Introduction

The following introduction is as provided by ICM:

Movie aircraft Tiger Moth and Stearman The Tiger Moth D.H.82A and Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 aircraft were single-engine biplanes that had good flight performance combined with a relatively simple design. Produced in large quantities (Tiger Moth D.H.82A – about 8,000 examples, Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 – about 10,000), they were very popular, they could be seen in different areas of the globe – from North America to the Far East. A number of Tiger Moth D.H.82A and Stearman Model 75s continue to fly today, remaining in private ownership or flying clubs. They also appeared in works of art and films, in particular, they became prototypes of airplanes from the famous film “The English Patient”. The scenes of flights against the background of the Sahara desert in North Africa were remembered by many for their expressiveness, the Tiger Moth D.H.82A and the Stearman Model 75 perfectly coped with their role. The multi-award winning film allows you to enjoy the scenes with these simple and perfect planes.

Review

This offering from ICM covering two 1/32nd aircraft from the movie ‘The English Patient’ provides the modeller with a Tiger Moth D.H.82A and Stearman (Boeing) Model 75. The models are not that old and a look at the mouldings show no obvious issues with the moulds at this time. The kits are packed in their own bags and provided in a flip top cardboard box with a separate card lid. My only issue with this approach is that warping of mouldings can occur that makes the build a bigger challenge that it needs to be. Looking at the offerings in this release indicates to me that this issue has not occurred here. I have built both of these models from previous stand alone offerings and only really struggled with adding the upper wigs and it was a pain in the XXXX.

Both of these models offer nice engine detail with the Stearman benefitting from aftermarket detailing due to its more exposed nature, but those who are not overly concerned do get a reasonable level of detail. The cockpits of both releases also have reasonable detail as regards structures and framing but there is a desperate need for harness detail. The modeller could also go heavy on adding the finer detail missing in the model covering cables and wires.

The surface detail present on the exterior areas of the models pleases me, but others may wish to exaggerate the cloth finished areas to make them really stand out. Flight control surfaces on the Tiger Moth are a mix of set and separate with the Stearman having all separate surfaces. I am pleased to see that while some holes need to be drilled ICM has provided both drill size and marks where the holes are needed which I highly approve of.

ICM has put in a lot of effort to help the modeller get the best exterior look possible by including great guides for stringing the models and has also provided patterns to cut masks for the clear parts of the kits. The clear parts are of a good appearance and so should not need replacing unless damaged. I do think ICM has missed a trick here in making this release really sort after by only including the decals for the movie aircraft rather than trainer aircraft as well.

Conclusion

I know this review of the ICM Tiger Moth D.H.82A and Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 from the ‘The English Patient’ movie is short but I would simply be repeating what has been said about the standalone offerings on several occasions and that is why the conclusion is a bit longer than usual. The lack of seat harness detail is in desperate need of correcting in this scale with the inclusion of decals for the film aircraft only possibly harming desire for the release. The plus points for me are the inclusion of drill sizes and location marks where needed and inclusion of patterns for the needed masks. The biggest plus for me is the effort that has been put into the guide for rigging the models as getting all of the stringers correctly placed can be a real pain to work out. Assembly of the previous releases has only made me struggle where adding the upper wing surfaces is concerned and I have to confess that could be me rather than model.