Introduction

The following introduction is supplied by ICM:

In 1979, the U.S. Army ordered the development of a new multi-purpose vehicle to replace several types of military transport vehicles. An interesting feature was the requirement for the vehicle to be able to move behind tanks on the tracks laid by their caterpillar tread. This resulted in a characteristic feature of the new vehicle’s appearance: it received a wide wheel track and high ground clearance. In 1985, after a series of tests, mass production of the new highly mobile multi-purpose wheeled vehicle, which received the designation HMMWV, began. In the U.S. Army, it was named Humvee, a name that later became widely known (it was an abbreviation of HMMWV). The vehicle serves as a base for many modifications with various purposes. It is widely used around the world and is in service with the armies of more than 70 countries. The M1097A2 modification is the basic platform of the next generation of these vehicles and is used for transporting personnel and cargo, as well as for mounting various types of special equipment and weapons.

Review

This offering from ICM arrives in the now standard flip top cardboard tray with an additional card lid providing the artwork. Inside a single re-sealable plastic bag contains the contents with the decals inside the instruction booklet. An examination of the contents reveals a number of ejector pin marks a number of which will need to be tackled as they are in exposed areas in some cases. Access from removing parts is good with just the steering wheel location causing me some concern.

The chassis of this release comes as a complete moulding and so you get a solid base from which to work without concerns about correct orientation. Looking at online images the shape appears correct with only the bars running between the front and rear cross members being hard for me to assess. The wish bones are moulded in two halves which is a surprise to me as are the suspension springs which I am not keen on. A basic engine and gearbox are present; this is fine as it can only be viewed from below. There is a fair amount of detail added to the underside of the model making it pleasing from a visual point of view.

The wheels have good replication of the stud pattern on both the central and outer portion of the hubs. The tyres are vinyl rubber which I know will not be greeted by all; however looking at them they are solid mouldings and have only a single moulding connection point. The tread pattern appears to accurately match some of the online images and so I am pleased with that. The only possible negative is that there is no side wall detail. My dislike is present in this release as the wheels are locked in dead ahead.

This model representing what I would class as a base model the crew area does not have a lot present. With that said ICM has tackled the dash nicely with the use of decals adding some nice detail. The driver’s seat is an area of concern for me as the height adjuster is not present being a boxed off area in this release, also no seatbelts are included and so will need to be scratch built. The foot pedal detail is present even though I missed this detail in my first look over of the model. The handbrake, automatic gear selector and drive selector has been replicated.

The role bar has very well replicated bolt detail which is pleasing to see. The hood of the model also appears to score well in all areas where detail is concerned. This area cannot be shown open, but that does not matter to me as the interior of the engine bay will need a lot of work. The body work is minimal in this release, but it should not be taken away from ICM as they have tackled what is present well in all aspects. I like that clear lenses are included where needed and the shackle detail at the front is well tackled.

ICM has provided two finishing options for this offering:

Humvee M1097A2, US Army, 2000’s

Humvee M1097A2, US Army, Desert Camouflage, 2000’s

I also like that ICM has released a dedicated paint set for this offering set 3059. The set includes:

2005 Black Primer

1056 Light Earth

1052 Hull Red

1072 US Dark Green

1073 4BO Green

1038 German Grey

Conclusion

This offering from ICM of an M1097A2 Humvee is I am sure the first of many as it provides ICM with a lot of options for future releases. Detail is good from my limited knowledge and I like that a paint set has been made available for those that want it. For me the weak area is the front seat adjuster and lack of seatbelts. With all that said this is a promising initial release that can be built upon. A suggestion I have for ICM is to include a pattern for masks as they do in their aircraft releases as it will be a pleasing inclusion.