Construction Review: German Luftwaffe Cadets (1939-1945) in 32nd scale from ICM

Today Gary reviews ICM's German Luftwaffe Cadets in 1/32nd scale from ICM Models. He has just the right aircraft to put these next to - so see if he thinks these are winners or not or whether they just won't get off the ground in his construction review...

Construction Review: German Luftwaffe Cadets (1939-1945)
1:32nd scale
Manufacturer: ICM
Kit No #32103
Reviewed: June 2019
Available from: www.icm.com.ua
Price: US$15

Third in ICM's new tooled schedule of 1:32 figure set ensemble's, is a group of Luftwaffe Cadets suitable for the 1939-1945 period. As the boxart shows, this set is clearly inspired by ICM's recent Bucker Bu-131 trainer aircraft. I really like the ICM boxart as it not only serves to inspire the modeller but acts as a sort of reference for the painting and posing of the figure set.

As with the other kits in this series, the figures are designed to be specifically posed together in a small "vignette". Two pilots helping their comrade to figure out how to deal with all the straps on his parachute. I applaud the idea of a figure set that "tells a visual story" right out of the box.

The "kit" is very simple with a single sprue containing the parts for all three figures. The body parts (legs, arms, torso and head) for each figure are conveniently grouped together on the sprue. 

Using the colour assembly (and painting) guide it takes virtually no time at all to cut out and glue the parts together. I found no excessive gaps or misalignment in any of the body parts.

The three figures were assembled using Tamiya liquid glue. This gave me plenty of time to adjust the alignment of body parts. I needed a little bit of Milliput to deal with the seam between the legs and torso. This was because the 'one-piece' flight overalls should have no waist seam. Prior to taking photos, I applied a coat of Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500.

The only addition to the kit parts was some lead foil for the strap ends hanging out of the hands of the centrepiece pilot.

Here are a few closer shots so you can see the surface detail more clearly.

CONCLUSION - ICM 1:32 German Luftwaffe Cadets (1939-1945) #32102
Once I saw the boxart for this set (with the Bu-131 in the background) I immediately ordered both the figures and the aircraft. Now a pre-war Luftwaffe bi-plane is certainly not my usual cup of tea, but there was just something about that boxart with the struggling cadets and their flimsy trainer that grabbed my imagination. It told a story, captured a moment in time and that's what drives my modelling endeavours more and more these days.

As I've said before I highly recommend these figure sets from ICM as they represent great value for money and once I master figure painting will be the icing on the cake for my aircraft displays.

Gary Wickham

Thanks to ICM for sending these figures to Gary to make and review...