WWII Military Patrol

Published on
Review Author(s)
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$82.50
Product / Stock #
35599
Company: ICM - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: ICM - Website: Visit Site

From the kit manufacturers web site description:

WWII US Military Patrol

(G7107 with MG M1919A4)

At the end of 1941, the United States of America was already a well-deserved world leader in the production of various automotive equipment. This was facilitated by the most powerful production base in the world. During the Second World War, only 2,382,311 military trucks were manufactured in the USA. American army vehicles embodied advanced design solutions, defining the world level of automotive technology in general. In America, the main consumer of automotive equipment was the ground forces (US Army), which operated several types of trucks. The four-wheel-drive truck G7107 was one of the representatives of the G7100 military series. Even though most of the cars of this series were supplied to the Allies as part of the lend-lease program and some of them were used in the US Army, for example, in infantry, sapper and communication units. Equipped with machine guns, such cars could also be used for patrolling.

Tactical and Technical Specifications of G7107 truck
Full load, T 1.5
Length, mm 5700
Width, mm 2200
Height, mm 2700
Wheelbase, mm 3685
Engine Chevrolet BV-1001-UP 6 cylinder, 3.9 l 83 hp
Max. Speed, km/h 77
Range, km 400

The set includes a model of a military truck G7107 with a Browning M191944 machine gun, a driver figure and three American infantrymen Figures have a high level of detail of clothing and equipment.

The set is to recreate the scene of an American military patrol during the Second World War

A Very Brief History the Chevrolet G7100 Truck [from Wikipedia site covering the Chevrolet G506 series]

The G506 was a United States Army Ordnance Corps supply catalog designation for the 11⁄2-ton, 4X4, truck chassis built in large numbers by the Chevrolet Motor Division of GM. Their official model numbers were initially the "G4100", and later the "G7100" series.[4] They became standard 11⁄2-ton 4x4 trucks for the US Army and Army Air Corps during World War II.[4]

During World War II, the US military purchased a total of 167,373 four-by-four 11⁄2-ton trucks, and Chevrolet supplied the great majority of them.[5][6] According to the 1946 revision of the U.S. military's Summary Report of Acceptances, Tank-Automotive Materiel, Dodge (Fargo) – the initial standard supplier of U.S. 11⁄2-ton 4x4 trucks – contributed 6,762 VF model, G-621 series trucks in 1940;[7] and Ford (Marmon-Herrington) and Diamond T supplied another 6,271 and 136 units respectively,[8] leaving 154,204 Chevrolet trucks.[1]

However, some 47,700 of the G7107 and G7117 model trucks were shipped to the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease program.[9] The Soviet Red Army's logistics/transport capabilities improved dramatically in the spring and summer of 1943 largely as a result of the steady supply of American-made trucks (such as Studebaker US6s and the Chevrolet G506s) for the USSR.[10]

TruckPlanet.com offers a bit more of the history for this important series of vehicles:

The range of 1.5-ton military trucks G4100/7100 (4x4), which was built in 1940-45 years in 120 thousand copies, became a major for the Chevrolet company during the Second World War. The basis for these trucks was the pre-war model 4272 (4x4), the hybrid of Chevrolet and GMC. But the construction and components were unified with the well-known 2.5-ton trucks GMC CCKW-352/353 (6x6).

Both series were equipped with virtually identical cabins, hood and grilles, flatbed bodies with an awning, brakes, springs, electrical elements, winches, and tires. In 1940-42 the first-generation series G4100 with an all-metal cab (the base flatbed version was G4112) was produced, which had an additional factory index Y or Z. The series included the all-metal van G4105, dump truck without winch G4152 and with winch G4162, flatbed truck with a winch G4163, tractor G4165, and long flatbed truck G4174. Since late 1942, Chevrolet offered an enhanced and upgraded series G7100 with an additional index N, equipped with both closed and open cabins.

All trucks were completed with an overhead valve 6-cylinder Chevrolet BV1001 (3858 cm3, 83 hp) engine, 4-speed manual transmission with 2-speed transfer gearbox and switchable front axle. The base version had a wheelbase of 3683 mm, dry weight of 3,425 kg and could reach 80 km/h. The main output (86,971 copies) came with the multi-purpose trucks NJ-G7107 with a wooden flatbed without the winch and NM-G7117 with a metal platform, canopy, and hoist.

The company also offered NH-G7106 dump truck without a winch and a similar version NL-G7116 with a winch; panel vans NG-G7105; chassis for fire trucks NZ-G7133; NR-G7163 and NS-G7173 for workshops with various bodies, installing of telephone lines. The truck tractor NK-G7113 (1943-44) was equipped with the GMC 270 (4.4 liter, 89 hp) engine and the transmission of the series CCKW. The short wheelbase chassis NQ-G7128 (3175 mm) was used to mount M6 device with a crane for handling bombs that have been applied in the U.S. Air Force and the UK. On the long wheelbase chassis (4445 mm) were made about 400 copies of 1,5-ton truck NP-G7127 with a body length of 4.6 m. Another modification was the field light vehicle NF-G7143. In the midst of the war the G7129 prototype was made. It was a low-profile 89hp truck with an open cockpit, folding windshield, and removable body sides, which allowed to lower its height to 1700 mm. G7100 Series trucks were delivered to the USSR under the Lend-Lease and were produced at some Soviet automobile plants, including in GAZ, and their chassis were used for the installation of various equipment, including BM-13 "Katusha".

