Here we take a look at the ICM release 48409 Luftwaffe Airfield Equipment in 1/48th scale.

The following introduction is taken from the ICM website:

In the concept of Blitzkrieg, which was a key reason for the success of the German army in World War II, aviation played one of the leading roles. The effective actions of the Luftwaffe largely determined the success of the offensive operations of ground units. The numerous air forces of Germany required a developed network of airfields that could provide quality maintenance of aviation equipment. A typical Luftwaffe airfield included a headquarters or flight control centre, runways, aircraft parking areas, refuelling stations, ammunition depots, and repair zones. The personnel of military airfields consisted of pilots, technical staff, meteorologists, communication operators, logistics units, security forces, and anti-aircraft gunners. The perimeter of the airfield could be mined, and a command checkpoint with a barrier was set up for access to the territory.

Review

This offering from ICM arrives in a flip top cardboard tray, with a separate card lid. Inside a single bag contains 9 sprues and a loose instruction booklet. Looking over the mouldings, some of which I have seen previously are in good order, and I have no concerns about them pother than some of the gates being a little on the large side. When you open the booklet, you will find 2 very nice decal sheets with very fine decals on them which I cannot detect running a finger over them. 

Items provided in this release for the 1/48th aircraft modeller is a bomb hoist for dragging the ammunition to the aircraft and attaching it ready for use. I could not find an image of one of these on-line and so I cannot speak for the accuracy of what is provided, but looking over the mouldings the details are well refined and so I presume are accurate. A tripod winch is also included in this release, and so could be shown lifting an engine onto a work bench or if the model is small enough perhaps lifting something off of the aircraft that is too heavy to manhandle. Bomb crates are also included in the release, and these are enhanced due to fine moulded detail and supporting decals for stencilling the boxes. The boxes themselves are for 50 Kilo and 250 Kilo bombs.

Jerry cans are included in the release, and despite being 1/48th scale they correctly depict the 3 handle detail which made the jerry can such a good piece of kit. Both the cap and the handles are separate pieces from the cans themselves. 4 bomb sprues are offered which provide 2 types of 500 Kilo bombs, 2 types of 250 Kilo bombs 1 of which has the stand off fuse, and 2 types of 50 Kilo bombs again 1 having the extended fuse. Decals are provided for detailing the bombs, and adding stencil detail. 

In support of these items, you have the guard hut which most of us think of being painted in black and red stripes - with ICM having provided black stripes for use on this item. A manually raised road barrier is also included within the set and again ICM has provided decals for placing stripe on to the barrier arm. The last items in this set are a compressed gas cylinder mounted on a trolley, a tool box - but no tools are provided, a spray gun is also present, but no compressor is included in the release and the last item in the set is a short step ladder. 

Conclusion

This offering from ICM does provide a decent selection of items for the modeller to create a scene on the ground around their aircraft models. Combine this set with ICM’s ground crew figures in 1/48th scale and your options are greatly improved as regards how you wish to make your display. For me, I suppose, its biggest asset is being small enough to create a scene around an aircraft with figures which would give the impression of an aircraft being made ready for a mission. Or perhaps enable you to show panels off of an aircraft and so display areas which are otherwise not really seen.

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