Hi Guy's.
I keep running across these W.W.II German & Russian armor kit's in my mail order
catalogs, and was curious if anyone has built any or even seen the kit's up-close ?
......I just would like to know the basic overall quality, such as: panel lines, raised detail & scale accurracy.
Also, any info on the figures set's would also be helpful.
THANKS.

- ralph

I've done the T-35 and it builds into a very impressive model. Heaps of parts (700 odd), very fine molded detail and builds well with only a couple of things to look out for.
The biggest prob was a warp in the top of the hull that took time and carefull work with CA glue to fix, and I had dodgy decals in my kit - the prnted layer bubbled away from the adhesive layer a few days after they were applied, when the rest of the model was nearly finnished and after a matt coat had been applied resulting in a nasty restoration job

On the other hand I know people who have built other ICM kits and had no decal probs - the hull warp is in all the T-35s tho if that is what you want to get. Still it should not put you off building a great kit.

Some pics ( not very good ones, I don't have a good camera ) of it here: http://community.webshots.com/album/54234694jdIYPt

I have not built it yet, but I have taken a look at the parts for their T-35. The detail is really quite excellent with some very thin (and fragile) pieces. The tracks are in individual links and there is a decent looking interior that even includes an engine. On the other hans, the hull top is warped pretty bad and I have read that the decals fall apart. No figures are provided and the parts were covered in some really bad releasing agent (unless the Ukrainian workers had greasy hands from eating too much kolbassa ) that I had to remove with Mr. Clean and a toothbrush. Obviously, I can't say anything for fit yet and I don't know about the dimensional accuracy, but I haven't heard of anything being wrong with it. The detail is great, though, so it shouldn't be too difficult to make it into a nice looking model.

Nic

Edit: I must have been writing at the same time brno was. He's the one that talked me into getting this bad boy.

Hi

I've built the ICM Luchs. It is a really nice kit. There are a few inaccuracies, but the tracks went together really well, along with the rest of the running gear. There were a few problems putting the hull together (the top and bottom took some work to get a clean fit), but I really enjoyed the kit. The figure is nicely posed, and you get a great kit for about $10.

Cheers
Andy

I've got the same kit Andy does. The price was a steal, I think it was a Squadron Subscriber Special, and it builds up nicely. I don't know the Luchs from a regular Panzer (well, I can tell the suspension is different) or what the correct angles are. Kit looks good to me and I was impresssed at the quality of an Eastern European kit. I have been eyeballing the ICM modern Russian trucks, but don't want one bad enough yet.

I also have the PzKpfw II(F) Flamingo that I got with my user of the month gift certificate from Military Hobbies. Haven't cracked open the package yet though.

I have built both the T-28 and -35.I saw the top warp,but being a modeler,I knew I had the echnology to deal with it.I second the observation about the copious amounts of mold release.A good scrub-a-dub will get rid of it.I had no problems with the decals,I may have been lucky.Next up I may do the Luchs,or the IT 28 bridger...

I tried to build the panzer II D kit ...Tried is the word...Everything was going quite smoothly till I tried to glue the hull together ...????? still haven't figured out how you are supposed to do it ...I broke two pieces off the side trying to get things to fit ....Well they fit really well back into the box...I give up !! Other than that ....watch out for thier lynx kit they made a bad mistake on the hull front ..(they made it a square box while there is supposed to be an angled nere the transmission housing ...easy to fix though,but why?? For thier figurines it seems to depend on which kit you buy ...my friend bought the kit of totenkof figurines and they were garbage ,while I was very pleased with the tank riders set(not Dragon but usable )
Richard

I had forgotten about the thick, grease-like coating on the Luchs. I had to scrub that stuff off with Comet cleanser and an old toothbrush then use dishwashing liquid to get off the Comet residue. Stuff was a sticky substance very much like petroleum jelly, but tougher to remove.

I've built the Panzer II D from ICM. The fit was very challenging between the upper hull and hull bottom at the rear bulkhead. I don't know what they were thining when they designed that section, and it didn't help that my hull top was also warped....lots of patience and CA got it close enough for me. I also dipped the one corner in hot water and then held it in place to cool so I could get it close enough together to glue. Other than that, no problems at all, I think the moldings and level of detail are pretty good on average. I dind't attempt to build the tiny indi link track, but instead have a fruil. set waiting for assembly. I'd say it's a good but not excellent kit overall, certainly a good value.

I was looking through some figure kits yesterday from ICM in my local hobby shop. I was amazed at the quality and the detail. Cant speak of their fit. They were priced at about 50% of dragon figures, so I will probably invest in a few of these soon.

I only have one ICM kit, and its of the BM-21 Grad Russian MLRS Truck.....I find that it is a nice kit.....good details....a little bit of flash around the rocket tubes, but other than that...it seems like a nice kit. I see no evidence of the greasy release agent that some of you has on your kits....I do however see that it will be quite the undertaking to build, with its 300+parts....it should be a handful!!!

Go for it !! The T-35,in spite of the warped upper hull and release agent , is a lot of fun. For added chuckles try the Eduard PE,it really helps,and Jordi has a complete barrel set if you want to go that far. JOCK

I have the following ICM kits:

T-35
T-28
IT-28
Panzer II Ausf. L "Luchs"
BS-3 100mm AT gun

I have been very pleased with these kits. They fit well and are all in all very nice models. I would argue that ICM is the best Eastern European manufacturer there is in terms of quality. Like others have said earlier, just watch the release agent. Not a problem really because you have to take care of it before you can even start building.

I'm currently working on the T-28, and have been pleased with the detail. Thus far I have only tried fitting the top to the bottom as I've added the fenders, etc., and doesn't appear to be any problem with warppage. Other than a small amount flash, and a few parts wandering off on my workspace, it's a fun build, and I'll probably get another one to do as a Finnish capture

Thanks guy's .....I really didn't expect to get much feed back, but I guess other than a
little warpage and the maufactures release agent, that these kit's definitely give a modeler a decent challenge, and I'm pleased to hear about the detail.
- Look's as if I'll be buying my first ICM kit soon .....probably a german panzer.
The way I feel is that , if I get the kit and I'm not pleased, I can build it as a "knocked-out '
panzer on a battlefield of a diorama ........meaning I could really go to work on it with my
Dremel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .
So thanks again everyone. I would of passed on ICM, had this thread not
have gotten your feedback.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !

- ralph

Glad we could assist you. I picked up the Luchs since I wanted a Pz II and I already knew the old TAmiya kit. I got the Flamingo because the price was too good and I had a gift certificate. I don't do angle correcting or even notice it, but the kits are well manufactured, have decent fit, my Luchs had no flash. Looks like a Pz II to me. Have fun, it may be a kit for our Barbarossa campaign in the spring.

That kit is a handful. I built it and it took several days just for construction. With so many pieces it does suffer froma few fit problems, but they can all be overcome.