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The Tu-144 was the world's first commercial supersonic aircraft when its prototype was introduced on the 31 December 1968, just two months before its rival, the British-French Concorde. It had an average service altitude of 16,000 meters and cruise speed of around 2,200 kmh. The Tu-144 was in operation from 1968 to 1999 during which a total of 16 planes were manufactured. Having a max speed that exceeded that of the Concorde also caused a nasty problem for the passengers since the noise level inside the cabin measured 90–95 dB on average. Unlike the Concorde the Tu-144 could only sustain supersonic speeds using afterburners. Despite the its nickname "Konkordski" the Tu-144 had quite a few differences in comparison with its rival, the most notable of which were the canard wings behind the cockpit that increased the lift in low speeds. The plane was some 4 meters longer and the wing span 3 meters wider compared to the Concorde. The average seating capacity was about 30 places more than the Concorde. At the Paris Air Show on 3 June 1973, the Tu-144 suffered a fatal accident when the first Tu-144 production airliner (reg 77102) crashed. At the end of the officially approved demonstration flight the aircraft entered a very steep climb before making a violent downwards turn. As it tried to recover the the port wing failed and the plane crashed destroying 15 houses and killing all six people on board and eight more on the ground. A popular Soviet theory for the crash was that the Tu-144 tried to avoid a French Mirage chase-plane that was attempting to photograph its canards, which were very advanced for the time. I bought the ICM Tu-144 kit when it was introduced in 2011 but for some reason I didn't start to build it at that time. When I finally decided to start the project I immediately saw that the decals were badly yellowed and despite the sun light treatment I gave them the problem didn't disappear. Moreover, the kit's windows were holes (which I usually don't like). So, I filled them and since the kit didn't have cabin or cockpit decals I ordered new ones from Nazca (that were for the very plane that crashed in Paris). I liked the elegant livery of the lost plane and for that reason and in memory of the tragic crash I chose to have those decals for my model. The kit itself is of high quality. The molding of the parts is crisp and well-detailed. There are even static wicks in the wings and rudder even if they are out of scale in my opinion. (so, I decided to leave them out) In the assembly I didn't have any special problems. The structure of the landing gears is a bit complicated but there are detailed instructions how to build them. I painted the white parts with Tamiya Fine Surface primer and and the grey underside with Mr Surfacer1000 primer. I coated the areas with Tamiya Gloss spray varnish. For the many details I used Vallejo and Humbrol paints. Birds of a feather (almost)

ICM is to release 1/48th Douglas B-26K Counter Invader kits. - ref. 48279 - Douglas B-26K Counter Invader, USAF Vietnam War Attack Aircraft - released Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48279 - ref. 48280 - Douglas B-26K with USAF Pilots & Ground Personnel NEW - released Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48280 V.P.

B-26K Counter Invader – Early (48278) 1:48 ICM via Hannants Ltd. The A-26 was built by Douglas during WWII as the successor to the A-20 Havoc. Two types were designed, The C with a glass bomber nose and the B with a full metal nose filled with either 6 or 8 .50cal machine guns, which coupled with the three in each wing gave it quite a punch, deserving of the Strafer title. It also had a pair of turrets on the fuselage mid-upper and dorsal positions, which were both operated by a single gunner using a complex remote mechanism that flipped between the upper and lower turrets depending on where the gunner was looking through his binocular sights. This trained the guns accordingly and also calculated the correct offset for parallax and lead, but was very complex and caused some delays to it entering service, and even more issues with maintenance in the field. In 1948 it was re-designated as the B-26 by the US Air Force to confuse us, and later on back to the A-26 just to complete the process of befuddlement. It was developed a little after the Marauder and despite using the same engines it was conceived totally separately from its more rotund colleague. It was initially less than popular in the Pacific theatre where its poor cockpit view due to the canopy and engine proximity rendered it unloved by the first users. It was more popular in the European theatre and was accepted as a replacement for the Havoc fairly quickly. After WWII it served in Korea, early Vietnam engagements and other conflicts, ending its days in US service with the Air National Guard in the early 70s. In the mid-1950s some Aircraft were converted to the Drone controller role with the DC prefix to launch Ryan Firebee drones in support of combat training. In a late twist the B-26 would be brought back in the 60s for the Vietnam War because it could still hold its own in combat. The aircraft externally still looked very much like the WWII airframes, but the turrets were removed in favour of fixed forward firing guns and four hard points were fitted to each wing, allowing the carrying of 8,000lbs of ordnance. The wings of these aircraft were rebuilt and strengthened, the rudder was enlarged, and permanent tip tanks (65 US Gal each) were added to the main wings. Anti-icing was added to the airframe to cope with cold weather and higher altitudes, and a new anti-skid braking system was also added. In the cockpit the dials and displays were updated and a secondary control yoke was added to allow piloting from either seat. New 2,500hp engines were installed inside the existing nacelles, along with cuffed broad chord props to cope with the enhanced power delivery. The USAF ordered 40 of the "new" aircraft which were known as Nimrods locally to their crews. As well as combat operations in South east Asia some aircraft flew on secretly with the CIA in the Congo, wearing deceptive camouflage. The last aircraft were finally retired by 1969 when AC-130 gunships took over their night interdiction role. Only 6 of the type survive, with "Special Kay" having been restored to Flight as a memorial to crews who fought the covert missions in South East Asia. The Kit This is a new variant from the recent tooling from ICM, and this is the third boxing of the Counter Invader, in its secret role. While you get many parts from the original Invader boxings, this edition features a new fuselage and wing sprues, a new rudder, new engine nacelles, a pylon sprue, and weapons sprues ICM previously released as a stand-alone US Armament set. It arrives in the familiar top opening box with dramatic artwork of an Invader swooping low over the jungle, and the usual captive inner lid on the lower tray. Inside the box are a healthy fourteen sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, three decal sheets and the instruction booklet. A quick look over the sprues reveals that panel lines are very crisp, narrow and restrained, the surface is matt and very neat-looking, with plenty of engraved and raised details on the parts, plus subtly indented flying surfaces simulating their fabric covering. There are a number of red blocks printed over the sprue map, which shows how many of the parts will be left on the sprues once you have completed construction, such as original wings, props, cowlings and one of the canopies. If you’re a bit ham-fisted and plan on building many Invaders, you could well find these come in useful down the line. Construction begins with the internal bomb load, which is then placed within the port fuselage half along with some detail panels and bulkheads. The former gunner’s position and the cockpit are next, creating the pilot's seat, instrument panel (with instrument decals), centre console with throttle quadrant before adding those and the twin control columns to the floor. The aft compartment is built up around the front wing spar with a set of radio gear hanging from a pair of risers and a pair of wing spars, so you'll have to do some detail painting as you go. After this the starboard fuselage side is prepped, with the right side of the cockpit and bomb bay with its detailed ribbing. With that and a quantity of detail painting you can then slide the starboard fuselage over the two spars, and it would be a good idea when fitting those spar parts to let the glue set up with the starboard fuselage taped in place to ensure they make the correct angle when they're set in place permanently. The instructions then have you building up the tail feathers, with the elevators having separate single-part flying surfaces, plus a two-piece rudder to attach to the moulded-in tail fin. The gun-nose comprising the fixed lower and rear section of the nose are built up out of three parts, making space for the 40g of nose weight you are encouraged to fit before you add the single cowling panel that covers the gun bay, with a pair of four-barrel gun-inserts added through the holes to depict the tips of the .50cals. You'll need to drill out the muzzles yourself, or take the lazy way out and get a set of Master barrels for ultimate luxury and detail. The nose section is a straight-forward butt joint to the fuselage, with a small half-moon cut-out that should help align it. The new wings are next with a small radiator intake prism moulded-in to which you add a backing radiator panel, and the lower parts have holes and long depressions ready for the four pylons per wing. You'll notice that there are fairings and a hump in the upper wing where the engine nacelles will be, and these are separate assemblies to be built up later. Firstly, the separate two-section flaps, and the ailerons are prepared and added to the trailing edge of the wings, the latter being of one piece each and slotting into the wing via two tabs. The tip tanks are made of two halves and are glued in place, and underwing landing lights are added from clear parts. At this stage the instructions have you sliding the wings onto the spars and gluing them in place. Whether you'd rather wait until you've added the engine nacelles though is entirely up to you. It’s your model! There are of course two engine nacelles and these build up pretty much identically apart from their outer skins, which are handed to fit their respective fairings as you'd expect. They are split vertically, and each half has internal structure moulded-in, with bulkheads added fore and aft of the gear bays, coupled with bay lip inserts that bulk out the edges and also hold captive their bay door. This may require some clever masking and a little care during handling, but it shouldn't hold you up too much, as the hinge-points are relatively robust. The two halves are joined together, the prominent intake on the top of the nacelle is made up from two parts, then is added to the nacelle front which is in turn glued to the rest of the nacelle, with the completed assemblies attached to the wings from the underside, as yet without their engine cowlings, engines or props. The engines are added later in the build, and the Twin Wasps are depicted in their entirety with both banks of pistons, push-rods, ancillaries and reduction housing at the front, plus the collector ring and exhausts at the rear, the latter made up from eight parts each. Again, the engines are identical and interchangeable with each other, and they fit to the nacelles with a teardrop-shaped tab, after which the engine cowling is slotted over them. The cooling flaps are last to be added in four sets around the rear of the cowling. The top of the fuselage is still open at this point, as it has an insert with the faired over section where the top turret used to be, with another for the former dorsal turret fitted later on. Each of the three tyres are made from two halves with separate hubs applied from either side, then hung on their respective legs, which have retraction jacks and scissor links added along the way. Happily, these can be fitted late in the build, so the open bays can be masked quicker than if they were present. Speaking of bays, you can depict the bomb bay open or closed by using either a one-piece door for closed, or two separate doors with internal detail for open. This is nice to see, as it's always a little tricky to join two doors and get them aligned with the fuselage so there are minimal join-lines. The main airframe is ostensibly complete save for some antennae and the new broad-blade props, and if you've been cautious with the glue when assembling the engines, the latter should still spin once complete. The four pylons per wing are each made from two parts, and should have some 0.8mm holes drilled in their lower surface for later use, then you need to make a choice what to put on the pylons, with the help of a load-out diagram provided, or from your own references. US Aviation Armament (48406) As well as the internal bomb load, there are four sprues containing various munitions, as follows: 2 x LAU-10A Pods of 5" Rockets 2 x LAU-69 Pods of 2.75" Rockets 2 x LAU-68 Pods of 2.75" Rockets 2 x BLU-23 500LB Fire bombs (Can be made with or without the fins) 2 x BLU-27 750LB Fire Bombs (Can be made with or without the fins) 2 x Mk.77 750LB Incendiary Bombs 2 x SUU-14 Dispensers 2 x Mk.81 Snakeye Bombs* 2 x MK.81 Low Drag Bombs* 2 x Mk.82 Snakeye Bombs* 2 x Mk.82 Low Drag Bombs* *All of the above bombs can be fitted with Fuse extenders Markings There are four options available on the decal sheet, all of which wear the same green top colour, despite my scanner’s best efforts to convince you otherwise. There are a number of markings variations that were applied to some of the options at some point in their tenure, the details of which are given in boxed-in scrap diagrams, and each option has additional aerial wires that you will need to make from your own supplies. From the box you can build one of the following: B-16K 64-17644, 211th Sqn., 2nd Group, Congolese Air Force B-26K 64-17645, 211th Sqn., 2nd Group, Congolese Air Force B-16K 64-17646, 211th Sqn., 2nd Group, Congolese Air Force B-16K 64-17649, 211th Sqn., 2nd Group, Congolese Air Force The decals are printed anonymously, although they look like DecoGraph's output to my eye. They have good registration, colour density and sharpness, and include a number of stencils that are legible with the right optics. The decals for the armaments are of the same quality and sharpness. At the rear of the instruction section is a page devoted to a series of mask templates that you could use to create your own DIY masks by laying kabuki tape over them and drawing/cutting them out. It’s a useful option to have, but I prefer to cut mine in-situ, where you can cut them perfectly to size with a brand-new #11 blade. Conclusion This model is excellent for anyone wanting to an early Counter Invader in some unusual colours at the behest of the CIA. Detail is excellent and the addition of the weapons is great news. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Gday all. I haven't had much output this year so opted for some low hanging fruit to get some enthusiasm going. This come from the two in one boxing of the Firebee kit from ICM, a mate built one of them and then gave me the other to build. That was three weeks ago and this is about a days worth of work. It's a really easy kit with maybe a dozen parts. The new ICM decals are fiddly to use so be patient and use lots of water when placing them. I wouldn't recommend using any setting solution when laying them down as they won't want to move if you do. This proved to be the case when my mate built his and wanted to do it up in this scheme. He tried using the mission markings only to have them to stick almost instantly in their position. Hence why I've only got half of the misison markings as Keith used them in his first attempt. All the paints are Tamiya lacquers and the panel wash was from AK??? The satin varnish is from VMS whose stuff I have come to love over the past 12 months. Their flat coat is DEAD flat. Here's the finished product, I need to make a more appropriate stand as this one was knocked up with a bit of brass rod and box square. Cheers, Mick

