discussion ICM 1/35 Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf. B

[Guest]

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.

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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.

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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.

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But once together it looks good. From underneath

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And from the top

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

[Nicko]

Looks like another gem from ICM Andy. Any chance of a tutorial regarding painting in all those nooks and crannies?

Nick

 

[Guest]

I'm enjoying it so far Nick. If this is what they are normally like I can see me doing more ICM in the future.

I'll do what I can to show the painting for you. Normally I'll make sure everything gets blasted in black primer, then any areas I can't get into just look like shadows, but I'll take some step by step pictures if it helps. It might slow me down a bit with any luck! :smiling5:

 

[Dave Ward]

Andy,
that's looking good! The ICM wheeled vehicles are all pretty good, I've made quite a few, but as you say, they're over engineered in places , similar to MiniArt models definitely not Tamiya style easy construction.
I've always thought that Wehrmacht open topped vehicles had the same internal colour as external, with perhaps the drivers' area in ivory, but photo confirmation would be good!
Dave

 

[Guest]

Thanks Dave, it does all seem to be going swimmingly so far.

That's the plan for the scheme, using Ivory just around the driver, but basing that on a replica isn't exactly great I know. Makes sense to me though as it would be a bit dark up front all in grey.

 

[outrunner]

Looks to be going well Andy, pleased you think the ICM kits are good as I have the Russian fire truck under the bench which will also be my first ICM model, by the way, I don't think anyone can keep the carpet monster satisfied.

Andy.

 

[Dave Ward]

'the carpet monster' ? - singular? - I have several generations living on my floor!
Dave

 

[Guest]

Cheers Andy. I've had my eye on that fire truck and some of it's variants for a while but wasn't sure about ICM. If they are anything like this I'll be having another look at them.


I'm not quite sure what's living in the chaos that is my shed Dave. It's gone from a small woodworking shop / tool store to being taken over by junk & modelling. I refuse to sort it out as it'll be getting knocked down once the better weather comes.

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It's embarrassing, but it serves a purpose for the time being, although it'll be great when I can actually stand up straight and not keep banging my head on the light fittings!

 

[Guest]

At least you have a heater in there now

 

[scottie3158]

Andy,
looking good mate. I have built a couple of ICM kits they can be a bit over complicated but they give a great result.

 

[Guest]

Cheers Paul. It does seem like a really nice kit, I'll try and do it justice.

I got a lot done today, but there doesn't seem to be much to show for it lol. I had a flash of inspiration over how to display this so have been doing a bit of back tracking and a lot of planning. It's not very often I come up with an idea, but with some new supplements to my diet, and being away from the stresses of work, I'm actually sleeping properly so my brain is functioning a bit better!

The radio gear took quite a while to build. 17 or 18 pieces in this, but after a bit more cleaning up and a splash of paint it should look the business.

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Rather than completely hide the engine I'm going to have the front access hatch open. It isn't really designed for that so I've tweaked it a bit, and have removed the lugs seen below as they'd just look odd if I left them.

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I've made up and fitted most of the viewing ports. Again, OTT with up to 4 parts each, but they look decent. I've left main front ones off for now as they are getting tweaked so that I can pose one or both open. You can also see that I've removed the drivers door (tricky!) as again, I'm hoping to have that open too.

The whole interior then got a blast of light grey primer. Of course I'm leaving the top section off for now as there's no way I could paint the interior with it fitted, so I'll probably finish most of the inside, add the upper section, then paint the outside. Not the most efficient way of doing it but I have plenty of time to spare...

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The reason I went for the grey primer was that I followed it up with the ivory colour. It looks a bit more Old English White in these pics, but once the other colours are added it should be ok. This is where I wish I'd left the steering wheel off as getting the airbrush into the footwell was a squeeze, but I managed to cover everything I needed to.

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With that drying overnight I can start masking it up tomorrow ready for the grey. Obviously it would have been much easier to paint the grey and brush the ivory in afterwards, but I like doing things the hard way :smiling2:

 

[Guest]

Stunning build Andy, quite agree with it looking futuristic.
I've build a few sets of ICM Figures and they are always nicely moulded and clean.

 

[David Lovell]

Great stuff Andy, I've a few with interiors in the stash i pull em out think stuff that to much like hard work so if you don't mind ill sit back and watch you work Dave

 

[Guest]

Looking good. Odd they include the hatch as a separate part but then don’t make it so you can display it open …

 

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Unusual rather brutish looking vehicle. Making neat, speedy progress. It will be good to show the engine. I hope you'll show us all the new model room/shed when the weather gets warm enough to put it up.
Jim

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jakko and Jim.

It doesn't take much Jakko, I just figured those locating lugs would look strange if I left them on. Hinges needed a bit shaving off them so it sits in a realistic position.

I'll probably do a blog of the shed build when I get around to it Jim. I suppose by not rushing into it I've given myself time to work out what needs to go where. However it turns out it can't be more disorganised than this lol

 

[Guest]

Oh a shed build Andy exciting, can't wait for the better weather to arrive. The best thing I ever did, was worth all the hard work.

 

[Guest]

So, masking. The scourge of airbrushing and my day job, but since I still can't brush paint large areas for the life of me, a necessary evil.

This is the stuff I drag out for any masking job. I have other options but this is always a good starter.

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I always try and use the largest pieces I can. Less joins = less chance of overspray creeping through. Getting down in the footwell and behind the pedals was a bit tricky, but smaller pieces offered up, trimmed, offered up again etc got it done.

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The interior and some other bits & pieces then got a light coat of black primer

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Then on with the German Grey, lightened up here & there and mottled a bit with some Neutral Grey. It looks a bit light against the black background here! I also painted the underside & suspension while I was at it. Lots of tricky in and out, ups and downs to get around, so doing it now will make life easier when I paint the main exterior.

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Here it is with the masking removed, and some silver drybrushed over the textured floor to imitate wear in certain areas.

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I've also started blocking in the colour on the seat pads. I went for a kind of chocolate brown, mixed from red & burnt umber

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The radio gear also got some attention. Normally I'd have given it brightly coloured buttons and stuff, but after looking at some pictures of the real thing, this seemed much more in keeping. It's pretty much finished after washes & dry brushing, but the frame may get some more chipping once it's in place.

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And here's the interior with the start of some chipping and wear. I've put on a couple of the instrument decals but they were too big to fit in their indicated positions, so I've shuffle them around a bit.

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And the engine has had a lick of paint. You still won't see much of it through the hatch, but I think it's sufficient.

I started by painting the lowest parts of the engine block first. That way, any paint that blobbed elsewhere as I poked the brush around would get covered as I worked my way up. I then worked up painting the transmission in a slightly lighter metallic, then the cylinder heads in a yet lighter shade.

The exhaust was then done as this had a potential to be a bit messy - painted silver then various very thin coats of dark rust and black were worked around it to give a slight surface rust texture. I may add some pigments later but don't want to go overboard with the rust as it would be well protected in the engine bay.

I could then start doing the more detailed stuff at the top now that I wasn't slobbing a brush around everywhere. Air cleaners, intake manifold and hoses.

Again, it'll still be fairly hidden so no need to go mad.

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[Guest]

Top class Andy, some lovely paint work, that radio looks good.

 

[Guest]

Oh a shed build Andy exciting, can't wait for the better weather to arrive. The best thing I ever did, was worth all the hard work.

Missed this John.

Yes, I can't wait myself. I'm not going much bigger but at least with it being insulated and wrapped in breathable membrane I'll be nice and snug and won't have to watch water running down the insides of the walls as I paint :smiling5:

And thanks.