The shape of this vehicle caught my eye. Quite futuristic looking and could probably lend itself well to a Sci-Fi kitbash / conversion in the future.
It's my first time with an ICM kit so wasn't sure what to expect, but so far, so good. A few areas where there seems to be more parts than necessary but I guess that adds to the parts count and helps to extend the build time.
[ATTACH]412996[/ATTACH]
In the box we have 5 sprues, 2 being identical. A clear sprue with a full set of windows (assumedly for a future variant), 4 rubber tyres and a small decal sheet. The moulding looks nice and crisp, and whilst there are quite a few tiny parts they have plenty of space around them, and not too may attachment points, so removal shouldn't be too difficult.
[ATTACH]412997[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]412998[/ATTACH]
One bit that seemed a bit OTT was the suspension. It is very nicely detailed but with 8 springs of 2 different types moulded in 2 halves they took a bit of care and clean up.
[ATTACH]412999[/ATTACH]
But once together it looks good. From underneath
[ATTACH]413000[/ATTACH]
And from the top
[ATTACH]413001[/ATTACH]
The wheels went on next, although I left the tyres off for easy painting, and also the engine. This is completely hidden on the finished model which is a shame, so I may think about leaving a hatch open so at least you can see a bit of it.
[ATTACH]413002[/ATTACH]
Then the body was assembled (a perfect fit by the way) and mounted, with more gubbins fitted underneath like the prop shafts and linkages for 4 wheel steering.
[ATTACH]413003[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]413004[/ATTACH]
You can just about make out in that picture, top left, that the lever damper for the front spring is missing. Hopefully that'll keep the carpet monster satisfied and it won't want any of the more visible parts.
And this is how I left it overnight. The seats & bench are constructed from several parts and getting the alignment perfect was tricky (for me) so I used slow Tamiya cement then popped each seat into position so I knew they would dry straight & true. I'll be removing them this morning now they've hardened up, for a bit more cleaning and to make painting easier.
[ATTACH]413005[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]413006[/ATTACH]
Colour call outs are a bit vague for the interior. The instructions indicate the whole thing should be matt white (probably the closest they have to the ivory) which I doubt is right given what I've read about other "open" vehicles. I've seen a build video where he paints the whole interior grey, but I'm going to settle on some pictures & video I've seen of a replica built onto a Land Rover chassis. Ivory up front in the covered drivers compartment, grey in the open back section.
It may not be historically accurate (not that I'm bothered about that kind of thing), but it makes the most sense and will add some variety.
It's my first time with an ICM kit so wasn't sure what to expect, but so far, so good. A few areas where there seems to be more parts than necessary but I guess that adds to the parts count and helps to extend the build time.
[ATTACH]412996[/ATTACH]
In the box we have 5 sprues, 2 being identical. A clear sprue with a full set of windows (assumedly for a future variant), 4 rubber tyres and a small decal sheet. The moulding looks nice and crisp, and whilst there are quite a few tiny parts they have plenty of space around them, and not too may attachment points, so removal shouldn't be too difficult.
[ATTACH]412997[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]412998[/ATTACH]
One bit that seemed a bit OTT was the suspension. It is very nicely detailed but with 8 springs of 2 different types moulded in 2 halves they took a bit of care and clean up.
[ATTACH]412999[/ATTACH]
But once together it looks good. From underneath
[ATTACH]413000[/ATTACH]
And from the top
[ATTACH]413001[/ATTACH]
The wheels went on next, although I left the tyres off for easy painting, and also the engine. This is completely hidden on the finished model which is a shame, so I may think about leaving a hatch open so at least you can see a bit of it.
[ATTACH]413002[/ATTACH]
Then the body was assembled (a perfect fit by the way) and mounted, with more gubbins fitted underneath like the prop shafts and linkages for 4 wheel steering.
[ATTACH]413003[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]413004[/ATTACH]
You can just about make out in that picture, top left, that the lever damper for the front spring is missing. Hopefully that'll keep the carpet monster satisfied and it won't want any of the more visible parts.
And this is how I left it overnight. The seats & bench are constructed from several parts and getting the alignment perfect was tricky (for me) so I used slow Tamiya cement then popped each seat into position so I knew they would dry straight & true. I'll be removing them this morning now they've hardened up, for a bit more cleaning and to make painting easier.
[ATTACH]413005[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]413006[/ATTACH]
Colour call outs are a bit vague for the interior. The instructions indicate the whole thing should be matt white (probably the closest they have to the ivory) which I doubt is right given what I've read about other "open" vehicles. I've seen a build video where he paints the whole interior grey, but I'm going to settle on some pictures & video I've seen of a replica built onto a Land Rover chassis. Ivory up front in the covered drivers compartment, grey in the open back section.
It may not be historically accurate (not that I'm bothered about that kind of thing), but it makes the most sense and will add some variety.
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