About ICM Paints

Water-based acrylic paints by ICM. Paints are prepared for brush, for airbrush dilute it with water or ICM Thinner. The range includes 77 base colors, but colors can be mixed with each other to easily achieve a desired shade. The paint is stable after drying. A wide assortment of paint sets are also available.

The Set

ICM acrylic paint set “Item 3031: Fire Trucks” contains six basic colors for use on most any type of fire truck. The front of the box has artwork of the AR-2 (43105) Special Fire Hose Truck. A small square of the six colors provided in the set appears in the lower right. The top has a photo of the six bottles. The rear of the box shows color callouts for an AR-2 (43105) Special Fire Hose Truck. Instructions for use are printed on the bottom of the box.

The book is another in the great Images of War series. This book covers the history and actions of the German Self-Propelled Artillery at war 1940-1945 in rare photographs.

The book covers all the major battles as shown in the Chapter titles.

1. 1940-1941.
2. 1942-1943
3. The End 1944-1945
   • Appendix I – Vehicle Specifications
   • Appendix II – Camouflage and Zimmerit

The images in the book are excellent and cover all the various Self-Propelled Artillery Vehicles used by the German Army in WWII.

The book is full of amazing photos, many gave me an insight into the conditions I have not considered before. There is a lot of Diorama inspiration in this book.

Thanks go to Pen and Sword / Casemate Publishing for providing this book to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

The F-117 was the world's 1st stealth fighter, and operated by the USAF from 1983 to 2008. The aircraft had a unique appearance, combining complex planar shapes and its surface was coated with radar-absorbent material. Powered by 2 F404-GE-F102 turbofan engines, its exhaust ports were positioned above the fuselage, and featured slots designed to dissipate heated air and eliminate radiant heat. The "Skunk Works", known for developing various experimental aircraft, was responsible for the design and engineering, creating excellent stealth capabilities. The aircraft's combat debut came in the 1989 Panama invasion. Later in the 1991 Gulf War, the aircraft achieved great success by leveraging its stealth capabilities in a night attack on Baghdad military facility.

The Convair B-36 Peacemaker was an enormous bomber built in the early days of the Cold War as a deterrent to a Soviet attack. The largest piston-driven production aircraft, the 384 Peacemakers built were in service from 1948 to 1959.

Richard Marmo’s book is an excellent reference on the dismantling and preservation of B-36J III Serial Number 52-2827. This is the last Peacemaker built and is named “City of Fort Worth” in honor of where the factory was located. This is Volume 2 of a planned multi-volume series. Part 2 primarily involves removing the 6 massive piston engines, the ailerons, and the outer wing panels.

Detailers will also like this book as it has many hard-to-find images taken during the dismantling process, such as a good view of the Pratt & Whitney R4360 both installed in the nacelle and by itself. Also covered is the General Electric J-47 jet engines in the wing pods.

A new 1/144th scale aircraft kit from Platz, however, the molded parts are from F-toys with markings for 2 aircraft and one of them is for a 2022 Ferris paint scheme.

In the Box

This is a two (2) airplane kit boxing. The parts are molded from another company, F-toys, and is noted on the website. Each jet is collected in its individual bag. Parts are molded in light gray with 3 sprues, an upper and lower fuselage-wing halves, and a bag with clear parts for the canopy and nose radome. The panel lines are recessed and considered wide and soft for 1/144th scale. There is flash on several parts so sanding will be necessary to remove the excess plastic.

On the underbelly of the fuselage there is a large rectangular slot with nothing in the instructions to fill this area. One can only assume it is a connecting point for a stand to be inserted and allow the plane to be displayed in flight. But no stand is provided.