I suspect that most modelers are aware of the tendency of the German Army in World War Two to use just about any vehicle in their inventory as an ambulance. Mostly it was war-weary half-tracks or armored vehicles or trucks which had seen better days. Almost anything proved useful for transporting the wounded out of the battle area to where they could be aided more effectively.

ICM has done it again by supplying a combo kit of three ambulance trucks from the period. Happily, they’ve elected to provide three very distinctive vehicles for the set; a V3000 “Blitz” truck, a half-track Maultier based on a Ford design, and a Lastkraftwagen – a French truck design employed in some numbers by the Wehrmacht.

To begin, I chose what I believed to be the oldest of three kits in the set – the Blitz. This is a fairly small truck that simply had a cab extension over the usual cargo bed added to provide some shelter. Having built the Italeri version of this truck lo, these many years ago, I wasn’t unfamiliar with the design, and it went together fairly quickly. However, I was surprised at how comparatively fragile the overall assembly was. Of course, the molding and detail was light years ahead of the older Italeri design but it also made the whole thing a bit more trying to get together. One of the things that threw me was that the parts on the sprues were not consecutively numbered, making it something of a game of “hide and seek” to find what you were looking for. During assembly, I was also surprised by how many part locations on the model were mere dimples, when they needed to be far deeper. Having a small drill handy will simplify things a lot.

Although the kit provides for separate cab doors (which fit very precisely, I must say) there is no provision for access to the rear unless one is willing to do a fair amount of cutting. Since there’s no interior detail, it’s hardly worth the bother. The only place on the model that required any filling/sanding was the cab roof, but I expected this seam to require a bit of TLC. The cab itself, by the way, is highly detailed with virtually microscopic foot pedals.

The only real challenge to the assembly came when it was decal time. First off, I would strongly suggest you do NOT apply the tools to the sides of the cargo area until decaling is complete, as these seriously interfere. More importantly, I was shocked to see how the decals had deteriorated, crumbling at the edges as I was applying them – not something you expect from a new kit (or combo, in this case). If I’d known beforehand, I would have applied some MicroScale Liquid Decal Film to the sheet first, which would have presumably fixed the problem. As it was, they were brittle and fragmented easily. Unfortunately, they were not the kind of decals that are easily replaced from the spares box, so I had to make do. In the end, I spent a fair amount of time painting over the damage (ICM’s Offwhite 1028 Acrylic Paint is a perfect match for the decals). Just be aware that this could be a problem, and you can easily avoid a lot of the hassles I went through.

The end result, though, is very good and I’m quite pleased with this one.

The next was the Maultier, which is a more involved kit simply due to the running gear. Unlike the previous kit, this one provides complete access to the rear shelter section, although there still isn’t any interior detail. Of course, if you want to do a bit of scratch-building . . .

Despite the complexity of the half-track running gear, I managed to create the subassembly, tracks included, in just a couple of hours. Be aware that Step 7, which involves the frame assembly for the half-track running gear, is a bit vague on the placement of the support struts, mainly E-18 and E-19. Assembled, these provide bracing for the corners when attached to the main chassis, so take care.

Like all of these kits, this one provides a detailed cab interior, full engine and highly detailed chassis. The only other bugaboo I encountered during assembly was the jerry can holder in Step 18, which was a total loss. I just used a can from my stash and built a frame around it with Evergreen strip as a suitable replacement. The front wheels are plastic on this kit and offer the option of adjusting the steering for a more casual look.

As I was opting for the more dramatic decaling option, I elected to keep the engine hood and shelter separate until decaling. The kit does NOT provide either the hood markings or a shelter roof marking, so if you make the same choice be prepared to do a little masking. I think the end result looks quite acceptable, though, and it’s certainly attractive.

The last in the series is the French Lastkraftwagen, a distinctive vehicle in its own right. Although this kit only offers one painting option, it’s an interesting one – a heavily camouflaged vehicle sporting huge red crosses – something of a mixed message there.

Assembly on this one is fairly straight-forward, although I’d recommend leaving the top of the cab and shelter separate until late in assembly, not only to ease the painting process but to simplify installing the clear parts without having to mask. The kit again supplies vinyl tires, which in this case are rather a loose fit on their hubs.I superglued them once they were correctly positioned to prevent slipping later on. Both cab and shelter doors are separate, although once again the shelter provides no interior detail. Essentially the only challenge in the assembly was the spare tire mount, which is VERY delicate and does not take handling well. I would recommend leaving it until last.

Decaling, again, presents some challenges. Although a decal is provided for the red cross on the front bumper grill, I opted to hand paint it instead of trying to wrestle a decal over the complex surface. I would also suggest holding off on placing the rear shelter door handles on until after decaling. The decals on the sides of the shelter have to go over very pronounced seams, and even with several applications of MicroSol I had to do some touchups. I think I would have been better off cutting those decals to fit around the seams and then painting in the rest. All that being said, the supplied decals were surprisingly opaque and didn’t show the complex painting underneath at all – much to my delight.

In the end, you wind up with three very distinctive vehicles, each well-detailed with well-done cab interiors and full engine detail. I can’t help but wonder how many of these charmers we’re going to see in dioramas in upcoming shows. Highly recommended.

My thanks to ICM for continuing to push the modeling boundaries, and to IPMS/USA for a chance to add these fascinating vehicles to my collection.Happy modeling, everyone, and stay safe!