FWD Type B WW1 U.S. Ammunition truck
The ICM FWD WW1 Ammunition truck Type B, is another one of the unsung heroes of transportation from the Great war. ICM has chosen to give us the opportunity to add that vehicle to our collections . Upon receiving the kit I tore into it with great excitement , this has been on my hit list of builds . For the purposes of review the accompanying paint set for the vehicle was in the box and will be a separate review. Opening the box, I was not surprised to see it was packaged in the traditional ICM format of ta top box art cover with the contents in a top opening white box which I have found is extremely sturdy and survives shipping well. The first bit to be examined was the instructions, they are a center staple magazine format comprising 24 pages with 110 individual steps followed by 3 different color and marking templates. 110 steps at first seems excessive , it is actually done to clarify the process a bit better and is actually well done. Of the 5 sprues represented in the instructions there is a large portion that will go unused due to they are for a different truck that shares the same parts.
Moving on to the sprues themselves , they are clean and well molded with a tiny bit of micro flash on a few parts . Assembly starts as expected with the frame . It is multi part and I built mine on a sheet of glass to help ensure it stayed level and even. The detail of the frame and suspension is exceptional. I had no fit issues and was able to move through this quickly and easily. The engine is also beautifully detailed and all of that will be lost when it is closed up under the bonnet. I would have liked to see an option for raising the bonnet sides . This could be easily done by the builder , for the purposes of the review I left that as is. Moving into the rest of the kit ICM held true to their style of molding with this being a true flat kit . They have however engineered it in such a way that it goes together easily with little issue.
The surface detail of the cargo box is well represented and appears to be true to life with the surviving originals . The interior of the cargo box is also well appointed with wood detail , however I chose to use the supplied tarp which does hide that.
The bench seat looks like it belongs in a Victorian living room instead of a military vehicle and the beauty of the diamond tuck pattern left me wanting to do more .
Overall this is a beauty of a kit . There are a couple small areas that require the builder to puzzle over them a bit. It is nothing a builder can't do. The issue in question is seating the bonnet cover to the radiator housing . It was probably just a case of modeler induced error. I overcame this with a clamp.
This kit is highly recommended for anyone who wants a more obscure vehicle or is a fan of transportation in the army.
Many thanks to ICM for supplying this kit.
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