Several added online sources include:

Truck Encyclopedia: This is a valuable source for modelers, and includes numerous great reference photos and side view illustrations which provide color, weathering and marking suggestions.

Truck Planet: Once again, a valuable source for basic information about the G7100 series vehicles and a large number of great photographs of these vehicles. The greatest aspect of this site are the large number of photographic images of various period and current vehicles of these types in use currently

This Kit

This is but one of a series of military vehicles and trucks that has been (or will be shortly issued by ICM. The various groups figures are also separately available from ICM (along with the associated paint sets specifically for this kit), with US Army set, also in 1/35th scale and only one of many figure sets now also separately available (# 3037).

This kit's instructions contain 28 pages with the individual panels printed in red (which helps to visually distinguish them from one another, a five-view color rendering, and nice full-color depictions of the army uniforms. The total kit includes 333 parts, with an overview of the sprue tree sections, including six individual sprue sections, a small sheet of decals (all U.S. markings), and one sprue for the clear glass sections.

I’ve attached a couple of images to illustrate this attention to details and engineering quality. These images show the details shown in the vehicles’ frame, the drive train and transmission, the engine, and overall fit for the various kit parts. Although I rarely tackle vehicles, I am very impressed with the amount of engineering details shown in this model.

The Build

This kit, at the outset is very finely molded with even the smallest details highly detailed, very little flash and another example of ICM’s attention to detail. This is especially significant, when you realize it’s from a proud Ukrainian company working under the constant threat and attacks from the Russians and their despotic leader.

On the minus side I encountered several issues including: there were several troublesome round ejection marks: four on each inside the two doors. Another issue I encountered was the fit around the radiator, which I resolved by trimming the radiator blades and locating tabs along the bottom of the radiator enclosure. As carefully as I tried to be it was one of a few interior details I was unable to fit as shown in the kit instructions. I also found the construction drawings inadequate in several respects—namely where the attachment for the front and rear wheels are shown; both holes within the wheels are too small and require enlargement. Several of the supports for the mud flaps were broken in the kit I reviewed (likely my fault) and quickly were devoured by the carpet monster. When installing the wooden bench seats, I found that they are too long and require some filling in order to fit the truck bed. They can also be accommodated by not placing the rear tailgate in the upright or closed position. There are also two images to illustrate the troublesome cab top which would have resulted in a visible set of lines had I not filled them and carefully sanded them, which hopefully are not seen in the final construction images.

I placed the front windscreen in the upright position as a further indication of this kit’s details which even includes the very small upright support arms (hopefully visible in some of my images).

Also worth noting are the specificity of the instructions—while good, these do not contain the definite locating pins and clarity which you find with a Tamiya kit. There are several spots where the artist leaves you wondering exactly where a small part is to be attached or its exact orientation.

Painting

Again, I looked for a retailer selling the ICM acrylic paints without finding one, and sadly these are the only ‘official’ paint colors shown for this kit. I also find that the ICM color conversion chart somewhat challenging, which first requires using the ‘used colors’ listing (on the first page of the instructions) listing the ICM water-based acrylic paints (example ICM # 1071, using color reference ‘A’ for Camouflage Green or ICM # 1072 for US Dark Green color call out ‘L’. The system works, but requires a good deal of page-turning and cross-checking. My Mk 1 eyes got a real work out!

Without specific painting guidance in the instructions, I chose others based my general sense of what colors were needed I chose AK Real Color’s Black RC001 as my base color for the truck and frame as a primer, over which I painted the individual colors. The entire vehicle was then painted, using AK Real Color RC 023 (Olive Drab) and several areas using RC 024 (Faded Olive Drab). The interior seats and side panels were hand painted with AK Acrylic Brown Leather AK3031. The muffler sections were painted using Lifecolor UA 702 (Rust Base Color) and LC 32 (Matt Rust). The clear glass section windows were installed using Elmer’s Washable Clear Glue, which dries clear and can be leveled or cleaned up using tap water. I completed my dry brushings, using my old standby Winsor & Newton’s Artist Oil color Naples Yellow Light, No. 426.

While I seem to be able to tackle most common modeling tasks, painting figures is one skill that I needed to turn to one of our Seattle Chapter’s most accomplished modelers—Steve Cozad. Here are Steve’s notes about the ICM U.S. Military Patrol figures:

Nicely sculpted, casually posed figures that fit together well.

Two of the four figures included were painted using mostly Vallejo and Tamiya acrylic paints.

Figures were primed using Tamiya acrylic paints mixed to be close to the finished color.

From the Vallejo line were mixed the base colors. They have a good selection to pick from.

Once the colors are applied, shaded, and highlighted, follow up with pin wash lines to accent the equipment.

These lines, when done judiciously, can make a figure pop (see the attached images illustrating Steve’s painting for these two figures).

Decals

As previously noted, there are decals for only two vehicles, three army, one navy and possibly one other foreign vehicle. The color five view only provides detail drawings for one of the U.S. army trucks. Unfortunately, there are no illustrations for either the other U.S. army or the U.S. navy vehicle, which I chose to use the decals for.

Overall Evaluation

I strongly recommend this kit of the ICM WWII Military Patrol. I really enjoyed building this kit. It represents a significant piece of World War II (and later) history, which surprised me in terms of both the number of vehicles produced (over 167,000 !) and the important role they played in that conflict. As modelers, I suspect many of us fail to realize just how significant the logistical and support activity was. This ICM kit builds into a beautiful representation of a significant part of this conflict and because of its small size, serves to compliment other related armor, vehicles, and aircraft in the 1/35th scales of that era.

Box Art

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