History

During times of war the home front in war torn countries could prove to be just as dangerous for the civilians living there as it was for the troops on the front lines. With the constant aerial bombardment from the allies many German cities were in flames on a daily and nightly basis. The home front horror proved to be very dangerous and the firemen that fought those blazes were definitely home front heroes.

The Kit

ICM Holding has released WWII German Firemen, kit number 35632, a set of four figures in 1/35 scale which depicts four German fire brigade team members in action during World War II. The kit bar code is 4823044402984.

The Box and Packaging

The box that the kit comes in is the typical soft cardboard lift top box with artwork of the figures on the lid of the box. The sprue are sealed within a clear plastic bag.

The Instruction Sheet

The kit comes with a two-sided instruction sheet that is printed on glossy magazine page type paper. One side has the assembly and painting guide on it. The other side has a photograph of the sprue showing numbers for the parts (the parts are not numbered on the actual sprue), a list of required paints, a caution paragraph and ICM Holding’s contact information. I only found one mistake in the instruction guide and that is part number 65 is not numbered on the photograph of the sprue. This is a very minor thing and does not cause any confusion however I felt I should mention it. Also included are detailed illustrations of German fireman collar tabs, shoulder boards and helmet decals. As there are no decals this is a helpful addition. Please refer to the scans I have provided to view the instruction sheet for yourself.

The Painting Guide
Included with the assembly guide is a painting guide which references Model Master Paints. To paint the figures as shown, the necessary colors are:
Model Master Color

• 1597 – Semi gloss Black
• 1749 – Flat Black
• 1718 – Flat Sea Blue
• 2010 – Piping Pink
• 2014 – German Uniform Feldgrau
• 1524 – Green
• 1709 – Radome Tan
• 1735 – Wood
• 1780 – Steel
• 1781 – Aluminium
• 1516 – Skin Tone
• 1768 – Flat White
• 1705 – Insignia Red

The Sprue
The kit comes with one tan styrene sprue which contains 65 total pieces. The sprue come sealed in a clear plastic bag. All of the pieces are attached to the sprue with a minimal amount of contact points. When I examined the sprue I didn't find any bent, broken or missing pieces nor did I find any poorly placed knock out points. Please refer to my photographs of the front and back of the sprue so that you can see the individual pieces and their layout and location on the sprue.

The Parts
As I examined the individual pieces I found what I would consider to be a normal to minimal amount of flash however there are seam lines present. I did not find any push out (knock out) marks on the individual pieces. The detailing on the individual pieces is nice.

The Figures
The kit comes with four German fire brigade team members in action during World War II. I assembled all of the figures straight out of the box without doing any work on them, other than to clean up the spot from where I removed them from the sprue, to show all of the seam lines, flash, gaps and how the equipment fits on the figures. I feel this is a good way to show the work required on all of them. This has become my standard for figure reviews and it has met with praise and appreciation from my fellow modellers.

Figure A: Fireman holding the extinguisher and pointing
The figure is made up of 19 pieces including the gear. The detailing on the clothing and gear is nice. The figure is wearing the appropriate uniform and helmet for a German fireman of the time frame. The lower section of the coat comes in two separate pieces which makes for a realistic 3-D appearance. The look is nice and there are minimal gaps to fill. The cuffs on the coat sleeves will need to be hollowed out by the modeller for a realistic look. The figures face is decent and the neck fits into the collar well leaving a realistic look. The helmet fits on the head well and the detailing on the helmet and the neck cape is molded nicely.

He is carrying a hand pump fire extinguisher, which is nicely detailed and assembles easily, this fits into the right hand well but personally I would cut the handle and place the ends on each end of the hand to make the hold look more realistic. The figure is wearing the appropriate belt which also comes with a tether hook which is detailed very well for such a small item. The belt is molded on the figures as is the gas mask canister strap which is correctly placed under the belt. The final two items that come with the figure is the gas mask canister and the small fireman’s axe which has its carry strap molded on the figure. The carrying strap is molded on the torso and the rear lower coat section which aids in aligning the upper and lower pieces of the body correctly. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.

Figure B: Fireman carrying the rolled up fire hose
The figure is made up of 14 pieces including the gear. The detailing on the clothing and gear is nice. The figure is wearing the appropriate uniform and helmet for a German fireman of the time frame. The lower section of the coat comes with one separate piece which makes for a realistic 3-D appearance. The look is nice and there are minimal gaps to fill. The cuffs on the coat sleeves will need to be hollowed out by the modeller for a realistic look. One of my favorite things with this figure is that on the forearm of both arms are indents which are there to help place the rolled up fire hose in the correct position, nice job ICM Holding.

