ICM has done it again with a great combination kit with two iconic German tanks. This boxing Panzerwaffe Steel Cats - Panther and King Tiger Ausf B (DS3524) has two complete kits. From the ICM web-page for this boxed set:
Panzerwaffe Steel Cats
Andy Singelton has several books out on painting figures and war gaming pieces and this book is the newest. You might recognize him from his studio - Volley Fire Painting Service. He has worked with manufacturers of war game equipment and scenarios and is the co-host of “A Few Brits and the Hobby”.
This book covers exactly as the title says, the latter half of WWII in Military vehicles. The chapters included are:
This new kit from Academy depicts the K311A1 1¼ -ton truck currently in service with the Armed forces of South Korea (R.O.K.) and exported to many other countries around the world. A detailed history of the vehicle is available on Wikipedia, so I won’t repeat it here. The kit provides marking options for two R.O.K. army trucks, one R.O.K. Marines, one R.O.K. Air Force, one Philippines, and two Chilean Marines trucks. The last Chilean option is a single color, providing an option for modelers who aren’t in the mood to paint complex camouflage.
The kit comes in a sturdy and surprisingly large box with the entire top covered by artwork of the vehicle. The kit includes separately molded cargo bed, bed canopy, and cab floor, four trees of tan parts, one tree of clear parts, a tree of poly-caps, five tires in soft black plastic, a fret of photo-etch, a sheet of masks, decals, and instructions. Everything is well packaged to prevent damage or loss of parts.
ICM, a model manufacturer located in Kiev, Ukraine has exploded on the scene in the last several years. They choose a variety of interesting subjects, including from the Ukraine. I think I speak for many in the modeling community that it is amazing when the country is beleaguered by a war with Russia, they can continue to operate at the tempo they have chosen to pursue. The Kozak is a domestically produced MRAP in the Ukraine. This kit is a variant of the Kozak-2 that was released in 2023. This kit is the border guard version of the same vehicle. As a kit, it is virtually identical to the previous release. The exception is the vehicles weapon and the color schemes that are found are different.
MRC has provided the IPMS/USA reviewer corps with Trumpeter’s new 2024 tooled 1/72nd scale US M1240 M-ATV MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected – All Terrain Vehicle).
The kit is enclosed in a top open box with a photo of the completed kit on the cover. Inside are several bags of sprues and parts all individually wrapped for protection. Five (5) tires are bagged and made from black vinyl. Also, enclosed is a small decal sheet and die-cut masks for the clear parts. The instructions are well illustrated with 29 steps.
Trumpeter has you starting with assembling the chassis. Steps 1-13 covers the entire chassis assembly and because of the independent suspension of each wheel, I ran into some alignment issues at the very end. So, care must be taken to make sure all four (4) axles are installed properly so that all the tires are touching a flat surface in the end.
The DF-41 (DongFeng 41) ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) is a brand new kit from HobbyBoss released in 2024. The Box art is typical HobbyBoss and is presented in a rigid top opener with well packed materials inside.
Lots of care and attention has been paid to protecting the contents and all items are fit snug into the box. The kit also contains some Color brochures depicting this particular kit and a brochure for the new HB kit U-2S ‘Dragon Lady’ due for release in May of 2024.
The kit is comprised of multiple sprues, including around 11 plastic sprues, 1 clear parts, a copper tube for use in the missile elevation riser, a fret of PE, rubber tires and a decal sheet.
Instructions call for 21 steps in construction, step 1 mostly being the construction of the chassis and drivetrain along with the chassis support stiffeners.
Steps 2-7 are sub-assemblies for the wheel hubs, 16 in total are required 8 for each side.
Another in ICM’s range of paint sets, this time for use with any WWII US armoured vehicles.
The set contains the following 12ml paint pots; I have listed what I believe to be their intended uses, with designations from Specification 3-1 1943:
The back of the box has a couple of drawings showing suggested uses for each colour.
ICM’s Leopard 2A6 in 1/35 scale is a Revell-Germany re-boxing kit. However, it represents a tank used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and includes a very attractive set of 5 figures with a dog. The box cover display shows the tank crew at rest with two members occupied with the running gear. The tank assembly consists of 246 parts and 45 parts are dedicated to the five crew figures and one dog figure. There are six marking options provided in this kit spanning different regions of Ukraine and periods between summer of 2023 and winter of 2024. Ukrainian national markings in different configurations can be applied over one standard German three tone NATO camouflage.
ICM Holding has put out a new model of their Horch vehicle. This rendition is a Kfz.70 with an MG 34 machine gun and mount for the rear area of the vehicle.
The box art for the kit is first rate and lends itself well to the actual Kfz.70 in the kit. The box is compact and will fit well in any stash until you decide to build it. Although the box is small, the material within the box was not smashed together and no damage was noted when breaking out the materials from the box.
Adam Jońca is an illustrator and author. He has contributed to several Stratus / MMP series, including Polish Tracks & Wheels [3 Volumes]; Polish Armoured Trains [3 Volumes; and Single Vehicle [4 Volumes].
