The date is some time in the late 1920s or early 1930s, the location in the American Midwest during the height of the Great Depression. Farmer John has been alarmed as Jennie, his wife of 12 years, has begun having “spells.” He calls Doc Johnson on the neighborhood phone, so the doc dutifully comes out to John’s farm during his rounds to see what the problem might be. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that Jennie’s condition is beyond his limited scope to handle, so he suggests that he drive her to the county hospital to let other medical folks take a look. John wonders during all this how he’s going to find the money to pay for all this as he holds onto his son Billy with weathered hands. Billy, fighting back tears, is afraid his mother is never going to return, so Jennie lays a reassuring hand beside his face briefly before she steps into the doctor’s flivver and disappears in a cloud of dust. Will she get better and return? Only time will tell.

I don’t usually get this literary during product reviews, but I found the picture on the cover of this model highly evocative, and was delighted to see that this carried over into the kit itself, which closely replicates all the aspects of the cover art.

This new kit from ICM consists of a 1918 Ford Coupe and four figures, duplicating the scene on the box top. Interestingly enough, I once had a chance to examine a Ford of this vintage, even under the hood, and was astounded as to how simple the whole vehicle was. The model in this kit does a good job of replicating this simplicity, but remains well detailed, including a full interior and engine, as well as the delicate spidery suspension system of the real thing. The only challenge I encountered was getting the elective window pintles to fit, which I think was mostly me (and are not really necessary). The engine could use some fine wiring if you want to leave that visible, although in my case that wasn’t required, as I was going to replicate the cover as closely as I could.

Speaking of which, the four figures provided match the cover art pretty closely, although the father doesn’t really look like the man on the cover, and the boy is wearing knickers rather than overalls as shown on the box top. The doctor and mother figures, on the other hand, are precise matches, and the sculpting really captures them well, displaying the mother’s careworn features and the boy’s upset. All four figures go together precisely, such that I didn’t have to use a lick of putty on any of them, even including the mother’s two-part skirt. To make sure all the figures integrated completely, I didn’t add the doctor’s right hand until the Ford was complete, so it would correctly align with the door handle. For the others, I started with the boy, then adjusted the father’s arms so that they rested comfortably on the boy’s shoulders. The mother’s left hand was aligned with his cheek.

When it came to painting, the Ford’s scheme couldn’t have been simpler. “Any color as long as it’s black” as Ford himself used to say. Just a few touches of color and that one was complete and ready to go. It would have been nice if the doors opened, but that’s a very minor quibble.

The figures, on the other hand, deserve and will reward some careful brushwork. I followed the box art as closely as possible, and the results speak for themselves. And here you have it – a little slice of Americana in a nutshell. I can’t tell you how pleased I was to work on this, and am deeply satisfied with the results, and I expect you will be too. HIGHLY recommended!

My thanks to ICM for coming up with this beautiful little vignette, and to IPMS/USA for a chance to throw it together and add it to my collection. Happy modeling, everyone, and stay safe!