Hello guys and girls. I present you my latest finished model.The Iraqi Air force MiG-25rb in 72 scale made from the ICM kit. The kit has awesome details but the fit of the front and back fuselages is a bit tricky. This is my 4th ICM mig-25 and on every kit I had the same problem. Nothing that cant be sorted out but still .Added homemade seatbelts and pittotube. Painted with gunze acrylics. Regards,Dragan

https://www.facebook.com/ICM.Models/posts/1508778282648438 Not sure (and tried to do a search and nothing came up) if this has been notied - ICM seem to be teasing a silhouette of a Tiger Moth on their Facebook feed at the moment asking people to guess the plane in 1/32nd scale! Possible incoming announcement of a large scale Tiger Moth?

Laffly V15T with Hotchkiss MG (35572) 1:35 ICM via Hannants Ltd The Laffly V15T was a particularly niche entry into the French Artillery Tractor roster, with only 100 being made before production ceased at Laffly to be taken over by another company. The type saw limited service in the French army pulling the outmoded 25mm anti-tank guns, and after capitulation, in service with the Wehrmacht as transport or radio wagons. The unusual aspect of this vehicle was the four apparently ‘vestigial’ wheels on axles spurring off the chassis rails that were intended to increase the off-road abilities of the type. When viewed from the side however, the small balloon-wheels appear to be above the level of the main axles, so whether this actually worked anywhere but in the deepest ruts is another matter. We don’t see them on modern vehicles, so I’m guessing they were more trouble than they were worth. The Kit This is a minor additive tooling of a brand-new tool from ICM, and I wasn’t far off when I imagined we’d be seeing a few more boxings. It’s typical of modern ICM in that it is well-stocked with detail, and arrives in their standard compact top-opening box with captive inner lid. There are eight sprues of grey styrene inside, plus a clear sprue, four flexible black tyres, a small decal sheet and the glossy-covered instruction booklet with spot colour and colour profiles to the rear. An additional sheet is slipped inside the main booklet with instructions for making up the Hotchkiss machine gun and its mount, including drilling the hole in the vehicle floor. It’s a full interior kit including engine, chassis and crew compartment, so there are plenty of parts to get your glue on. Construction begins with the chassis, with an option to remove the rounded rear-end where the towing hitch attaches, which is cut off easily with a scalpel or razor saw using the red outlined section on the drawings as a guide. A number of cross-braces are added, and a jig is placed under the inverted chassis onto which the rear suspension arms are laid, so that they set up at the correct angle, taking care not to glue the arms to the jig. If you have left the rear section on the chassis, the towing eye and other parts are glued in place, then the various leaf springs, ancillary axles and other suspension/steering parts are attached to the sides, with a sizeable transfer box and twin drive-shafts placed in the centre facing aft. The front axles are made up and glued in place with twin springs above them on the chassis, two more drive-shafts pointing forward, and more suspension/steering parts for the small wheels. The little balloon tyres are each made from two halves each, and four are created to affix to the small axles that project from the chassis rails, the front one of which has some limited steering capability. The 4-cylinder 2.3L petrol engine is next to be built, beginning with the two-part block and adding the sump, timing pulleys, transmission, exhaust manifold and finely-moulded cooling fan, plus other ancillaries that should result in a highly detailed rendition that just needs some HT-wires and sympathetic painting to complete. It is laid into the centre-front of the chassis along with the airbox and intake hosing, then is bracketed by a pair of tapered inserts that fill the gap between the block and the chassis rails. The main cab is based on the shaped floorpan, with sides, aft bulkhead and some internal structures added along the way, which later form ammunition storage bunkers around the sides of the rear portion. The front crew have a seat each with separate backs, and there is another optional wider seat in the middle of the rear compartment, which installs over a moulded clamshell door with pull-handles. A set of driver controls are added to the left front of the body, then a firewall with pedals, a breadbin-like compartment and other small parts is fixed to the front of the body, with a steering column and wheel added after the bodyshell is fixed to the chassis. The dashboard with dial decal is added over the wheel, and the area is covered over with a curved scuttle panel. In the rear compartment, the tops to the stowage boxes are fitted, and these have the individual sections and their handles moulded-in. Returning to the engine compartment, the steering column is extended into the lower chassis and a horn is fixed to the trim panels, then the three-part radiator is assembled and glued to the front of the vehicle, defining the engine bay. A loop of hosing joins the radiator to the engine, and the cowling panels are closed over the compartment, although you have the option to leave them open if you wish. Some small parts are added to the lower edges of the cowlings, which has crisply detailed louvers moulded-in. A pair of curved front wings are glued to the lower body over the wheels, and each of the four main wheels have a brake drum part added to the end of each axle, after which the wheels themselves are made from two hub halves that mate inside the hollow tyres and glue to the axles, allowing the vehicle to stand on its own wheels. At the rear, an axe and shovel are fixed to the bulkhead with a stop sign and the towing hook, a folded tilt is added to the rear, and the windscreen is made up from a frame and two individual clear panes. A trio of rolled-up canvas anti-splatter covers are pinned to the fronts of the door apertures and the two headlights have their clear lenses glued on before they are put in place on their mounts next to the tiny wheels at the front. The final parts are a front number plate board and an optional square unit plaque on the left front wing. The new sprue includes two Hotchkiss machine guns, one with an offset stock, the other with a fixed-style handle. You are instructed to use the former, but there’s nothing to stop you choosing the other option if you wish. There is a separate cocking lever, and a rigid strip of ammunition for the gun, reminiscent of the Japanese machine guns of the period, plus an ammo box that is salted away in the rear of the compartment against one of the walls. The first step shows the location for the mounting hole in metric, requiring a 1.8mm hole to be drilled in the raised rectangular section of the deck, into which you push the peg on the delicate pintle-mount that raises the weapon above the heads of the crew and into a more useful shooting height. The gun clips into the mount using the innate flexibility of the styrene part, but take care with is as the diameter of the tubing is necessarily narrow to maintain scale fidelity. Markings There are two decal options provided on the sheet as per the original boxing, and they’re both painted in a US Green shade, despite being French. From the box you can build one of the following: Light Mechanised Brigade Anti-Tank Squadron, France, early 1940 France, Summer, 1940 The decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners, and consist of dials, number plates and a few other small decals, with good register, sharpness and good solid colours. Conclusion Until the first boxing of this kit arrived, I had no clue that the type existed, and it’s a curious-looking beast that’s endearing for its unusual shape and design. Detail is excellent, and if you don’t fancy the options on the sheet, a little research will probably turn up some alternative schemes, and adding a Hotchkiss machine gun makes it a bit more menacing until you spot those weird vestigial wheels. The already available paint set is a quick and easy way to get things painted up the correct colour, as well as being quite pocket-friendly into the bargain. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

