Introduction

The following introduction is taken from the ICM website:

The G7107 army two-axle off-road vehicle started to be produced by General Motors in the fall of 1941. It was an all-wheel drive vehicle with a payload of 1.5 tons, with a metal cab and a wooden or metal body. Most of these vehicles were shipped during World War II as military aid to the Allies, with deliveries beginning in 1942. The Red Army received about 47,000 of these vehicles, and they were used both in combat units and in the rear. Some of them were captured by German army units during the fighting and used to transport goods and personnel of Wehrmacht units.

Review

This offering from ICM is one of their combination releases, where they have taken 2 of their products and combined them in an interesting way. Basically they have taken kit No. 35593 and then added a figure set 35639. The model is packaged in the usual manner of a flip top cardboard box with a separate card lid showing the artwork. The 2 offerings that make up the product are individually packaged. An examination of the parts reveals no obvious issues with the G7107 truck, but the figure set is showing some minor flash on the seam lines of the figures, but nothing of a level the average modeller could not cope with. 

The G7107 truck has proved a popular subject of late with both MiniArt and ICM, and between them they are offering a wide choice of finishes. The ICM release uses the multi part chassis approach, with the wide central cross member being the place to start in order to get a square assembly. The multi part chassis approach does enable ICM to provide a very high level of detail where the engineering aspects of the vehicle are concerned. In typical ICM fashion a good rendition of the engine and gearbox is provided which only really needs some cable detail added to it. A pleasing aspect of this release for me, is that the front wheels can be positioned as desired by the modeller due to a ball being trapped in the wheel hubs. To get the most from this release the modeller need only add detail such as brake lines, fuel lines and cables. 

The cab of the vehicle is one of the areas where you will need to check for ejector pin marks on the inner faces where seen. The doors are provided separately, but it is not indicated that they can be assembled in the open position. From what I can tell it should not be an issue to displayed them thus if desired. The hood of the vehicle is again a separate moulding, that I believe opens front to rear and while the kit is not designed with that intention a small amount of work would make this a possibility. 

The bed of this release is the metal version with metal slides, all of these details are well replicated in the model with the low sides also having a pleasing level of detail such as separate parts that would be used for tying down ropes or the loops on a canvas cover if the roof supports were in place. The underside of the bed, is another location where you will need to check for ejector pin marks but these are not always present. The wooden rails around the cargo bed, a portion of which doubles up as seating if you so wish - the method for which is shown in the instruction booklet. The rails that support a canvas roof are included within the model, but if you wish to add a canvas roof it will require scratch work on your part. A single finishing option is included with this release which is the Chevrolet G7107, Wehrmacht Trophy truck.

The infantry set in this release, consists of 4 figures - one of which is an Officer with a map and should be titled “Damn I’m lost again!!”. An infantry soldier walking with an MG 34 over his shoulder, a second infantry soldier carrying the ammunition boxes for the MG 34 and what I would describe as an NCO delicately being helpful and pointing out to the Officer where he needs to go. These figures are early war, prior to the period where raw materials were becoming difficult to obtain. A reasonable indication of this  is that all of the uniforms are the smartly cut design, rather than the simplified design seen later in the war, and so you have things such as pocket flaps, the lapel style to the jacket and the boots are the high calf design - were as the lower boot with putties was more common later in the war. Insignia is shown on the collars of the jackets, The Officer has an Iron Cross a wounded in battle medal. The soldier doing the pointing also has an Iron Cross - detail in the uniform other than the flash I mentioned at the start is of a pleasing level and something that ICM tends to do very well with their figures. The front lower flaps of the jacket have been provided separately in some cases providing nice undercut detail. The hands of the figures are another area where ICM do very well, and I find it difficult to fault. The facial detail is again exceptionally good for injection moulded plastic, due to all of the features of the face including the ears being well defined. The faces also have clear expressions to them, for instance the person I describe as an NCO does appear to be speaking as there is tooth detail present below the top lip. The Officer has that “I know I’m wrong, but…”, the infantry soldier with the ammunition is tight lipped and the infantry soldier with the MG has the option of 2 heads - one with or without a soft cap, but both options are smiling which would indicate that he has passed the Officer and so sniggering at his discomfort. This release is provided with a weapons set which provides the following:

Binoculars

Mess Tins

Water Canteens

Entrenchment Tools

Metal Helmets

3 Holstered side arms of 2 designs - 2 of them are Lugers as I have that design here

A bayonet in scabbard

MG 34 with separate bi-pod and breach - the bipod can be shown open of closed

A KAR 98 rifle - that also has 2 bands of 3 magazine pouches

An MP 40 machine gun with separate stock and 2 x 3 clip magazines

Lastly there are 2 belts of ammunition for the MG 34 which can be manipulated with heat to replicate a number of uses.

Conclusion

This combination release from ICM is a surprisingly pleasing combo as the truck model is of a good quality and level of accuracy for the price, and the figure set is particularly pleasing due to the high level of detail in all respects, and the options as regards equipment that has been supplied.