Introduction

ICM has added a great deal of soft skinned vehicles to their range recently, specifically World War Two soft skinned vehicles covering both trucks and cars. In this review I get to take a look at the Daimler Benz designed G4 in 1/35th scale. This vehicle was initially designed for the German Army; however it proved to be too expensive and overly complicated for mass production. The result of this was that only 72 G4’s were built with production being halted in 1939. The vehicles that were built were primarily used by members of the ruling elite and the highest ranking military officers. I have noticed that the number of cars said to have been built does vary wildly.

Contents

The model is packaged in a self sealing plastic bag, which is then packaged in a suitably sturdy box with an artist’s impression of the model on the front. The box is of a suitable standard to cope with reasonable handling in these days of internet shopping. In the box you will find;

• An A4 sized instruction booklet
• A decal sheet
• 5 tan sprues
• 1 clear sprue

Review

I am going to start this review by looking at the contents of the sprues. The moulding quality is as expected for a new model with no flash to contend with, there are however ejector pin marks on all of the larger mouldings, also present are a lot a flow lines on the larger parts. The ejector pin marks are minimal, shallow, and small; I believe the reason there are ejector pin marks is because ICM for the most part does not use moulding nipple on their products, and this results in larger moulding being marked during removal from the moulds. The flow marks in the mouldings do not I believe require any work to remedy, as I am unable to locate any deformations in the structures. Due to the sprues all be packaged in a single bag has resulted in the two front mudguards and riding boards breaking away from the sprue; the gates holding the parts on the sprue are small and so broke free at these points without causing any obvious damage.

The decals for the kit seem acceptable with good colour for the most part, however there are some issues; not all of which are the fault of ICM. The registrations offered for the car are good; being clear and precise. The flags for the car show excellent detail but unfortunately the swastika that should be in the centre of both of the flags has been omitted; while I understand that the symbol offends some I believe that model companies should give their customers the choice of using or not, the exception of course are certain countries where the image is banned by law and is why I do not blame ICM. There are also the dials for the dashboard included with the decals, unfortunately the dial detail has not been printed in my sample.

The instructions for this model consist of 12 pages, and uses the line drawing method of instruction to guide you through construction. The front page of the instruction booklet provides a short introduction in two languages, and provides some guidance and warnings again in two languages. Also on this page is a paint guide using model master paints and also provides the colours names. The next page provides a sprue guide and highlights parts that are not utilised. The construction of the model is then covered in 9 pages and 40 steps. The last page of the instructions covers the painting of the model and has two options which are;
G4 (W31) Germany 1938
G4 (W31) Germany 1939

Construction breakdown

Stages 1 through 3 covers assembly of the engine for the vehicle. The detail is fair for an out of the box build; but some extra detailing with wires and such which improve its appearance. Painting details are called out during construction which does save a lot of back and fourth.

Stages 4 through 6 covers construction of the wheels. The tread pattern on the tyres is fair but there is no makers name on the side walls of them.

Stages s and 9 covers the start of chassis assembly, and as with 2 other soft skin vehicles I have looked at from ICM I believe the parts follow the construction of the chassis on the full sized vehicle. The result of this is a very realistic looking chassis.

Stages 10 through 15 covers the assembly of the axles, hubs, and suspension of the vehicle. ICM has done another good job of replicating these structures and it should result in the underside of the car looking very good.

Stages 16 and 17 completes construction of the chassis as you add the axles, exhaust, and wheels. Judging from the look of the parts and the instructions this should be a good start to the model.

Stages 18 through 33 cover the body structure and interior of the car. This area looks to have been well researched as there is even a very detailed petrol tank for the car consisting of 13 parts. One thing that I am very pleased to see in this model is directions for displaying the bonnet open; this will allow the detail in the engine bay to be seen if wished.

Stages 34 through 39 brings the last of the parts together with the chassis. The body work having been built separate to the chassis should make painting a little easier to do with this construction method. There is a weakness here which is that the radiator has no rear detail, this oversight is a bit of a let down in an area that ICM has done very well for the most part. These stages close with the addition of the deployed roof , which I believe will look very good. A plus point is that the parts to show the roof folded are also in the box but is not indicated in the instructions.

Stage 40 does not cover any construction but shows you what the top and bottom of the model should look like when finished.

Conclusion

This model is not the type that would normally appeal to me, but having seen the detail and effort that I believe ICM has put into it; I am impressed. ICM has gone to the trouble of showing how to display the bonnet in a open position which will allow some of that great detail to be displayed and opening display options. The chassis, suspension, and engine are the stars of this model in my opinion, and this great detail will or should appeal to those who like to show destroyed vehicles, or perhaps a greater appeal will be the ability to show the vehicle being worked on.