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In-Box Review
135
French Weapons and Equipment
WW1 French Infantry Weapon and Equipment
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by: Alan McNeilly [ ALANL ]

Introduction

ICM have continued their range of WW1 weapons and equipment set, this one is a set of equipment for WW1 French Infantry.

This is very good news for figure and diorama modellers offering yet more options for figure conversions or diorama settings.

The Set

The set comes packed in a sturdy cardboard box with a colour picture of the weapons and equipment included inside and the product and manufacturer's details on the top.

The set consists of two trees of identical parts contained in a clear plastic envelope and a two page A4 set of identification and painting instructions.

The set contains:
  • 2 x Hotchkiss Mle 1909 machine guns
  • 2 x Chauchat CSRG Mle 1915 machine guns
  • 2 x Chauchat magazines
  • 2 x Chauchat magazine pouch (right)
  • 2 x Chauchat magazine pouch (left)
  • 3 x Lebel-Berthier Mle 1916 rifle OF-15 grenade
  • 6 x Label Mle 1886/93 rifle with bayonet
  • 18 x Lebel ammunition pouch
  • 2 x Ruby pistol holster
  • 2 x Ruby pistol
  • 6 x F-1 grenade
  • 6 x Lebel rifle bayonets in scabbard
  • 6 x Lebel bayonet scabbards
  • 2 x axe in case
  • 2 x sickle in case
  • 2 x wire cutters in case
  • 2 x wire cutters
  • 6 x small shovel in case
  • 6 x ARS respirator canister
  • 6 x M2 respirator canister
  • 2 x mess tin (big)
  • 2 x basin
  • 6 x mess tin small
  • 2 x coffee mill
  • 6 x mug
  • 2 x canteens
  • 6 x canteens
  • 2 x binocular
  • 2 x binocular cases
  • 8 x Adrian M1915 steel helmets
  • 30 x equipment fastening small strap

As with other recent releases in this range, this is a very good set of everyday infantry equipment.

Conclusion

The quality of the mouldings and the detail look really excellent.

The plus side of this equipment set is not only it does contain many items previously unavailable to modellers but much of the equipment can be used in the early WW2 period as well, so it is a cracking set from ICM in my opinion.

Hopefully ICM will continue to grow their range of figures in this genre as there is great scope in that area and perhaps they may even give us a few trucks of the WW1 period in due course?
SUMMARY
Highs: Excellent range of equipment.
Lows: None I can think of.
Verdict: Highly recommended.
Percentage Rating
90%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 35681
  PUBLISHED: Nov 15, 2014
  NATIONALITY: France
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.73%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 84.86%

Our Thanks to ICM Holding!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Alan McNeilly (AlanL)
FROM: ENGLAND - EAST ANGLIA, UNITED KINGDOM

Greying slightly, but young at heart. I've been teaching adults off and on for most of my life. Left the services in 85 and first started modelling in about 87 for a few years. Then I had a long spell when I didn't build anything (too busy) and really just got started again during the summer of ...

Copyright ©2021 text by Alan McNeilly [ ALANL ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

I have the kit in my stash and was overly excited as ICM`s First World War Weapon sets had arrived. I definitely support your comments on the range of the things included but the quality is, at least in my opinion, not excellent. This set definitely can not compete with some other manufacturers items. Some details like the magazines of the Chauchat, the ammo clips of the Hotchkiss or some other things could have been more detailled and on some parts details could have been more crisp or more defined. It is an incredible range of stuff and very nice objects you won`t find elsewhere, but molding ist not excellent. Its fair value for the price, but not to the standart of, lets say, Dragon or Bronco. Best Regards Dennis
NOV 15, 2014 - 06:23 AM
Hi Dennis, The review is simply my opinion and I'd disagree with you. The standard of moulding and detail is excellent. I looked again at the two parts you specifically mention and the magazine of the Chauchat seems to be lacking one very fine vertical line on the RHS of about 0.3mm in length. The magazine for the Hotchkiss is part fired and I don't see any issues with that either. I wasn't aware either Bronco or Dragon had a WW1 French Infantry equipment set to compare this to, but I have used both Bronco and Dragon weapon kits and this is of equal quality IMHO. I can't say how it would compare to a set of Gen 2 weapons as I've never used any. Thanks for your comments, I am sure folks will have varied opinions. If Bronco or Dragon ever produce a set of French WW1 equipment I'd be delighted, but even in this 'new age' of modelling I some how doubt it. This is so much better than the kit we didn't have 6 weeks ago; for me ICMs new range of new WW1 figures and weapon sets have opened up a lot of fun modelling possibilities. Cheers Al
NOV 15, 2014 - 12:15 PM
Hello, I think, I made a mistake due to the fact that english is not my first language. I did not want to imply that there are some french WWI sets made by Dragon or Bronco. I just gave these as examples regarding quality. But I indeed wanted to imply that the overall quality of these manufacturers products is indeed higher in my opinion. I hope one will believe me that I of course knew that the Hotchkiss-clip is half-spent, which is a nice move. Still the actual thing looks certainly not like depicted in the set. Same for the Chauchat mag. Nice to have all these kits, for sure, but most of the new ICM sets are not to the standart they could have been. The german weapons set has some very crude parts as well, especially the 08/15. DonĀ“t get me wrong: sure better than the kit before. But excellent? Not compared to Gen2 for sure. Perhaps it is unfair to judge a 8Euro-set against something which would cost you 15 if made from Dragon. No problem with you disagreeing especially when quality is a very wide subject. I had hoped for more but still will buy some other kits to reward he choosen topics. But I still think that some scratch can made some more out of this kits.
NOV 15, 2014 - 08:38 PM
Hi Dennis, Apart from WW2 German weapons I don't think DML do any other Gen 2 weapons, so a comparison there isn't really fair. Their Allied set is pretty good but both Bronco and DML don't make good Allied Haversacks and pouches they tend to be too square like. I'm not a big fan of the Bronco Allied set, or the DML set both way too expensive. Bronco's Thompson SMG is excellent but quantity V quality it is not a good value set. You should submit you own review of the set(s) pointing out anything you feel could have been done better. I didn't say these were 100%, I've yet to see a kit that is but the level of detail they have achieved at this scale is excellent as far as I am concerned and holds up well against other sets I've reviewed. We shall have to disagree on this one. Cheers Al
NOV 15, 2014 - 09:38 PM
Hmmm...they look passable. Are those separate bolts for the rifles for open or closed positions? Nice! And that old-fashioned coffee grinder! Great for Napoleonic era/old west up to WWll.
NOV 17, 2014 - 09:41 PM
   
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