WWII Soviet Assault Engineer-Sapper (16013) 1:16 ICM via Hannants Ltd. During WWII the Soviet Army used brigades of Assault Engineer-Sappers as a kind of special-operations stormtrooper, to break through heavily defended lines. The often wore heavyweight SN-42 steel armoured vests reminiscent of mediaeval armour, and carried heavy weapons such as the Degtyaryov DP-27 machine gun with a flat pan magazine on the top of the weapon, with a theoretical maximum firing rate of 550 rounds per minute. Due to their armoured frontal carapaces they were sometimes referred to as Cuirass or armoured infantry. The brigades were successful in battle, which led to their expansion as the war progressed, adding flamethrowers and eventually tanks to their armoury, ending the war with 20 Brigades in total. The Kit This figure model depicts a member of the Engineer-Sapper Brigade in a ‘splat’ camouflaged smock and pants, with a DP-27 machine gun across his chest, held by the stock in one hand and the other grasping one leg of the bipod, which if it isn’t a later version may well have come off in his hand if he tried to fire from that position. On his head is a standard helmet for the era and a selection of items of equipment to detail the figure. It arrives in ICM’s usual top-opening box with captive inner lid, and inside are two sprues of grey styrene, a sprue of black styrene and plinth, plus a single instruction sheet printed in colour on both sides. Construction and painting guides are shown on the same set of diagrams, using the parts on the grey sprues, which comprise separate head, torso, legs and arms, plus individual tails to his smock, and steel front plate with the rear having the retention straps moulded-in. Due to the position of the hands around the gun and bipod, the fingers are supplied separately moulded, and you have a choice of a pistol in holster with separate flap, bayonet in its sheath, bag and water bottle. The machine gun is built on an internal section with stock, breech and inner barrel moulded together, with the heat shield made of two separate parts that wrap around the barrel. The 47-round pan magazine drops onto the top, and the bipod fixes to the underside at the front end of the shield. You will need to make up your own sling from an appropriate material, but the furniture is supplied with the machine gun parts on the smaller sprue. The base is moulded in black styrene, and has a choice of four different surfaces for the top and a flat base for the bottom. The choices comprise a flat asphalt surface plus three styles of cobble or paving stones. Conclusion This is a well-sculpted kit of lesser-known Soviet combatant from the Great Patriotic War in the East, with excellent facial detail and straps that should look great under a few coats of paint. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Model WOT6 British WWII Truck (35507) 1:35 ICM During WWII, Ford UK built a great many vehicles for the British war effort, as well as some 34,000 Merlin engines for Spitfires, Lancasters and Hurricanes. The WOT.6 was a 4x4 light truck (3 ton capacity) with a short cab that housed a 3.6L V8 engine pumping out a fairly paltry 85hp that could get it to 75mph eventually. The engine's location under the cab gave the load bed plenty of space on the chassis rail, and also gave the truck a sit-up-and-beg look. The heat from the radiator had to be redirected by a fairing to prevent it being ingested by open windows, thereby cooking and possibly even poisoning the crew if it wasn't in the best of health. Over 30,000 were built in a number of configurations, and they were in service from 1942 to the end of the war, with those in good enough shape carrying on into the early 60s. The Kit Another new tooling from ICM, who are working their way through the entire WWII vehicle list at quite a speed, while doing something similar to much of the Soviet back catalogue at the same time. The kit arrives in a small box with their usual top flap on the lower tray, and inside the outer clear foil bag are seven sprues in medium grey styrene, a clear sprue in its own bag, four flexible black plastic tyres and a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) parts, each in their own bags, plus a small decal sheet. The instruction booklet completes the package, and is printed on glossy white paper in colour, with black and red used for the diagrams throughout, and the decal options printed in colour at the rear. British WWII softskins aren't much of a priority for many companies, so it will be happily anticipated by many for that reason, and due to the vast improvement in ICM's tooling in recent years they will be pleased to see that they have packed in a lot of detail to this release, and you can almost bank on there being other versions forthcoming in time if this one sells well. Perusing the sprues shows plenty of detail all over, with the occasional ejector pin that's unavoidable if you're expecting top quality detail on both sides of parts. Common sense has prevailed however, and all the marks are in areas where they either won't be seen, or where they're relatively easy to make good. The construction phase begins with the chassis, which is made up from two main rails, with sub-rails and spacers holding things together, and front suspension moulded into the outer rails. With the chassis completed by adding the rear end, attention turns to the engine, which is a complete rendering, and made up from a good number of parts for detail, including the block, pulleys, transmission and a short drive-shaft that threads through the holes in the cross-members. The two long exhaust pipes with mufflers go under the chassis on each side, and the rear suspension is fitted, which is a substantial set of leaf-springs, then the axles and drive shafts are attached to the suspension and transfer box. Brake drums, fuel tanks, steering arms and struts are all installed before the wheels are built-up around the rubbery black tyres, which have tread details moulded-in, and are finished off by the addition of the hubs, which attach from both sides, and are then detailed with additional parts before they are slotted onto the axles. The undercarriage is almost done, and it's time for the upper surfaces, beginning with the engine bay, which has the front wheel-arches moulded in, and is then detailed with lights, front rail, radiator and some additional ancillaries to keep the engine running. You even get a pair of lower hoses for the radiator to mate it to the engine, and two more longer ones diving diagonally down into the topside of the engine from the top of the rad. There's going to be a bit of painting needed, as the engine can be seen from the underside, even though access is limited. The bay sides are planted, and are joined by internal covers and instrumentation on top, which have a few decals to detail them up. Some of the driver's controls are added on the right side (the correct side) of the engine, and a pair of seats are built up and added to the square bases installed earlier, then the front of the cab is detailed with clear parts and window actuators, before the sides are attached to the edges and lowered onto the chassis, then joined by the simple dash board and steering wheel on its spindly column. The doors are separate parts and have clear windows, handles and window winders added, then joined to the sides in either the open or closed position or any variation of the two. The cab is a bit draughty at the moment, until the rear panel and the roof are added, the latter having a pop-up cover on the co-driver's side, with a couple of PE grilles then added to the front radiator frames after being bent to shape. Now for the truck bed, beginning with the sides, which have two stiffeners added, then are covered with bumpers along the top and bottom edge of the outside face. The bed floor fits into a groove into the bottom, and is kept square by the addition of the front and rear sides. Under the bed are a number of stowage boxes and racks for additional fuel or water cans, which are happily also included, then they are joined by the two parts per wheel that form the wheel arch that are braced on the outside with two small struts. Then it's the fun part! Adding the bed to the chassis, which is kept in the correct place by two ridges under the bed that mate with grooves in the chassis rail. At the front, two light-hoods are fitted above the lights, and the prominent pedestrian unfriendly hood that deflects the rain and hopefully redirects the engine heat from being sucked back into the open front windows on a hot day. The cab is detailed with additional lights, horn, wing mirrors, grab-handles and even some pioneer tools, then the windscreen wipers. Moving backwards, the four c-shaped hoops that support the canvas tilt are applied to the outside of the bed sides, reaching roughly half-way down the sides to obtain a strong join in both 1:1 and 1:35. The final act is to add seven rods along the length of the roof section of the tilt frame, which will need some careful alignment to ensure all the hoops are vertical and correctly spaced. Now you can paint it, but you've probably got a lot of that done already in truth. Markings It's a softskin, so British green is the colour you'll be using the most of. There are four decal options in the box, and all of them look very similar to the casual observer as there are minimal markings due to the subject in hand. The decal sheet is pretty small as a result, but it's also quite colourful due to the unit markings that are included. From the box you can build one of the following: France, Summer 1944 L5496558 France, 1944 Great Britain, Summer 19445 30YX68 Great Britain, Summer 1945 Decals are printed in-house, and have good register, colour density and sharpness, which include those useful instrument dials with black backgrounds. Conclusion As soon as I saw this in the box I thought it was an interesting subject, and it looks like ICM have made a nice little replica here. Plenty of detail, some PE parts, and some rubbery tyres for those that don't want to have to paint them. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from their Importers, H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

I loved this build, ICM have produced a sublime kit, with great detailing and excellent fit.

