ICM continues to be prolific with both kits and paint sets. The Acrylic Paint Set for WWII French Armored Vehicles continues this trend and consists of six 12ml wide mouthed paint bottles. The front packaging includes a presentation of a FCM 36 light infantry tank. The back shows three left-profile views of a Panhard 178 AMD-35 (Kit No. 35373), two FCM 36 (Kit No. 3573) in two different camouflage schemes, and with color callouts.

The colors include:

• Olive Green (No. 1068)
• Green 4BO (No. 1073)
• Deep Brown (No. 1008)
• Buff (No. 1041)
• Dark Rust (No. 1051)
• Gun Metal (No. 1027)

Painting instructions are on the side of the packaging, stating

• Shake well before use
• Paint is prepared for a brush, for the airbrush dilute with water or thinner, 40-60%
• Use primer when painting with airbrush
• Colors can be mixed with each other
• If the ambient temperature is above 25^oC, use retarder
• When applying from airbrush, first use primer

Spoons were used for painting samples. The spoons were all given a primer of gray (Rust-Oleum Touch ‘n tone), followed by the top of the spoon being airbrushed, then the bottom brush painted by hand, with the line delineated by masking tape. Brush painting was remarkably easy, but a little patchier, particularly for the off white (as seen in the photos). Both methods dried quickly and have a flat appearance. I was impressed that some of the colors were hard to differentiate between airbrush and hand brush for the darker colors. For Panhard 178, I used the 4BO Green, Deep Brown, Dark Rust and Gun Metal colors.

ICM selected Green 4BO and Olive Greens for this paint set. The greens called out in the ICM Diorama Series Battle of France, Spring 1940 consisting of a Panhard 178 AMD-35 (European and Dark Greens), FCM 36 (Flat and Light Greens), and Laffly V15T (US Dark and Olive Greens). The same applies to Buff where FCM 36 calls out Desert Yellow and Laffly V15T Tan Earth. ICM’s Panhard 178 AMD-35 and FCM 36 instructions pre-date ICM’s paint range. Regardless, the colors are close and provide a good overall set.

My only complaint about these great paints is that dropper style bottles are readily accessible and control paint distribution much better than this open-topped style. I tested thinning it with diluted water, Badger Spray Through and Vallejo thinners. All worked well and reconstituted the paint.

This is a good, one-stop acrylic paint set for WWII French armored vehicles. This is good paint for figures as brush marks disappear, and the paints are sturdy and dry matte.

Slava Ukraini!

Profuse thanks to ICM and IPMS/USA for providing the review sample.