Review Process

This is a box stock build with no aftermarket products used during the assembly process. From Part 1, we move on to painting and final assembly.

Surface primer was applied using Mr. Surfacer 1500 White, which was heavily thinned with Mr. Surfacer Leveling Thinner. A 4:1 mixing ratio allowed for a lighter coat of primer while not filling in some of the shallow recessed details. After a day of drying, the underside was airbrushed with Tamiya XF-2 White with a little gray added to make it an off-white color. The upper surfaces were then painted Tamiya XF-80 Royal Light Gray, which, in my opinion, looks like Light Gull Gray (FS16440). The aft exhaust area was then masked and airbrushed with Alclad Steel. To add the vertical striations, I cut Tamiya tape into thin strips, masked, and airbrushed Alclad Aluminum. This is much easier to do if the exhaust is not installed per the instructions (See Part 1 for more clarification).

ICM continues to pump out fantastic kits in all genres of interesting subjects to the modeling world. This Beaufort is the sixth version to be released. I built the second release that featured tropical filters a couple of years ago, so there were no real surprises with this build.

The standard ICM box lid was adorned with a striking painting of a low flying, dark sea grey over white Beaufort dropping a red nosed torpedo over the water. Grey plastic parts were contained in one plastic bag, with a clear parts sprue protected within its own bag. The instruction manual and decal sheet were at the bottom of the box, along with a color sheet showing ICM paints available.

Following the instruction manual format, construction was set out to ease painting separate items. Components like the cockpit and cabin, landing gear and other assemblies could be completely built and painted in one session which sped up and simplified assembly.

I recently reviewed ICM’s 1/72 offering of this iconic truck. When this version came up for a review, I could not say no to the opportunity to review it. According to scalemates.com, the original tool came from ICM in 2014 and has been reissued many times since. Given the age of the mold, there is a little flash, and the parts are crisp. As many ICM fans know, ICM plastic is on the soft side. It is easy to clean up, but you cannot be too aggressive when you clean up the pieces. There are ten frames, with two of them being doubled. There are two frames for clear parts and two sets of what I am assume is rubber for tires. There is a separate frame for the driver. The instructions are typical ICM, with exploded diagrams and paint call outs with ICM paints. Color-equivalent charts can be found online, so if you do not have ICM paints, you can easily find replacements. There are decals and markings for one vehicle in the 2022-24 time frame.