German WWII Acrylic Paint Set (3014) ICM via Hannants ICM have fairly recently released their own brand of acrylic paints on the market, and are creating some kit specific sets to go with their major releases, of which this is one. The set arrives in a cardboard box with six screw-capped bottles inside, each containing 12ml of paint. The bottles are clear Polypropylene, and are capped with cylindrical tops with knurled sides, and a one-time security seal that you break on first opening. A label on the side gives you basic information about the colour and code, a little information regarding application in English and Ukrainian and a bar-code. This set provides the major colours to assist you in painting your brand-new Gotha Go.242 Glider in 1:48 from ICM themselves, and you will find the following colours in the box: 1074 Pale Blue 1034 Dark Sea Grey 1003 Deep Yellow 1070 German Field Grey 1035 Grey-Green 2002 Satin Varnish The paint is thick in the bottle, with plenty of headroom between the surface of the paint and the lip of the neck. I dropped a glass stirring ball into each bottle, and they took a few seconds to disappear beneath the surface, indicating their viscosity. If you look closely at the Pale Blue and Dark Sea grey, you'll notice that the shade seems lighter in places. That's not a reflection on the actual colour inside the pot though, so don't be put off. Lifting the lid shows the true colour, which is a much better representation of the colours, as can be seen in the darker areas. What causes the lighter pigments to adhere to the bottle sides is a mystery, but it's cosmetic only so not something to worry about. During testing, I used Ultimate Acrylic Thinners to dilute the paint to spray through my Gunze PS770 airbrush, which has a 0.18 needle chucked in. The paint dilutes well once it has been mixed thoroughly, and sprays well through my airbrush, which has a smaller than usual needle that is a good test of the finesse of the pigment grind of any brand, some of which don’t spray very well though anything less than a 0.3mm needle. There were no problems with blockages at all, and the coverage was excellent after my usual ad hoc dilution method, which was probably nowhere near the 40-60% thinners or water that’s suggested on the pack. Apart from the varnish, the other paints all dry to a matt finish. In past tests, the Satin Varnish worked very well diluted with water, sprayed over the spoons that were also partially taped up to perform two functions at once. The satin patina that resulted is exactly what was expected, and the tape lifted no paint at all, despite my best efforts to do so. Bear in mind that the spoons were prepped by a buff with a very fine sanding sponge to give them the best chance of adhesion. Using a brush, the colours cover well two coats with minimal brush marks visible. Conclusion The paints are an excellent. There is a little less paint in the bottles than some brands, but a shade more than others, so it’s about average. That is more than offset by the very reasonable price they’re asking for the set, even at RRP. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Army Of Ice ICM 1:16 (DS1601) ICM have now boxed three of their "Game of Thrones" kits, (which they cant call as such due to licencing reasons?) into a single box. King Of The Night The kit comes on one sprue of grey styrene and one of black, with a separate black pedestal. There is a clear part for the Ice Sword. The parts are very well moulded with no sign of flash or other imperfections, and while the build is relatively simple, the painting will be a challenge to get the look right. Being 1:16 scale it’s large enough for the detail to be seen and painted, yet small enough to have a nice collection in a display cabinet. As with the other kits in 1:16 the instructions are not very clear. They consist of a colour drawing of the completed and painted model, with the parts numbered and arrowed. At least ICM have included some detail drawings on the painting guide this time, rather than having to squint and guess. As the kit is fairly straightforward it probably won’t worry the seasoned figure builder, but it might give the beginner some pause for thought. The kit comes with a nicely moulded pedestal with just single option of top. Alternatively the figure can be presented on a plain flat base. Great Other This is a White Walker. They're a race of cold bluish people with shrivelled skin from beyond the Wall that at the beginning of the show hadn't been seen for thousands of years, but the first person to survive an encounter also inadvertently discovered how to kill them – Dragon Glass. They have the ability to reanimate the dead by touching them, which was a welcome aspect for me, as I'm quite partial to a Zombie movie, but that's not the main thrust of the show, although it becomes more relevant toward the end. This is a new tool from ICM and it arrives in one of ICM's usual smaller top-opening boxes with the captive internal flap, and inside is one sprue of grey styrene, a smaller black sprue and separate part for the base, plus a clear sprue containing just the staff. The instructions are on a single glossy sheet of A4 with a sprue diagram on the reverse, and you also get a glossy A4 print of the artwork that should be of assistance when it comes time to get the paint out. Construction is straight forward with separate head, long hair at the back, two-part torso, separate legs with individual feet joined at the instep, arms with moulded-in shoulder armour, and four sections of his leather "skirt" armour. His hands have separate fingers to allow him to grasp the clear staff/spear, and all the skin is moulded with the shrivelled, sunken flesh that's typical of their species. Because the leather skirt is made from strips, some part of his butt can be seen between the sections, so be warned that there are a couple of wrinkly cheeks to cope with, but this realism extends no further, leaving a featureless "Action Man" crotch at the front. The spear is clear (sorry about the rhyme) and differs from the box art and instructions which depict it as having a wooden or leather wrapped shaft. The part has the ice blade, but has a spiral groove running down the clear shaft, so check your references and if you feel the urge to wrap it with strips of leather (which is what it looks like to me) or replace it entirely, feel free to do so. The base is a sculpted oval affair, with separate top and bottom sections that you can either paint or add a little ground work to as you see fit.There are no decals as you'd expect, and the instructions tell you to paint the body white and give him blue eyes. The "real" thing was actually a myriad of subtle shades of blue with translucent whitish highlights that will be taxing to replicate, but if done well will look exceptional. I'd seriously think about installing a couple of dim blue LEDs in the eye sockets too, as if you don't, someone else will. Wight This chap is described as a “Wight”, but one look at the box art makes it eminently clear that it’s one of the undead army from Game of Thrones. If you ignore the last season especially, it was quite a show and there will still be lots of fans out there that thought that the last season was unfulfilling, but doesn’t detract from the earlier seasons. The parts on the sprue are well-moulded and have various textures as appropriate for this rather stinky, rotten fellow. He’s wearing the remains of some trousers with cloth shoes, and bits of armour on his shoulders, butt and one of his feet, with a patch of chain-mail on his groin, held up by an old belt. The rest of his tunic is missing below his rib cage, and his chest is easily seen through the gaps and holes in his clothes, which is achieved by adding sections of the outer layer over the chest. The arms are as thin and desiccated as the chest, and the head is equally thin, damaged and puckered, with lips shrunk back and teeth bared. Altogether a scary visage, as you can see from the magnified part of the photo. In his right hand he is carrying an old axe, which has his fingers separate in order to latch onto the axe. The base is moulded in black, and has a top and bottom plate to close up the fluted sides, and if you elect to add some groundwork that should make for easier creation and allows you not to bother with masking during the process. Conclusion If you’re a figure modeller, or fan of the show then these will be a great way to pass the time. The painting will require a great deal patience to get right. This is really nicely made though and although quite small, and it will look really nice in the display cabinet. Review sample courtesy of

