ICM continues to announce new models despite the ongoing Russian initiated war in Ukraine. While most subjects released by ICM are welcome, the current conflict subjects are even more relevant and timely. This Ukrainian tank crew is no exception.

Reference the ICM website -

The Armed Forces of Ukraine boast a variety of tanks, both domestic and Western-made. Despite the abundance of modern anti-tank weapons, tanks remain a formidable force on the battlefield. They are utilized by the Ground and Air Assault Forces, the Marine Corps, and units of the National Guard. A tank crew must function as a cohesive unit, as the success of combat missions often depends on the teamwork and coordination of its members. Therefore, the crew must understand each other implicitly. Depending on the type of tank, the crew consists of either three or four tankers – the tank commander, the driver-mechanic, the gunner-operator, and if necessary, the loader. During the repair of combat vehicles, crews from other tanks or repair unit personnel may be called upon for assistance. In heavy combat on various fronts, Ukrainian tankers bravely fulfill their military duty, skillfully leveraging the combat qualities of tanks – armor, speed, firepower, and maneuverability.

This ICM kit has the ubiquitous colorful box art lid and cover of the typical sturdy ICM box, there is a reinforced white inner box that does a good job of protecting the single sprue containing the four figures from the box art (interestingly enough, there is an additional standing figure and a dog included in the set, but not called out in the instructions), along with an advertisement folder for ICM acrylic paints.

There are four modern Ukrainian tank crewmen in different poses (from the box art, left to right):

• Driver
• Crewman kneeling working on suspension (my kit was missing Part No. 35 – the right side of the cushioned helmet, which was remedied by casting a part of No. 39 as it fit well)
• Crewman #2 Kneeling and pointing at work on suspension
• Crewman sitting on turret

Additionally:

• Figure standing wearing a watch cap with left hand in jacket pocket
• Dog

All four soldiers are wearing armored crew coveralls, the standing figure is wearing combat fatigue; the crewmen are wearing Soviet style cushioned helmets. Unlike previous ICM Ukrainian figure kits, there are no weapons provided, which is interesting as other ICM Ukrainian figure kits have separate weapon sprues (and combat vehicle crewmen at least carry protective small arms); there is, however, a sledgehammer included as the only tool. From the instructions and plastic removal marks on the sprue, another piece of the sprue with more helmet parts (three parts to each cushioned helmet) was removed. The dog and standing figure are bonuses as they are designed to work together (the dog is begging for a treat in the outstretched right hand of the standing figure) that can be used in the set or another project altogether.

The figures build up quickly and easily with only a little filler required (but the few gaps could be a result of my skillset).Assembly does not take long, and once complete, you have a Ukrainian crew that could serve on tanks or other armored vehicles.

The figures were assembled straight out of the box, primed and painted as displayed on the box art. As the bodies are multi-piece affairs, with separate arms, legs, head and headgear, these figures really stand out.

These figures look the part and can easily be mixed/interchanged/incorporated with both of ICMs previous Ukrainian soldier series:

• Kit No. 35752 Special Operations Forces
• Kit No. 35753 Sappers
• Kit No. 35754 Air Assault Troops
• Kit No. 35755 “War has no gender” Servicewomen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

They can be put together with a vehicle, vignette, or diorama for the current Ukrainian War, or another Eastern European military environment. The only real shortcomings are the already mentioned lack of weapons (easily sourced).With the proper references, these figures could be modified for other former Soviet Republic crewmen.

This is another highly detailed Ukrainian figure kit and I had a lot of fun building this gem from ICM. While the box art shows the tank crew on a T-64, they can easily work with T-54s, T-55s, T-62s, T-72s, T-80s, Leopards, Challengers, Abrams, and any other combat vehicles the Ukrainian military is using. The possibilities are only limited by imagination and the poses, gear, and weapons makes this a very diverse set.

Slava Ukraini!

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