The figures face is decent and the neck fits into the collar well leaving a realistic look. The helmet fits on the head well and the detailing on the helmet and the neck cape is molded nicely. He is carrying a rolled up fire hose which is nicely detailed and comes with the two separate connection ends which when added overlap each other and gives the hose a very nice 3-D look. The hose is very easily assembled. The figure is wearing the appropriate belt which also comes with a tether hook which is detailed very well for such a small item. The belt is molded on the figures as is the gas mask canister strap which is correctly placed under the belt. The final two items that come with the figure is the gas mask canister and the small fireman’s axe which has its carry strap molded on the figure. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.

Figure C: Fireman opening the hydrant with a spanner wrench
The figure is made up of 17 pieces including the gear and the fire hydrant. The detailing on the clothing and gear is nice. The figure is wearing the appropriate uniform and helmet for a German fireman of the time frame. The lower section of the coat comes in one separate piece which makes for a realistic 3-D appearance. The look is nice and there are minimal gaps to fill. The cuffs on the coat sleeves will need to be hollowed out by the modeller for a realistic look. The figures face is decent and the neck fits into the collar well leaving a realistic look. The helmet fits on the head well and the detailing on the helmet and the neck cape is molded nicely.

He is using a spanner wrench to open the water tape on the fire hydrant, which fits into the hands fairly well but personally I would modify the hands to hold the wrench better to make the hold look more realistic. The spanner wrench is very nicely and correctly molded and looks very realistic. Again I am impressed with the amount of detailing on such a small item. The figure is wearing the appropriate belt which also comes with a tether hook which is detailed very well for such a small item. The belt is molded on the figures as is the gas mask canister strap which is correctly placed under the belt. The final two items that come with the figure is the gas mask canister and the small fireman’s axe which has its carry strap molded on the figure. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.

Figure D: Fireman manning the hose and holding the nozzle
The figure is made up of 16 pieces including the gear. The detailing on the clothing and gear is nice. The figure is wearing the appropriate uniform and helmet for a German fireman of the time frame. The lower section of the coat comes in three separate pieces which makes for a realistic 3-D appearance. The look is nice and there are minimal gaps to fill. The cuffs on the coat sleeves will need to be hollowed out by the modeler for a realistic look. The figures face is decent and the neck fits into the collar well leaving a realistic look. The helmet fits on the head well and the detailing on the helmet and the neck cape is molded nicely.

He is manning the fire hose and is holding the fire hose nozzle in his left hand and has his right hand resting on the fire hose. The fire hose nozzle comes in two separate pieces which is nicely detailed and assembles easily, and fits into the left hand well. The left arm and the left hand are molded separately. I am not sure what the reason behind this other than for the reason of being able to position the hand correctly. The figure is wearing the appropriate belt which also comes with a tether hook which is detailed very well for such a small item. The belt is molded on the figures as is the gas mask canister strap which is correctly placed under the belt. The final two items that come with the figure is the gas mask canister and the small fireman’s axe which has its carry strap molded on the figure. The carrying strap is molded on the torso and the rear lower coat section which aids in aligning the upper and lower pieces of the body correctly. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.

Fire Hydrant and Hose
The fire hydrant comes in four separate pieces and assembles easily. The detailing overall is nice and represents a period fire hydrant well. There is a note attached to the instructions which shows to scratch build some chain to attach the caps to the hydrant. Personally I would have liked to have seen some molded chain sections included or a small length of scale brass chain included.

The fire hose that comes with the kit is made of white colored flexible plastic tubing which is 11 3/8 inches long and approximately 1/32 of an inch in diameter. I was glad to see the hose included as it helps to easily create a realistic scene without having to provide the hose from a separate source. The fire hose fits onto the hydrant and the fire nozzle nicely and with no effort and it mates up with figure D’s right hand good. Being white in color is should be easy to paint it a correct light color.

Conclusion

This is the first set of ICM Holding figures that I have reviewed. I am very impressed with them. The fit of the pieces and the detailing overall is very nice. I was impressed with the detailing on the uniforms and the gear. A modeller will just need to remove seam lines and fill the few gaps. Personally I would have to have seen some helmet decals included with the set. I was very impressed with the subject of the figures as it is not the normal subject of World War II figures and I feel that anyone who purchases this set of figures will be pleased with them. ICM Holding is also releasing two World War II time frame German fire trucks which should go nicely with this set of figures and make for a great and interesting German home front diorama. I would have no hesitation to recommend this set of figures to others and I look forward to reviewing more ICM Holding figures.