Introduction

The following is the introduction provided by ICM on the instruction booklet.
A significant part of the German Wehrmacht autopark during World War Two consisted of 1.5 tonne trucks. One of the most numerous of them was the Type 2.5-32, which was produced from 1938 at the Opel plant in Brandenburg. This truck was equipped with a 6 cylinder engine that was also used in the Kapitan passenger car and had rear wheel drive only.

The Type 2.5-32 trucks had been widely used by all German arms of service up to the end of the war on the Soviet/German front, in Italy and France. In the German Wehrmacht Opel Type 2.5-32 was used mainly for the movement of troops. There were 10,000 Type 2.5-32 trucks produced in total between 1938 and 1942.

Contents

This model from ICM Holding is packaged inside a cardboard tray with card lid; on the lid is a nice artwork of the model. The sprues are packaged inside a single re-sealable bag, which in this case has kept all of the parts safe during transit. In the box you will find;

• 2 tan sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• A decal sheet
• An instruction booklet

Review

First Impressions
When I first opened the box of this model I was caught out by the fact there are only 2 main sprues, however don’t let that perturb you. The moulding quality is very good for the most part with only one issue which plaques some companies, in this case it is ejector pin marks of which there are quite a few. The mouldings have a number of flow lines on them, but they do not appear to have caused any defects on the mouldings. One thing that impresses me a lot with this offering is the very minimal to none existent seam lines, very impressive.

Engine and Gearbox
There are facets of models that ICM Holding does very well using nothing more than injection moulded plastic, the engine is one of these facets. The parts are cleanly moulded and once the parts are brought together will make a very convincing model of the engine and gearbox. The addition of some wiring will finish this area off to a very convincing and high standard. The radiator in this model is one of the best I have seen from ICM Holding, there is good detail on both front a rear faces of the radiator, which is a good thing to see ICM Holding incorporate in their kits. The exhaust is made up of two parts, the only criticism I can make is that the end of the exhaust is solid and will need to be drilled for a better look.

Chassis
Another area that ICM Holding do well is the chassis and this model is no exception. The chassis is a multi-part affair and so will require care during assembly during construction to insure it remains square once assembled. The purists out there will find themselves sanding or filling some very small parts in order to remove a number of small ejection pin marks. The ejection pin marks will not be visible to someone who is viewing the kit sat on its wheels, but a judge at a show is bound to find them if left as is.

Axles
The front axle on this model is basic in that the front wheels are not driven; details such as the steering rack have good detail. The down side is that ICM Holding has not provided the ability to show the front wheels turning. The rear axle has very nice detail as does its driveshaft and should I feel look very convincing. The leaf spring suspension that the axles sit on is acceptable, but there are again ejection pin marks on the inner faces. Detail wise, all of the elements that go to make up a leaf spring are present. There is a very light seam line that will need removal, but due to their lightness these should be easy to remedy.

Wheels
Wheel hub details both front and rear are good on the outer face, the inner face of the front wheels is also good. The inner face of the wheel hub assembly is very plain and I find myself wondering if this is accurate. The tyres are not going to please everyone as they are vinyl rubber, a very hard vinyl rubber. The tread detail is very light, but then again this is a road tyre tread pattern.

The areas I have covered so far would make an excellent model as is. The addition of fuel and brake lines plus add some wiring and you will have a stunning model of a vehicle chassis. The modellers out there who build damaged and burnt out vehicles could turn out some stunning work with this model.

Cab and Bonnet
The cab interior has a good if minimal interior. The dash board has good detail overall and ICM Holding has included decals for the gauges and provided glove box. The seating has some detail on the mouldings, but this area will benefit from some further crease detail being added. The controls have been added as separate parts including three separately moulded foot pedals. Steering column detail is fair, but I cannot help but wonder why ICM Holding has supplied the steering wheel and the centre portion as separate parts, which will I suspect test your patience to a degree; I suppose it could be to allow the centre frame to be a much finer moulding than otherwise would be possible.

The doors for the cab have separate door cards which hide the ejector pin marks in that area, there is also separate door and grab handles and what look to me to be winders for the windows; that aspect is a surprise to me as I believed the window where slide to open. the front grill is a fantastic addition to the model, the vents are open and very thin and the makers emblem is moulded integrally with good detail. The bonnet and side walls have nice lines and good detail, but why oh why ICM Holding do you not make it possible to show these open in order to display the glorious effort you have put into the engine. As a company ICM Holding produces some of the best detailed engines and chassis out there, but they do make it very hard for the modeller to accurately display this glorious detail. The cab shell again is very nicely shaped with good lines; however the roof joins front and rear, this will make for a joint that may be difficult to hide.

Wooden Deck
The loading deck has good detail overall, with nice framing and planking detail. A downside of this area is that there are ejector pin marks that will need to be addressed; however it is not all bad news as ICM Holding does not add wood grain effect to the planks meaning flat surfaces to be filled. “No wood grain”! Some are thinking, but general consensus is that in this scale that detail would not be visible, but if you prefer it there run a wire brush over the plastic after the ejector pin marks have been filled.

Conclusion

ICM Holding Produce some of the best chassis and engines out there in purely injection moulded plastic, but then they rarely if ever provide the ability to show off this great detail, if only they would do some work on the bonnet/hood in order that they could be left open and in a realistic way display some of this great detail. Detail overall is good despite the ejector pin marks and once loaded up and a driver figure installed should be a pleasing model.