Introduction:
ICM released their 1/35 scale G7107 WWII Army Truck in 2021. Since then the company produced 6 slightly different variants of the vehicle, with more to follow. All these kits are supplied with plastic wheels featuring standard US Army 7.50-20 NDT tires. The wheels are nicely detailed and should look good when painted and weathered.
However, G506(G7107) family of vehicles used many different tires. The most interesting type by far were Goodrich Silvertown 7.50-20 with their characteristic chevron tread pattern.
DEF Model recently produced these tires and offer them as resin replacement wheels for ICM model.
Review:
US G506(G7107) Cargo Truck Sagged Wheel Set- Early Type (DW30062) is packed in a hard cardboard side-opening box. The box is nicely designed with the box art image showcasing the contents of the set. The image also specifies the set is designed for ICM kit and that it contains 11 resin parts and wheel mask seal.
The box contains a zip-lock bag with resin pieces, two large masking sheets and masking instruction leaflet.
Upon closer inspection I was really impressed by the high quality of resin casting. I found no imperfections in the resin whatsoever, just a very thin resin film in the wheel rim openings which needs to be carefully removed using the back of an X-acto blade. The details look very good, superbly defined and delivered in scale.
The casting blocks should prove very easy to remove. As with all DEF Model sets, the casting block on the road wheels is located at the tire ground contact, so the resulting “scar” is not visible once the wheels are installed on the vehicle. The casting block on the spare tire is intelligently engineered with attachment points which follow the tire tread. By carefully cleaning these, there should be no need to recreate the tread pattern.
The tire represented in this set is Goodrich Silvertown 7.50-20. This is a directional tire and needs to be mounted with the tread design or “chevron” pointed in the right direction for maximum traction, efficiency, longest and most even wear. Majority of images I found show that the point of “V” meets the ground first.
There are images of this tire used on G506(G7107) family of vehicles, however not many are of high resolution to see all the tire details. I could spot the sidewall embossed detail and lettering on some, but only to a certain degree.
The tires in DEF Model set are extremely well detailed. The characteristic tire tread pattern is authentically reproduced, with sidewall details and inscriptions clearly visible under magnification…Goodrich Silvertown, Super Traction, 7.50-20 HEAVY DUTY 8 PLY… check out the magnificent detail.
This set includes 6 road wheels, 2 front and 4 rear wheels. Due to the directional pattern of the tread, care should be taken to understand which wheel goes where. In a nutshell, wheels A and B/B2 are left side wheels (A is front wheel, B and B2 make dual rear wheels) while wheels C and D/D2 are right side wheels (C is front wheel, D and D2 make dual rear wheels). An image from DEF Model website could help: link.
Front wheel:
The set also supplies two front wheel drum parts, which replace C6/C26 parts from ICM kit:
Dual rear wheels:
Notice the stubs and holes which help to adjust the wheels and fix them together. The set also supplies two rear wheel drum parts, which replace C6/C20/C25 parts from ICM kit:
The road wheels are depicted with a slight compression of the tire on ground level. The effect realistically recreates the sag of the tire due to the weight of the vehicle.
Spare wheel:
I noticed the casting blocks have DW350058 printed on them, suggesting the wheels in this set are identical to those in USG506(G7107) Cargo Truck Wheel Set- Early Type (DW30058) which is designed to fit MiniArt offering.
Fitting the wheels:
The wheels are designed as a direct replacement to plastic wheels supplied with ICM kit. The front resin wheels (+ front wheel drums) fit to the front axle, while the rear resin wheels (+ rear wheel drums) should be fixed to the rear axle. Easy.
Wheel masks:
Two large pre-cut masking sheets are included in this kit. The masks are of help when painting the wheels, allowing airbrushing without overspray. The instruction leaflet shows two different ways of applying the masks and painting the wheels.
Conclusion:
US G506(G7107) Cargo Truck Sagged Wheel Set- Early Type (DW30062) from DEF Model is a resin replacement wheel set designed for ICM’s G506(G7107) 1/35 scale truck kits. The set delivers 6 road wheels with wheel drums, and a spare tire, perfectly cast and with loads of details impressively delivered in resin. The characteristic shape and tread pattern of Goodrich Silvertown tire is authentically reproduced. The wheel masks are an added bonus.
Altogether, I can highly recommend this set for those who wish a slightly different look for their G506(G7107) models.
A big thanks to DEF Model for this review sample.