the arms, legs and torso. Clean up of the seam lines took about 5 minutes per figure and yes you could take longer and remove the straps if you plan on replacing them with photo etch or Tamiya tape that has become a popular approach of late. The fit of parts, as indicated by the pictures, is very good; I myself being especially impressed with the fit of the legs and torso. The fit of the arms is good, but will benefit from a little attention with a sharp knife to trim them in small areas. As ICM has supplied separate hands in some cases and I would have liked to see a portion of the lower arm and a recess in the jacket arms, this would have provided a more positive connection and allowed undercuts to be present in the figures with the loose cuffs of the figures wearing standard uniform.

Conclusion

I am very impressed with these figures from ICM, more than I thought I would be from the box art image. I like the poses of three of the four figure, only the upright figure being to my mind a poor stance for a tank rider, that said it would be at home on the ground. Despite me not being a fan of the upright figure, it is a very well moulded offering. I like the fact that the figures and some of the equipment has recessed areas for attachment of parts which results in a realistic fit and lay of the parts.
SUMMARY
Highs: A very good fit of body parts and recesses for the attachment of some kit parts rate highly with me.
Lows: There is nothing in this set that I can truthfully say is a low mark, with all of the lows that I have mentioned being more a case of what I would have liked to see rather than a fault.
Verdict: If you want a set of German tank riders at a realistic price this is well worth seeking out.
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 35634
  PUBLISHED: Jun 24, 2014
  NATIONALITY: Germany
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 87.04%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 84.86%

Our Thanks to ICM Holding!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Darren Baker (CMOT)
FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

I have been building model kits since the early 70’s starting with Airfix kits of mostly aircraft, then progressing to the point I am at now building predominantly armour kits from all countries and time periods. Living in the middle of Salisbury plain since the 70’s, I have had lots of opportunitie...

Copyright ©2021 text by Darren Baker [ CMOT ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Hi Darren, very nice kit, for sure is versatile and the figures are realistic and can be used in a lot of situations. Personally appreciated to have the heads separate, for easy painting. Thanks for your review
JUN 25, 2014 - 01:21 AM
I just built these for a diorama. The dio includes figures and heads from Dragon, Tamiya, Verlinden, and this ICM set. I feel that the ICM figures' faces and bodies were the best of the bunch. Of the styrene kits, their faces had the most details and their expressions were well-done. Construction was super easy too. Very little filler needed at the usual joins. Far less than Dragon's or Tamiya's figures. I did feel that their weapons were a bit lackluster however. The MG42 included with the set was outclassed in every way by a standard Tamiya offering. Their MP40's seemed a bit weak in detail and generally kind of over molded. Dragon's MP40's were a lot cleaner. All in all I was really happy with this kit and would definitely recommend it.
JUL 06, 2014 - 11:43 AM
   
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