AH-1G Arctic Cobra ICM 1:32 (32063) Most modellers will instantly recognise the Bell AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter. The AH-1 was the first production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see service. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. In parallel to this Bell Helicopters had been investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s. In 1962 Bell displayed a mock up concept to the US Army. This Helicopter featured a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under powered and not suitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition. This competition gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter. However this proved to be to advanced for its time and was eventually cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things don't change!). Despite the AAFSS programme Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1. They used all of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed fuselage. When The US Army therefore asked for plans for an interim gunship for Vietnam Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was then called. Given the work Bell had already done the programme was completed in a relatively speed eight months and won the evaluation against the competition. In 1966 the US Army signed an initial contract for 110 aircraft. Some slight modifications were made to the production airframes. The heavy armoured glass canopy was replaced by Plexiglas with an improvement in performance. Wider rotor blades were fitted and the original retracting skids were replaced by simple fixed units. The G model was the initial 1966 production model gunship for the US Army, with one 1,400shp (1,000 kW) Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft. Bell built over 1100 AH-1Gs between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras would go on to fly over a million operational hours in Vietnam, approximately 300 were lost to combat and accidents during the war. The U.S. Marine Corps would use AH-1G Cobra in Vietnam for a short period before acquiring twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The AH-1 went on to serve the US Army until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache. The last one leaving active service in 1999. The AH-1G could be fitted with the The M-35 Gun System, this was a single M195 20mm cannon (a short-barrelled version of the six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan) on the port inboard pylon of the AH-1G. 950 rounds of ammunition were stored in boxes faired to the side of the aircraft. The system was primarily pilot controlled, but featured dual controls to be either pilot or gunner controlled. For this purpose the pilot was provided with a M73 sight. Some Cobras were tested by the US Army in low temperature conditions in Alaska. These were painted white with Arctic Red markings, these were known as Arctic Cobras. The Kit This is a brand new kit from ICM, and their first helicopter kit. The quality of the moulding is first rate from ICM with fine engraved panel lines and nice rivet detail on the tail boom and tail. While this boxing is the the early G you can see from the sprues that other versions will be along as there is the opposite handed tail, different landing skids, an upturned exhaust, different winglets and TOW missiles on the weapons sprures. The kit arrives on 5 main sprues of grey plastic and a clear sprue. As well as the main helicopter and armaments, the kit also comes with the ground handling attachments for the skids, something often missing from kits. While there is good detail on the kit and the option to open up the engine and gearbox area, this area is not massively detailed and will open itself up for the super detailer if they want. This boxing comes with an additional sprue for the M-35 Gun System. Work starts conventionally in the cockpit. The two five part armoured seats are built up and added into the main cockpit tub. Tail controls are added to the floor ,and for the pilots station a cyclic and collective columns go it. For the front seater the weapons control column is made up ad fitted in. Side controllers are also fitted for the gunner. Instrument panels and coamings go in for both stations with instruments being provided as decals. Now the cockpit is complete the visible parts of the engine/gear box and its compartment are built up. This is followed up by parts for the rotor controls. The tails are added onto the fuselage. Here there is quite a large part which overlaps to compete a good solid join. The tail rotor needs attaching to fuselage half before closing up if you want it to move. The engine / gear box parts are fitted into the right fuselage followed by the cockpit and cockpit rear bulkhead parts. The fuselage can now be closed up with additional cockpit armour panels being fitted at each side. At the rear of the engine housing the exhaust part goes in. At the front of the helo the nose goes on, being careful to choose the right parts for the decal option being modelled. The side applique armour panels can be fitted to the model if needed as these parts are marked as optional. Turning things over the large central fuselage insert goes on with additional parts at the nose. The chin turret is now fitted with either one or two miniguns depending on your decal option. A light goes behind the turret. The final exhaust ring goes on the back (if modelling option 3 then the anti IR upturned exhaust is fitted) and the tip of the tail is added. Next up we concentrate on the stub wings. The two wings are built up and the weapons pylons are fitted. These are fitted to the fuselage along with the rear stabilisers towards the tail. The landing skids can then be fitted. Next up the large clear canopy parts go on. A sight is fitted to the front of the central glazing section. The front and rear large side canopy parts are fitted, these can be open or closed as need by the modeller. The access panels can be fitted to each side of the open engine/gear box area; again these can be open or closed as required. We now move to the main rotor. Each of the two blades are split upper/lower, and they are joined together. The central rotor head is made from tow parts, these are upper and lower, these sandwich in the rotor blades. Once these are on the control arms to the swashplate are then added along with the central mounting shaft. The rotor this then mounted. To finish off armaments can be added to the pylons as needed. The kit provides Two M157 7 shot rocket pods, two M158 7 shot rocket pods, two M200 19 shot rocket pods; and two M18 minigun pods. If the modeller want to use them then two pairs of ground handling wheels can be made up and attached to the back of the skids, Towing bars then can be attached to the front of the skids. If fitting the M-35 Gun System then one of the pylons is left of the left stub wing as the gun fits directly to the inboard station here. The two large ammunition panniers fit to each side of the fuselage. A cross feed links the two sides at the front, and at the rear the feed to gun itself goes on. Decals The decal sheet is in house from ICM, the decals look thin, in register and have minimal carrier film. 3 Options are included; 69-16440, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska 1975 67-15767, 120th Aviation Co. "artic Knights", Fort Richardson, Alaska 1973 66-15250, Fort Richardson, Alaska 1968 Conclusion This is another great looking kit from ICM which great tooling and possibilities for future variants on the sprues. Very Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

American Civil War Confederate Infantry Set #2 (35024) 1:35 ICM via Hannants Ltd The American Civil War was triggered partly by slavery, and the fact that the Northern or Union states had abolished it, while the South or Confederate states wanted to retain the status quo and keep their slaves by seceding from the union. It started in April 1861 and lasted for four years, at the end of which General Lee signed the surrender almost exactly on the four-year anniversary. By that time much of the infrastructure of the Southern US was in ruins, although some Confederate soldiers carried on fighting until later that year. Some four million slaves were released, with their rights established during the following Reconstruction era, although progress is still ongoing. The Kit This is the fifth set from ICM depicting the American Civil War in the predominant AFV scale, so that if you have a cross-over of interests, the two types of models won’t look out of place side-by-side in your cabinet. Union & Confederate Soldiers, a Civil War arms set and a second set of Union fighters, now it is time for a second set of Confederate soldiers. This set arrives in ICM’s smaller top-opening box with captive inner lid, and inside are three sprues of grey styrene, two of which were previously included in the armament set. The instructions consist of drawings of each soldier with part numbers in black, and paint codes called out by a letter within a small red box. This relates to a table under the sprue diagrams over the page, giving colour swatches, colour names, ICM’s own paint codes, plus Revell and Tamiya codes that should enable most modellers to find an equivalent even if they don’t have any of those brands. This set, like those preceding it, contains parts for four figures of the Confederate army, who generally wore a grey tunic and pants, as opposed to the blue tunics of the Union. The figures are shown in battle, striking various action poses. One man is wearing his bedroll diagonally across his chest and is bringing the bayonet of his rifle down over his head in a stabbing motion, another is carrying out a similar action but with his butt-stock, while the third uniformed soldier is running forward with his bayoneted rifle held to the front. The fourth soldier is not in uniform, but is wearing civilian clothes and is also wearing a bedroll round his torso, defending himself with his rifle braced in both arms across his body. As always with ICM, the sculpting is excellent, especially the faces, moulding clean, with excellent natural poses and drape of materials. Parts breakdown is sensible and generally along the seamlines of garments, with separate arms, heads, torso, legs and various types of hats. Their equivalent of modern-day webbing is also present on the sprues, looking quite ungainly in comparison, as do the massive flint-lock rifles, made even longer by their bayonets. The weapons are on the two smaller sprues, along with pouches, water bottles, mugs, loose bayonets, holstered and loose pistols, swords in and out of scabbards, and even a trumpet for rudimentary battlefield communications. Conclusion If you’re interested in the American Civil War, and a lot of people are, these figures are excellent examples of the Confederate side of things, with superb-looking figures that should look even better once suitably painted. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Currently out of stock, but there’s a 10% reduction for pre-orders for the next shipment. Review sample courtesy of

