This is my first ICM kit and it is great to see yet another manufacturer producing kits in 1/32 scale.
This ugly little fighter actually fought on pretty much equal terms with the Bf109 in the Spanish Civil War but the Germans were able to develop the 109 to give it the advantage by the start of WW2. This aicraft was the mainstay of the Russian fighter force at the beginning of the war and was much liked by her pilots. They stayed in service well beyond the point where they should have been pensioned off.
The box-top
It is a nice sturdy box.
I have some aftermarket
There are just three grey sprues and a clear one.
it is a simple kit but with 'different' engineering.
The plastic is good quality, very much like the plastic Special Hobby use, but that is where the comparison with SH limited run kits ends. This kit certainly does not have the vices of limited run with the engineering rather well thought out, a good fit and positive location points. The plastic is clean and crisp with little clean up needed it is also beautifully detailed.
Construction starts with the wings - yes I did say the engineering is diferent!
Look at the fine surface detail here:
As you can see here, there are really only the sprue tabs to clean up, plus just a scrape of the sanding stick on the wing tip. Almost flash free.
Speaking of flash, that brings me to the 'kings of flash and sinkholes', Revell. They are releasing the ICM kit under their own brand. I do not know if they have just borrowed the molds to use their own plastic or have bought in the sprues from ICM to just package under their brand. It would be an idea to check that out before risking the Revell boxing as if Revell's plastic is being used then it will be an inferior product. In short - do not trust my comments to necessarily reflect on the Revell boxing.
This ugly little fighter actually fought on pretty much equal terms with the Bf109 in the Spanish Civil War but the Germans were able to develop the 109 to give it the advantage by the start of WW2. This aicraft was the mainstay of the Russian fighter force at the beginning of the war and was much liked by her pilots. They stayed in service well beyond the point where they should have been pensioned off.
The box-top
It is a nice sturdy box.
I have some aftermarket
There are just three grey sprues and a clear one.
it is a simple kit but with 'different' engineering.
The plastic is good quality, very much like the plastic Special Hobby use, but that is where the comparison with SH limited run kits ends. This kit certainly does not have the vices of limited run with the engineering rather well thought out, a good fit and positive location points. The plastic is clean and crisp with little clean up needed it is also beautifully detailed.
Construction starts with the wings - yes I did say the engineering is diferent!
Look at the fine surface detail here:
As you can see here, there are really only the sprue tabs to clean up, plus just a scrape of the sanding stick on the wing tip. Almost flash free.
Speaking of flash, that brings me to the 'kings of flash and sinkholes', Revell. They are releasing the ICM kit under their own brand. I do not know if they have just borrowed the molds to use their own plastic or have bought in the sprues from ICM to just package under their brand. It would be an idea to check that out before risking the Revell boxing as if Revell's plastic is being used then it will be an inferior product. In short - do not trust my comments to necessarily reflect on the Revell boxing.
