The following is taken from information provided by ICM.
One of the most numerous and famous cars in the world history was the Model T produced by the Ford Motor Company It became the first mass-production car, affordable for the middle class. The first example of the Model T was built in September 27 1908.It had a four cylinder engine of 22.5hp. The mass production was launched at the Highland Park Ford Plant, Michigan since the beginning of 1914. There were produced 15,007,003 cars since 1908 till 1927. Model T cars were produced indifferent types and in particular some 1914 cars have been converted into fire trucks.
This offering from ICM arrives in the usual manner of a cardboard flip top lid, with a separate card lid depicting the artwork for the model inside. The model parts are packed inside a single resealable plastic bag, which also contains a second bag protecting the clear elements. Access to parts is good, but care will be required during removal of some elements, due to the finesse of some parts.
This offering from ICM provides the modeller with a fair representation of the engine and transmission, being an ICM offering no photo etch is included, but ICM has done a good job of depicting elements such as the cooling fan. The modeller will need to add some wire parts to this portion of the model in order to provide an accurate representation. Anyone who has built one of ICM’s Ford Model T’s will be more than familiar with this area of the model. The exhaust is provided in two parts, however the end of the exhaust has no hollowed out detail, and that will need to be remedied by the modeller.
Unusually for ICM the chassis of the vehicle is not a separate part, and instead is moulded as part of the floor of the model. This means that some detail will be sacrificed, meaning an accurate build will be easier to achieve. The drive to the rear axle is represented as are the bracing struts for the rear axle outer supports. The suspension for the rear axle travels right to left, instead of front to back, and has been well replicated. The front steering assembly has a reasonable level of detail, but continues to be let down, in my opinion due to the front wheels not being able to be shown turned. The wheels for this release are moulded complete, with good spoke detail present. The tyres would not be pneumatic and would instead be solid rubber.
Vehicles of this period utilised a lot of brass in their construction, interestingly that included spark plugs. The brass elements, such as the radiator housing have been well tackled and also have nicely done Ford logos where required. The Ford logo also appears on the front floor plate, and on the anti-slip detail on the running boards. The controls for the vehicle are provided as separate pieces, and look the part in a vehicle as open as this. The seat has the very plush leather detailing and is one of the stunning aspects of this kit. Vehicles of this period had brass coach lamps, and these have been replicated along with clear lenses. The rear of the vehicle is taken up with two water tanks, which sit beneath a storage basket, containing the hose. But I myself would be looking for other tools to place in here, such as a hatchet, boat hook etc. An extendable ladder in secured down the left hand side of the vehicle, and I believe would have been wood during this period. On the right side foot plate, there are some fire extinguishers, and on the left foot plate is a storage locker. ICM has only supplied the single finishing option for this, but I would imagine that all fire trucks of this period would look the same - I would however, liked to have seen two period firemen figures to have been included in this release.
ICM has had a lot of practice with the Ford Model T, in a number of scales and guises. And the result of this is a fair representation of a Ford Model T fire engine. There is some room for improvement, via the addition of some extra tools, and wiring for the engine. But the only thing that I would have liked to have seen included in this kit by ICM is suitable figures. Although I suspect that they will make them in the future.