Gotha Go.242B Glider (48225) 1:48 ICM via Hannants Germany broke new ground in WWII in the successful use of Paratroop landings in gliders that met with some initial successes, although that method of delivering soldiers and materiel hasn’t seen much use since the end of WWII, possibly following the experiences of the Allies later in the war and around D-Day. Gotha created the small DFS 230 that was used by Fallschirmjager units during the early part of the war, and the RLM subsequently issued a specification for a larger glider that could carry 20 fully equipped troops into action, or alternatively bring equipment of an equivalent weight to the battle. Gotha’s offering was a simple tapered box on wings, but with a twin-tail boom that allowed the cargo version to unload from the rear using a simple flip-up rear fuselage, and later the troop carrier could also unload from the rear with the addition of new doors. The type entered service soon after its initial flight in 1941, with over 1,500 manufactured in various guises. The initial A series was split into troop and cargo types, with the following B series being improved from experience and sporting upgraded landing gear, plus double rear doors for faster troop exit. A further C series was intended for water landings using a boat-shaped hull to carry explosive-laden small boats to maritime targets, although that never reached service. Gotha later added engines in nacelles that extended the twin booms past the leading edge of the wings, allowing it to get aloft under its own power, rather than being towed by a Heinkel He.111 or adapted Stuka, but take-off was marginal with a heavy load, so RATO bottles were developed to give the aircraft an extra boost. The Kit This is a brand-new kit of this boxy glider, and the first of a number of variants no doubt. Despite their difficulties at the moment, ICM have worked hard to keep on producing kits, and our collective hats have to go off to them for that. The kit arrives in a top-opening box that has the Ukrainian flag emblazoned in the top right corner, and a painting showing the aircraft from below with its jettisonable landing gear clearly visible. The outer lid is extremely tight, and if you can get it off the usual captive inner lid is exposed, with eight sprues in grey styrene, one of clear parts, the instruction booklet in spot colour, and a long narrow decal sheet. The first thing that’s evident on perusal of the sprues is that the aircraft is larger than I expected, and the designers at ICM have put a lot of effort into the detail that’s moulded-into the model, especially the sections that are fabric over a tubular framework. Construction begins with the large floor space, which is made up from the fabric outer skin with visible ribbing, onto which the floor surface added in two sections, after drilling a number of 1mm holes in the skin first. The forward section is then enclosed by a tubular framework that stops at the centre bulkhead, which also has short spars moulded-in, with a bulkhead between the passenger and pilot sections. The twenty passenger seats are each made from horizontal and vertical sections that are then arranged into two rows of 10 and are fitted out with diagonal braces that mate with the rear legs, plus a length of top brackets that allow the seats to stand clear of the wall. Both rows are glued into the passenger compartment either side of the central spar, and a triangular section of framework is attached to the aft section of the area, following which the side walls are made up from two parts each and a number of windows that are applied from the inside. These are fixed to the floor assembly along with the roof once the cockpit is made up. Note that there are a few ejector-pin marks to erase on the interior if you're interested. Punched discs of styrene sheet, CA, or filler should do the trick. This is a training variant, so the controls are duplicated on both sides of the cockpit, starting with a well-detailed pair of rudder pedals that each comprise of four parts. The control column differs between stations, with the trainee having a two-part right-angle column with separate yoke, while the trainer has a straight stick for when he needs to take over. The seats differ too, as the trainee has a sturdier five-part seat that has an adjustment wheel, while the instructor has a simple two-part affair. These are all inserted onto a cockpit floor that is placed within the front of the fuselage at the time when the sides and roof are both added with a single tube bracing the top of the diagonal rear divide. The insertion and addition of the sidewalls are shown out of order in the instructions, but allowances have to be made for the little things under the circumstances. The cockpit surround is incomplete at this stage, having the nose added along with a simple instrument panel on a pair of supports fitted, then underneath a clear window is inserted beneath the instructor’s feet, plus two panels of side glazing and a single windscreen part that has an optional 0.8mm hole drilled in it before fitting if you are mounting the guns. Take it easy if you decide that’s the option for you, as clear styrene is much easier to damage because of its brittle nature. Light pressure and plenty of patience is the way to go. The wings of the 242 are necessarily long, as once the towing aircraft cuts it loose, the only way is down, so a long glide slope is an absolute necessity. The wings are each moulded as top and bottom skins, which have some lovely ribbing and other details moulded-in as you can see above, and have the flying surfaces as separate sub-assemblies of two parts each. Once the halves are joined, they have the front fairings of the booms added top and bottom, then have the two flap sections and long ailerons slotted into the trailing edges. This is repeated twice of course, and the two wings are slotted onto their projecting spar sections, taking care to put them on with the leading edges and canopy pointing in the same direction. A pair of supports are added underneath in recessed sockets, although I’d be tempted to leave those off until after main painting was complete so they don’t get damaged. The aft section of the fuselage is missing at this stage, giving it the look of a “ute”, but this part is next to be assembled. The tapering sides have windows inserted from inside and the internal framework added, then they are spaced apart by three more framework sections, after which the lower part with window, internal floor with steps, and roof with framework and observation window (the reason for the steps) added, to be finished off with a transparent end cap giving even better field of view, just in case they’re being stalked by a fighter from behind. The door pivots upward between the booms, and can either be glued closed, or propped open with five supports holding it at the correct angle. The booms are simple and made from two parts each, with separate rudders and a single elevator panel with separate flying surface. The instructions show the completed assembly being offered up to the rear of the model, but it may be more sensible to glue one boom in place first, then add the other with the elevator once the glue is set on the first boom. A number of actuators and mass balances are added all around the flying surfaces, but first the landing gear struts are added, beginning with the two main gear legs that are simple two-part assemblies with a corrugated gaiter over the suspension tube. The nose gear is a strange affair, made from a two-part yoke that traps the wheel between it, with a pair of V-shaped braces (moulded as one part) at the front, which fixes to the underside of the nose. The main wheels and nose wheel are each are two parts, and the former slide over the short axles to complete the gear. The final parts are used for two optional self-defence machine guns that are fixed to the windscreen and in front of the observation window in the aft section of the fuselage. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, both very similar and sporting yellow wingtips with a tail band in the same colour. ICM have also included a printed template for masking the copious glazing that’s present on this aircraft, which should come in handy, and save some hassle, even if you’re OK with masking things up yourself. From the box you can build one of the following: Gotha Go.242B-2 Schleppgruppe 4, 1943 Gotha Go.242B-2 Germany, 1942 Decals are by ICM’s usual partner, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This is cool. The side profile alone sells it to me, but I do like the weird stuff. The detail is excellent, and apart from wishing there was a little more variety in markings options, it’s a big thumbs up for a kit that has been produced under very difficult circumstances. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Benz Patent-Motorwagen 1886 (24042) 1:24 ICM Easy Version We’ve been addicted to petroleum for over a century now, but in the late 1800s the predominant motive power source was still steam, although that simply a transfer another form of fossil fuel, usually coal. When Karl Benz applied for a patent for his Motorwagen in 1885, it became the first petrol-powered production vehicle that was designed from the outset to use this method of propulsion. When you look at its three-wheel design it appears to have been the product of the mating between a horse carriage, a bicycle and a grandfather clock, with a little bit of chaise longue thrown in for good measure. A rear-mounted engine with a solitary cylinder, two seats without any weather protection and a kind of tiller for steering doesn’t really gel with our understanding of what represents a car these days, but they had to start somewhere. There were only 25 made, but the precedent had been set and travelling at a heady 16kmh was found to be quite fun and started us down the long road to becoming die-hard petrol-heads, much to our environment’s distress. The Kit This is a partial re-tooling of ICM’s 2020 kit of this pivotal vehicle, and although it was way out of my usual wheel-house I was quite taken with it, especially when I opened the box to reveal the quality of the contents. This boxing proudly bears the Ukrainian flag in the top right corner, and the build has been simplified to include styrene spoked wheels to appeal to those that were perhaps put off by the Photo-Etch (PE) spokes and drive-chain of the original boxing. This boxing has one main sprue for the majority of the parts, with two new smaller sprues in the same grey styrene for the wheels and chain. We have a stapled-together colour inkjet printed instruction booklet with our boxing, which may be down to the fact that things are very difficult in the Ukraine at time of writing, thanks to Russia’s efforts (that’s all I’m going to say). The fact that ICM are still able to produce models at all is an amazing feat, so more power to their elbow, and also to the rest of Ukraine with their current struggle. This boxing has styrene moulded spoked wheels that should appeal to folks that either don’t like PE, don’t want to spend the time putting the multi-media wheels together, or for whatever other reasons known or unknown. Instead of wrangling the mixture of PE spokes and styrene tyres, you just have to glue two styrene halves together and make sure you align them so your tyres have the correct tubular carcass profile. Construction begins with the subframe and suspension, which looks more like a carriage than a chassis. Leaf-springs support the main axle beneath the slatted foot well, and an additional frame is applied to the rear with a set of three small pulley-wheel parts fit on a bar and form a transfer point for the drive-belt that’s added later, with a choice of two styles for the centre section. At the very rear of the chassis is a stub-axle that mounts a huge flywheel made up from two parts to create a rim, then the single-cylindered engine is built, bearing more than a passing resemblance to an air compressor that you might have under your desk somewhere. There are a few colour choices called out along the way, and the finished assembly is then mounted on the cross-rail, overhanging the flywheel. Various small ancillary parts are added to the engine “compartment”, another drive pulley is mounted perpendicular to the large flywheel, then the two are joined by the drive band, which you can make up from the two straps on the sprue, or by creating your own that fully wraps around the pulleys for a more realistic look. A toolbox is added next to the engine, then fuel and radiator tanks are built and installed along with their hosing. There is a surrounding frame for the seat added to the small upstands on the chassis, which holds the moulded upholstered cushions to which the framed back and side-rests are fixed, with extra padding attached to the back and arms before it is inserted and glued in place. The power that has been transferred to an axle under the foot well is sent to the wheels by a bike-style chain, which is moulded in styrene with the rings as well as the links, having one per side. The wheels are each made from two halves that have half of the tubular tyre moulded into the rim, so their assembly is straight forward and includes zero PE. The shape of the parts also sets the correct dish to the wheels with a hub added like a bike wheel. There are two large wheels and one small and it would be well worth scraping the seams and painting the insides of the spokes beforehand. The main wheels slot straight onto the axle, while the front wheel is clamped in place by a two-part yoke, much like a set of forks on a bike. In order to steer the vehicle, the tiller is made up from a few parts and slots into the footwell floor, with a small step added to the right front corner of the well to ease access. A steering linkage joins the fork and tiller together, a small adjustment wheel projects from the footwell, possibly a fuel valve? I don’t know, as I’m not quite that knowledgeable on the subject, and it was before my time. The final part is a long brake lever, which is probably intended to make up for the lack of servo assistance by using leverage. Markings There are no decals in the box again, as there isn’t enough of a vehicle for anything other than a lick of paint. The colours for each part are called out in boxed letters as the build progresses, and that’s a very good idea for such a stripped-down framework with assemblies strapped to it. The codes refer back to a chart on the front of the booklet that gives ICM’s own paint brand, Revell and Tamiya codes plus the colour names in English and Ukrainian. Conclusion The original was a totally left-field hit from my point of view, and this boxing although simplified slightly is still well detailed, very cool and just as endearing. Extremely highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

This is ICM's recently released AC-40 Firetruck, which is a re-tool of their previous Zil-131 truck. The real thing dates back to the early '70's, although the 137A upgrade represented by the kit first appeared in '84. They're still in extensive use in Russia and the former bloc countries, and the marking option I went with is for a fairly current vehicle based in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. It's a pretty good kit overall, although a few errors with the parts and instructions seem to have crept in during the re-tooling from the basic Zil truck. The only really weak point are the vinyl tyres, which I had to essentially melt to remove the ragged moulding line around the tread. They'd be much better swapped with resin replacements. The real things seem to be quite patchy and faded, so I tried to represent that with the paint job and weathering. Thanks for looking Andy

