Introduction

India was a part of the British Empire for a good number of years, and in those years a number of Indians served as British Army regulars. This set of figures from ICM features four Sikhs serving with the British Army during World War 2, who would have thought we would get offered Sikh figures in injection moulded plastic!

Contents

This figure set is packaged in what is now ICM’s standard packaging, a substantial cardboard tray with lid attached and another card lid with the artwork printed on it. This approach by ICM means that I can post their products without any concerns about the contents being damaged (within reason). Inside the box you will find a single tan sprue packaged in a re-sealable plastic bag. There is also an instruction sheet included.

Review

ICM is fast becoming known as the company that provides figures no-one else will or have not thought of. The latest set from them features four Indian Sikhs in Typical warm climate uniform, if that was not unusual enough for you then the poses are also great action offerings. The figures depict two infantry pulling a wounded comrade to cover while a fourth provides covering fire for them.

These figures wear the uniform typical of most commonwealth forces who served in North Africa during World War 2. This consists of shorts, shirts (short sleeve order), puttees, socks and boots. The uniform looks to be correct and well represented to me, but I do not consider myself an expert on the uniform. Crease detail on the uniform looks good and natural.

The figures have all been supplied with separate back packs and ammunition pouches appropriate for the weapons supplied. The weapons consist of three SMLE rifles with bayonets fixed and a Thompson machine gun with separate drum magazines. I thought that British issued Thompsons MG had a straight magazine, but I am willing to be told otherwise. It is worth mentioning that ICM has remembered to supply the empty scabbards for the bayonets on the SMLE rifles.

The face detail is top notch for injection moulded figures, ICM really has done a nice job with these Sikh heads in terms of making them look Indian and the beards, I should of course also mention the turbans that they wear. While on the subject of heads it is worth mentioning that the heads have been supplied as separate parts, this means it would be an easy task to replace the heads with a resin offering covering any other commonwealth country that took part in North Africa and I believe the uniform would be correct.

The hands are another area where ICM has done a good job. The fingers are well defined, but a scrap with a sharp point will enhance that aspect. I particularly like that ICM has moulded a part of the injured soldiers webbing into the hands of the two soldiers recovering him, this will I believe make life so much easier for the modeller.

The boots are perhaps the only weak area of these figures as the detail of the laces is quite soft and there is no tread detail present on the sole of the boots of the injured figure; that is the only figure where it matters due to them being easily seen. The boots do have a clearly defined heal and sole which is a plus.

The seam lines present on the figures is minimal and should not take much in the way of cleaning up. The weapons supplied will need the tip of the barrels drilled to improve appearance as slide moulding has not been utilised.

Conclusion

I consider this figure set from ICM to not only be a very original release in terms of the figures covered, but I also consider the poses of the figures to excellent and due to how easy it will be to convert them, a great addition to ICM’s range of figure offerings for us modellers. Other than the lack of tread detail on the injured figures boots, I cannot think of any other negative that could be attributed to this offering.