ICM continues to pump out interesting new kits and paint sets despite being in a brutal war that has lasted 487 days as I sit here typing this review up. The subject here is one in a growing line of 1/16 scale figure kits- Soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Highly praised by military experts around the world, the Ukrainian army is now considered to be among the best trained and skilled in the world thanks to its experience fighting modern combat.

What’s Inside the Box

The kit comes as the standard ICM kit does—with a colorful box top that slides off of an enclosed cardboard box with flap. Parts were packaged well and details were crisp with no flash to speak of.

• 2 light gray plastic sprues
• 1 black sprue and base
• Instruction sheet
• Color copy of the box art for displaying in your shop or home

The parts count is listed as 51+6 parts- with the +6 accounting for the base plate, base, and 4 options for surface- three cobblestone types and an asphalt option.

The larger of the two sprues contains the body parts, helmet halves, straps, radios, and assorted packs. The smaller sprue has the boot soles, front faces of the knee pads, two versions of the AK-74 rifle (one with and one without the 40mm UGL (Underslung Grenade Launcher). Grenades, bayonet, shears, spare ammo clips, and a rocket launcher are also on the sprue.

Construction

Construction is straightforward- based on just the single instruction sheet. One side shows the parts map for the sprues, as well as paint codes for the Armed Forces of Ukraine pixel camouflage. Codes are provided for Revell, Tamiya, and ICM acrylics. There is a reference to a new ICM paint set dedicated to the pixel camouflage (# 3025). The other side contains three-view drawings of the figure to aid in parts placement and painting instructions. There is also a blown-up view of the digital pixelated camo to aid in your painting.

There is no guidance on where to start- so naturally I began by gluing the two halves of the torso together. Detail in this scale is very crisp- making the seams a bit challenging to deal with after gluing the halves together. From there I attached the legs and the boot soles, followed by the head and arms. Accessories were up next- although some bits like grenades and other smaller parts were not indicated on the instruction map so I left them off. There was some filling where the arms attached to be done as the seams aren’t perfect. The two halves of the helmet also proved challenging- before adding the goggle pack to the front. The separate fingers for the hands were a nice touch and added to the ease of attaching the rifle in place. The base was a snap to assemble, and I chose one of the cobblestone facades for the top. No straps for the rocket launcher or rifle were provided so I used Tamiya tape.

Painting and Weathering

I am going to be completely honest here– I am not at present up to the challenge of trying my hand at painting the pixel camo. If I was to have attempted it, this review would not have been finished anytime soon. I might go back and try it after some thorough study and practice, but I felt it was more important to get this review done in a timely fashion. I instead went with the base color of buff and the straps in khaki. I used Vallejo and AMMO paints for painting and dry brushed the cobblestones with some light gray. I didn’t do too much weathering as this piece is still in progress until I nail that pixel camo somehow.

Conclusion

I must admit that if I had known the uniform was pixel camouflage, I probably would not have requested the kit. This is no fault of ICM at all– just me and my inexperience in figure painting. However, had I done that I would have deprived myself of the chance to build up this quite nice figure. Details were crisp and while the seams were challenging, it was worthwhile to end up with this high-quality figure. It makes a nice tribute piece to honor those still fighting in Ukraine and I hope I did it justice.

My sincere thanks to ICM and IPMS-USA for the review sample.