Just because you can never have too many Spitfires, while waiting for paint to dry on my triple Malta Spitfire builds, I started an ICM Spitfire Mk IXc from the movie 'Battle of Britain'. The ICM kit is no Eduards, but is fairly accurate in outline, (and is in the stash, anyhow). I started with the wings, removing the canons, canon bulges, and lots of filling, sanding, and rescribing. I also had to shorten the landing gear legs quite a bit, replace the inaccurate wheels, and reprofile the fat propeller blades. I filled the lower cockpit wing roots and added stringers, scratch built a throttle and landing gear control, and then turned to the ugly seat. it needed thinning, new sides, bottom and front, as well as a back pad. I'm using an Eduard's photo etch QR belt (this is 1969, after all), and also using a left over tubular exhaust from an Eduard's kit. I've got some paint on the interior, so close up can begin ... Oh yes, I also had to do something with the weird square spade grip! It's going to be open canopy, but with the access door closed, Robert Shaw's 'Rabbit leader' has a nice set of crosses across the door that I don't want to loose! Thanks for looking, Colin

10.5cm leFH 16(Sf) Auf Geschutzwagen FCM36(f) (35340) 1:35 ICM via Hannants Ltd The Geschutzwagen (gun vehicle) series of Self-Propelled Howitzers were originally created to fill a need for mobile artillery that could be self-sufficient and yet work in unison with troops and tanks at the high speed of Blitzkrieg, similar to the Marder, but with indirect fire from behind the lines their stock-in-trade. The concept was to mount a large diameter howitzer on a captured tank chassis that had been stripped of its superstructure and given an extended splinter shield around the gun and its crew, whilst leaving the roof open to the elements. Like the early Marders, they were built on captured French tank chassis, such as the obsolete FCM 36, with a large shield that extended almost the whole length of the vehicle, housing a WWI era 105mm leFH 16(Sf) howitzer, which was of 1916 vintage. Incidentally, FCM stands for Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, who were based at Toulon in the French Riviera. Only a very few of these vehicles were made due to the relatively small number of FCM36 chassis that were originally captured, and some say that as few as eight were built, although there are numbers as high as 12 mentioned elsewhere. Either way, there weren’t many. They saw service in Europe during the relatively inactive period after their conquest of France and before D-Day, and by 1944 there weren’t any on charge according to records, which up until that point were pretty reliable. The tank was only lightly armoured to protect their crews from shrapnel, shell splinters or small arms fire from all-round, which is somewhat better than a standard artillery piece would afford its crew, although the open roof would make a tempting target for grenades or demolition packs in close combat. However, they weren’t meant to be near the front line under normal circumstances, so it mattered less than it did with direct fire vehicles such as Marders. It would however have been uncomfortable for the crew in bad weather necessitating a temporary tarpaulin roof to keep the precipitation out, but very little of the cold. The Kit This is another re-tool of ICM’s previous FCM 36 kit, adding the specialised parts for the conversion undertaken by Baustokommando Becker at the time. It arrives in a standard ICM top-opening box that has a captive inner lid, with seven sprues in grey styrene, two flexible black sprues of track links, a decal sheet and glossy instruction booklet with colour profiles in the back pages for painting and markings. The original FCM 36 kit was only released in 2020, so it’s a modern tooling with plenty of detail and this boxing includes the majority of the interior due to the open roof. Construction begins with the lower hull, which is made up initially of the floor and two sides that are cut back slightly to accommodate the different upper hull, as shown in an accompanying diagram, with bulkheads added to the sides to support the lower sponson panels that give the vehicle more ground clearance. The running gear is made up from a three-part drive sprocket, eighteen sets of twin wheels that are fitted to eight double bogies and two singles, then the big idler wheels at the rear of the hull on adjustable tensioning axles. The sloped armoured upper sponsons are installed along the way, with the mud-shedding apertures on each side, idler adjustment mechanisms and some towing eyes on the back plate. Two pairs of return rollers on the top run are glued inside the sponson, then the flexible black “rubberband” tracks are glued together, the instructions neglecting to mention that styrene glues won’t join them, so you should use super glue or epoxy instead. Each run has two sections, with the joints best placed in the centre of each run so they stand less chance of being seen on the finished model. Detail on the tracks is very nice, with twin guide horns and perforated centres like the real thing, but of course the links will curve round the ends, rather than having the correct faceted look that individual links provide. The upper hull is a new part that was also seen on the recent Marder I kit, and has an opening at the front where the turret would have been, and has the two fender sides fitted to the rear before it is joined to the lower hull, hiding most of the upper track run. At the rear a large louvered panel and fixtures on the final-drive access hatches are glued on first, with the two shrouded exhausts and their mufflers slotted into grooves to their side, and a shallow C-shaped manifold joining them at the top. Pioneer tools and towing eyes are fitted later, because the gun must be made up first, after adding a driver’s panel and vision slit it fixed into the top of the glacis plate. The WWI era 10.5cm leFH 16(Sf), is begun by making up the combined cradle and breech, then adding the cradle trunnions and elevation mechanism on both sides, after which the floor is made up with the underfloor ammo storage depicted by gluing the 36 striking plate charge sections of the two-part ammunition into the box-sections in the forward floor. It is mated to the hull on a substantial C-shaped plinth with a locking washer, covering up the former turret aperture, then adding aim adjustment wheels before the gun’s splinter shield is begun by adding the two faceted side panels and the cheek parts, the former having been fitted out with shell racks, radio boxes and machine gun ammo canisters. The forward splinter shield that moves with the gun barrel is added outside the main shield, preventing stray rounds or shrapnel from entering the cab or damaging the gun slide, the latter part comprising two sides with angled front to deflect frontal shots. A louvered panel is fixed into depressions on each of the side walls, and the back panel with moulded-in access hatch are glued onto the rear of the crew compartment, then two sets of 21 x 105mm shells and a few more separate charges with striker plates are placed next to them. At this stage the pioneer tools can be attached to the exterior compartment walls at the rear of the vehicle, with light cluster, spare track links and barrel cleaning rods at the front, plus an antenna perched atop the side wall to the rear, and a self-defence MG34 machine gun on the front, then you can put on the two-part muzzle brake that gives the impression of a hollow barrel. Markings There are three markings options on the small decal sheet, with variation between them and some interesting camouflage schemes, all of which saw service in 1943. From the box you can build one of the following: Mobile Brigade West, 1943 931st Assault Gun Division, France, 1943 Training Camp of Mobile Brigade West, Summer 1943 The decals are printed by ICM’s usual partner, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Another peculiar, niche, but interesting example of German re-use of captured vehicles, and a nicely detailed one too. Of course, it looks a bit strange and top heavy, but that’s part of its appeal. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Greetings Friends- Here is my latest build: an Excellent ICM kit, the Do-17Z-2 in 1/48. I really liked the kit and the fit problems were my own. I always have trouble fitting clear parts to opaque and the ventral gun section moved on me. I really liked the kit and am very happy with the result. The decals were by Owl and for F1+HH which I have a photo of it and it lacks the ID markings of the commonly portrayed F1+FH with the Devil insignia. Kagero also did a profile of it and this is the one I did. The Paint is Mr. Color 70/71 and 65 lightened a pinch. The Stencil and insignia decals are Eduard and were excellent. The Clear is Tamiya. Only adds were Eduard 'Look' Instrument and harness kit and Eduard Resin Do17Z Wheels. Oh yea, I added quickboost exhausts kit. Enjoy and comments welcome! Let me know what I can improve.

ICM is to release 1/48th Cessna O-2 kits in 2020 - ref. 48290 - Cessna O-2A Skymaster, American Reconnaissance Aircraft - released Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48290 - ref. 48291 - Cessna O-2A US Navy Service - released Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48291 V.P.

