Publisher’s Notes

The markings on tanks of the United States Marine Corps during World War II are so varied that some have concluded they were meaningless, even anarchic. Official documents offer little insight, but a careful study of period photographs and film, cross-referenced with combat reports and veteran accounts, reveals the different systems of markings that combat units used to identify their vehicles. These markings varied between units, and from one campaign to the next, but were well-thought-out and designed to be practical and easy for tankers to interpret. In addition to tactical markings, most tankers were given names by their crews, and these were added to the tank’s markings. Personifying the tank often boosted crew morale and led to even more careful maintenance of the tank. Names were approved by tank commanders, and also followed systems that aided quick identification in combat.

ICM has been releasing quality kits, figure sets, and recently paints to support their vast library of releases. This one is a mouthful - the G917T Truppenluftschutzwagen, a 3-ton truck with a 2cm Flak 38 in the bed. This was an effective weapon for closeup air defense but could also target lightly armored ground threats as well.

What’s Inside the Box

You get essentially two kits in one with six light gray and one clear sprue for the truck and 5 light gray sprues for the flak 38. The truck sprues should look familiar as they share a lineage with kit # 35413 from 2013. Details are pretty crisp, although there are ejector sink marks on the bottom surface of the truck bed and inside some of the cab details. There are two decal sheets - one for the flak 38 and one for the two schemes for the truck.

Box Art / Packaging

The ICM Wehrmacht self-propelled AA vehicles is delivered in the usual rigid box and all 3 kits are tightly packed. No loose parts were present and all kits were presented with no flash and insignificant sink marks, I did notice though that some of the parts were especially fragile, this caused me some build issues later on. The clear parts were well formed and fit nicely and no PE is present for this kit. Decals were supplied for each kit though understandably there were very few.

The Kits

Upon opening and examination there is some confusion as to exactly what is what within. This is a re-boxing of sorts with all 3 of these kits being individually available under separate SKU numbers. It is not especially difficult to identify which is which kit-wise, however the bagged kits do not match in all cases the SKU numbers called out on the instructions.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine use a wide variety of trucks for different purposes. One notable example is the all-wheel drive ZiL-131, which was mass-produced throughout the 1970s and 1980s for both civilian and military use. Known for its high reliability and exceptional off-road capabilities, the truck proved versatile in many applications.

In the Armed Forces of Ukraine, some of these vehicles received field modifications—being equipped with heavy machine guns or light artillery weapons. Notable examples include ZiL-131 variants fitted with DShKM heavy machine guns, mounted on various pedestals or mounts in their cargo beds. These modifications transform the trucks into fire support vehicles, capable of engaging lightly armored targets and slow-moving aerial targets.

Guideline Publications is the UK's leading publisher of modeling and hobby-related magazines. With a world-class portfolio of titles and an international Social Media presence, Guideline Publications has a dedicated readership that is constantly expanding into new areas. This English language book, The M47 Patton Tank, is authored by David Doyle. This English language volume was published in 2025 and is published in conjunction with Military Modelcraft International. A digital edition will soon be available. The latest of Guideline’s publications can be found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/guidelinepub/.