ICM WWI US Infantry & German Infantry in Gas Masks (35693 & 35695) 1:35

[Mike]

WWI US Infantry & German Infantry in Gas Masks (35693 & 35695)

1:35 ICM

 

WWI saw huge devastation of the land of continental Europe due to the stalemate that brought about the advent of trench warfare, as the Allies and Germany slogged it out over four years for supremacy of a few hundred feet of churned up earth in some cases.  Millions of young men went to their deaths due to the "war of attrition" mentality of the Generals, which included America after it declared war on Germany in 1917, bringing their industrial might to the scene, which went some way toward reducing the effects of the loss of the Russian military from the fight due to their revolution.

 

ICM have been commemorating the WWI 100 with the release of a number of figure boxings, the latest of which includes both the US Infantry from 1918, who bore more than a passing resemblance to the Tommies at that stage, and late war German Infantry in gas masks.  Both sets arrive in slightly oversized figure-style boxes, which are top-opening, but have an additional internal flap securing the contents inside, as is usual with ICM kits.  Instructions and painting guides are printed on separate glossy sheets within the box in full colour, with another matt sheet containing the sprue diagrams and detail painting information.

 

 

US Infantry 1918 (35693)

 

 

Containing two sprues in sand coloured styrene, the set includes four figures and a full set of equipment for personalisation of the figures to your taste.  The soldiers are all in action poses with weapons at the ready, and includes an officer with a 1911 pistol at the ready.  As already mentioned, their equipment is reminiscent of the British solider of the time, even down to the traditional "battle bowler" that lingered in British service until the end of WWII.  The enlisted men wear boots and cloth puttees wrapped around their lower legs, while the officer sports a pair of lace-up calf-boots, which along with his handgun probably helped pick him out as a target for the enemy.  A full set of ammo pouches, entrenching tools, water bottles, gas mask containers and other packs are included on the weapons fret, plus rifles, machine guns (even a Lewis gun), trench guns etc., all of which are helpfully named on the detail painting sheet – even the trench periscopes.

 

 

 

 

Detail is superb, even down to the seams on the clothing, with realistic drape and creasing evident all over.  Each figure is made from a torso, two legs, separate arms, a head with flat top to accept helmet, and where the figures are holding rifles up to fire, their hands are separate too for fine-tuning of the pose.  The detail is carried over to the weapons, with an embossed "US" on the pistol pouch, and individual facets on the M1 grenade being just two highlights.

 

 

German Infantry in Gas Masks 1918 (35695)

 

 

This set has four sprues in sand coloured styrene, one of which contains just the heads for the soldiers.  There are four figures again, and they are broken down as torso, two legs, two arms, and a two-part head, split front and back to enable maximum detail.  The WWI potty helmets are separate too, and there are four spares and a mountain of weapons parts on two identical sprues.  Again, the detail painting and naming of the various items are detailed in the instructions in Cyrillic as well as English, with a wide variety to choose from including a Broom-Handles Mauser, Bergman MP18 machine gun, hand grenades etc.  The figures are all in action poses, from throwing grenades to setting up a machine gun, which is a lightened derivative of the Maxim.  As the 08/15 was designed to be crewed by four men, it's entirely possible to designate the entire set as the crew.

 

 

 

 

As with the other set, detail is excellent, and the plethora of weapons included goes beyond generous.  Four unmasked faces give you the opportunity to mix and match if the mood takes you too.

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Beard]

Mike, you've posted a photo of the American weapon sprue with the German figures (which proves I paid more attention to the review than some-one who only makes aircraft ought to).

[Mike]

1 hour ago, Beard said:

Mike, you've posted a photo of the American weapon sprue with the German figures (which proves I paid more attention to the review than some-one who only makes aircraft ought to).

 

Thank you   and thank you ! 

 

My eyes are going... as is my mental acuity.