"Jig Dog" JD-1D Invader US Navy Aircraft (48287) 1:48 ICM via Hannants The good old B-26 Marau… no, wait. The A-26 Invader? Hang on, erm... B-26 Invader. That's it, as long as it's after 1948 as that's when it was re-designated as the B-26 by the US Air Force to confuse us, and later on back to the A-26 just to complete my befuddlement. It was developed a little after the Marauder and despite using the same engines it was designed totally separately from its tubular colleague. It was designed to replace the A-20 Havoc, but it was initially less than popular in the Pacific theatre where its poor cockpit visibility due to the canopy and engine position rendered it unloved by the first users. It was more popular in the European theatre and was accepted as replacement for the Havoc fairly quickly. Two types were designed, The C with a glass bomber nose and the B with a full metal nose filled with either 6 or 8 .50cal machine guns, which coupled with the three in each wing gave it quite a punch, deserving of the Strafer title. It also had a pair of turrets on the fuselage mid-upper and dorsal positions, which were both operated by a single gunner using a complex remote mechanism that flipped between the upper and lower turrets depending on where the gunner was looking through his binocular sights. This trained the guns accordingly and also calculated the correct offset for parallax and lead, but was very complex and caused some delays to it entering service, and even more issues with maintenance in the field. After the war it served in Korea, early Vietnam engagements and other conflicts, ending its days in US service with the Air National Guard in the early 70s. It continued in civilian service as a fire bomber and in other roles, such as actor in the film Always with Richard Dreyfuss playing its brave but ill-fated pilot. The US Navy would use the Invader originally designating it JD-1, giving rise to the nickname Jin Dog. They were used for secondary roles such as target towing, and drone carriers. The drone carriers being JD-1D, leter DB-26Js. The Kit This is a brand new tooling from ICM, with extra parts for the US Navy version. The main difference ion this boxing is the inclusion of underwing rockets and the 6 gun solid nose. . It arrives in the familiar top opening box with a captive inner lid on the lower tray, and inside are eight sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, a decal sheet and the instruction booklet. A quick look over the sprues reveals that panel lines are very crisp, narrow and restrained, the surface is matt and very neat-looking, with plenty of engraved and raised details on the parts, plus subtly indented flying surfaces mimicking their fabric covering. You might also notice that there are parts for an open or closed canopy, the open one having the flat top surface, while the closed canopy has the slightly blown roof that was used after 1944 to improve visibility. Construction begins with the cockpit, creating the pilot's seat, instrument panel (with instrument decals) with built-in door to the nose, centre console with throttle quadrant before adding those and the single control column to the floor. The aft compartment is built up around the front wing spar with a set of radio gear hanging from a pair of risers. The port fuselage half is detailed with some side console and panel parts, nose gear bay sides, forward spar with radio gear, rear spar in the centre of the bomb bay, sloped aft bulkhead and another frame behind that, followed by the cockpit floor, so you'll have to do some detail painting as you go. After this the starboard fuselage side is prepped, and here's where a little cautionary note about sink-marks on the exterior of my sample needs making. The right side of the cockpit and bomb bay with its detailed ribbing has caused the shallowest of sink-marks on the exterior, which would be best dealt with using a little filler before you get busy building. You could have dismissed it as oil-canning of the skin if it were consistent and on both sides, but as it isn't you'll need to decide whether you're going to fix it. Happily the majority of it is in areas that are open enough to allow easy sanding back of filler, so it shouldn't slow you down very much. I'll be using some Tamiya Basic on mine in due course and have no doubt it will be just fine. A 0.8mm hole is drilled in the section behind the canopy and the two remaining bomb racks are added inside along with an internal detail panel, nose gear bay side, and a hatch that does a credible impression of a toilet lid. With that and a quantity of detail painting you can then slide the starboard fuselage over the two spars, and it would be a good idea when fitting those spar parts to let them set up with the starboard fuselage taped in place to ensure they make the correct angle when they're set in place permanently. The instructions then have you building up the tail feathers, with the elevators having separate single-part flying surfaces, plus a two piece rudder to attach to the moulded-in tail fin. The gun-nose appropriate to the decal option being built needs to be selected and added.. The nose for this version is made up from three major parts with equipment going in, the glass nose is then added., and at the rear the access bulkhead. The nose can then be fitted The wings are next, and the lower parts have a smattering of flashed-over holes ready to drill out for bombs, gun-pods or drop tanks, plus three cartridge ejection chutes to be cut out for the wing mounted .50cals. The modeller will also need to open up the holes for mounting the rockets if using them. The faces of the in-line radiator baths are added to the lower wings and then it's already time to bring the halves together. You'll notice that there are fairings and a hump in the upper wing where the engine nacelles will be, and these are separate assemblies to be built up later. First, the separate two-section flaps (oddly with no deployed option), and the ailerons are prepared and added to the trailing edge of the wings, the latter being of one piece each and slotting into wing via two tabs. The tip lights and underwing landing lights are added from clear parts, and a small insert is glued into the wing that includes three more barrel stubs each and will again need drilling out. At this stage the instructions have you sliding the wings onto the spars and gluing them in place. Whether you'd rather wait until you've added the engine nacelles though is entirely up to you though. There are of course two engine nacelles and these build up pretty much identically apart from their outer skins, which are handed to fit their respective fairings as you'd expect. They are split vertically, and each half has internal structure moulded-in, with bulkheads added fore and aft of the gear bays, coupled with bay lip inserts that bulk out the edges and also hold captive their bay door. This may require some clever masking and a little care during handling, but it shouldn't hold you back too much, as the hinge-points are relatively robust. The two halves are joined together, the prominent intake on the top of the nacelle is made up from two parts, then is added to the nacelle front which is in turn glued to the rest of the nacelle, with the completed assemblies attached to the wings from the underside, as yet without their engine cowlings or props. The engines are added later in the build, and the Twin Wasps are depicted in their entirety with both banks of pistons, push-rods, ancillaries and reduction housing at the front, plus the collector ring and exhausts at the rear, the latter made up from eight parts each. So that they are fitted correctly and mesh properly with the nacelles, they are attached using a jig that is discarded later, so remember not to glue it in! Again the engines are identical and interchangeable with each other, and they fit to the nacelles with a teardrop-shaped tab, after which the engine cowling is slotted over them. The cooling flaps are last to be added in four sets around the rear of the cowling. The top of the fuselage is still open at this point, as it has an insert to be fitted which encloses where the turret was. The gunner's compartment; now the controllers compartment is added along with the new glass area for the top. Another clear light is added to the very rear of the fuselage, and attention turns to the landing gear, which is of the tricycle variety as became the fashion in late war. Each of the three tyres are made from two halves with separate hubs applied from either side, then hung on their respective legs, which have retraction jacks and scissor links added along the way. This is nice to see, as it's always a little tricky to join two doors and get them aligned with the fuselage so there's minimal join-lines. The main airframe is ostensibly complete save for some antennae and the props, and if you've been sparing with the glue when assembling the engines, the latter should still spin once complete. Pylons for the drones are added to the wing and a single part to close the bomb bay is added. Markings In this initial boxing there are two options of drone controllers in Gloss Sea Blue with yellow wings & tail, along with orange stripes. From the box you can build one of the following: JD-1D 89075, VU-3, US Navy 1950s. JD-1D 140356 US Navy, China Lake 1958 The decals are printed anonymously. They have good registration, colour density and sharpness, and include a number of stencils that are legible with the right eyeware. If you forgot to ream out those cartridge chutes in the wing before you closed them up, some kind soul has added two decals with three black rectangles to help you out. Conclusion This model should make a fair few people happy, and consign a lot of old Monogram kits to deep stash or eBay as a result. Detail is excellent and made so much nicer by the matt surface, and there's a fair proportion of the interior included for what is bound to be a popular kit. Smear a little filler into those light sink-marks before you get started, and no-one will know they're there. Keep 'em coming ICM! Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

This is the old ICM mould of the MiG-25PD.I added a resin cockpit and the rest is OOB.The model is painted with Tamiya and Gunze acrylics.The decals came from begemot. Regards,Dragan

Hello everyone! This it is my recently finished He 111H-16 (German bomber), scale 1/48. The ICM kit (No48263) it was pretty good I can say. The model is brush painted and the colors used were a mix of Tamiya and Vallejo Model Air. Marking: He 111H-16, 5./KG 4, Eastern Front, Winter 1942-1943. Small description from the instructions: In the beginning of 30s It was appeared in the world an idea of high-speed bomber that could outstrip contemporary fighters. One of the objectifications of this conception became the twin-engine bomber He 111 designed by German Heinkel Flugzeugwerke AG company. Since the December of 1942 it were produced He 111H-16 planes with liquid-cooled Jumo 211F-2 engines of increased power, with VS wooden wider horde propellers and more powerful armament. This variant could carry up to 3000 kg bombs internally and externally, The He 111H-16 was the last mass produced variant of Heinkel's medium bomber. It were produced approximately 1155 aircraft up to the end of 1943. He 111H-16s saw service on all fronts as night bombers, transports and glider tugs. I hope you like it and thanks for watching!

USAAF Pilots 1944-45 Paint Set (3012) ICM via Hannants Ltd ICM have long been a plastic model company that is well-known to most of us, but until recently they haven’t had their own paint range, which has now changed. There are 77 acrylic colours in the initial collection, plus three varnishes in matt, satin and gloss, all in the same 12ml plastic bottles. A conversion chart is available that will give you equivalents in AK, Tamiya, Humbrol, Gunze, Testors, RLM, RAL, FS, Revell, AK Real Color, and even Citadel paints, although there aren’t many direct cross-overs in that last one. The paint is undiluted, so will need thinning by between 40-60% with water or acrylic thinner for use with an airbrush, and they naturally have a semi-gloss finish that can be adjusted later by the use of varnishes, and are waterproof when dry like most acrylics. During my testing I used Ultimate Thinners, my go-to thinners for any acrylic paint, which helps keep the number of large bottles in my spray booth to a minimum. The paint comes out of the bottle quite thick and viscous, so it’s possible you’ll have to dilute for serious brush painting use although I used it neat during testing, so a small bottle will go a long way in either case. It sprays well when diluted, and like a lot of acrylics a light coat is best initially, then followed quickly after by heavier coats until you have the coverage you require. It dries quite quickly, and is touch-dry in 5-10 minutes in those long-gone summery 20-23oc temperatures, unless you’re in the antipodes as I write this. I have used them to create a number of spray-out cards and spoons for other sets in the range, and they both spray and brush very well, with little issue other than my inexpert application by brush. We recently reviewed a 1:32 figure set from ICM called “A Photo to Remember”, which depicted three pilots posing for a portrait in front of their aircraft, which you can read here. This set is intended to complement these figures, and it includes the following colours, but it would be useful to add white if you don’t already have it for lightening the colours to create many other shades: 1002 Black 1008 Deep Brown 1052 Hull Red 1068 Olive Green 1044 Basic Skin Tone 1059 Green Ochre On the rear of the box are drawings of the figures that are identical to the set mentioned above, with colour call-outs in their own codes, and suggests that they may also be useful for additional ICM kits, such as 1:48 USAF Pilots & Groundcrew 48088, 1:32 A Photo to Remember 32116 and 1:32 USAF Pilots 1941-45 32104. That’s just a few ICM models, but I doubt they’d complain if you used them in conjunction with other manufacturers’ kits. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of