ICM Instructions Step 1 (Assembling the Suspension Units):

I built this as per instructions. Take care adding the suspension arms (parts A10 & A11) as the transfer cases and axles are one piece units and the axles are very thin and fragile. I did not add any of the wheels which were left off until the very last.

ICM Instructions Step 2 (Building the Frame and adding the Suspension Units)

Here again I followed the instructions as much as possible. I left off the front axle which was quite thin and fragile until I had most of the frame and body work completed to avoid the possibility of snapping it while adding the other parts. The exhaust pipe broke in two while removing it from the tree. I found the instructions a bit vague as to how to route it along the frame and also avoid interference with the suspension parts, so I delayed any attempt at fixing it at this point and left it off until painting was complete.

There are locating notches in the frame for the rear suspension assemblies built in Step 1 but they are indistinct and too short to accept the suspension units from Step 1. They had to be lengthened to allow the suspension units to fit onto the frame and also allow the drive shafts (which are molded integral to the frame) to meet the differentials, which meant I primarily widened the notches toward the drive shafts.

Positioning the front leaf springs was a stumper until I realized that there were tiny, next to invisible notches, in the frame cross member for them to fit into. The instructions were a bit vague regarding this.

The top of the gas tanks (molded on the frame, part A1) have hollow tops so I put a thin piece of plastic sheet over the top to blank them off. At this point of the construction sequence I had no idea whether or not the other body parts would entirely hide the openings and I didn't want to try adding a top to these after the body and frame were joined.

A test fit of the hood revealed that you could see through the engine compartment. I blocked the view by gluing a section of tube, cut down the middle lengthwise, to the top of the engine (part A7).

ICM Instructions Step 3 (Assembling Rear Passenger Compartment):

The foot rests at the rear of the body (parts C14 & C15) have very large ejector pin marks on the inside of the hollow portion that proved next to impossible to remove due to their tight confines.

The rear panel of the driver compartment (the surface of part C1 that faces the rear seats of the passenger compartment) requires sanding to remove ejector pin marks.

I had to trim a portion from the bottom of the rear compartment (part C2) where it meets the frame near the trailer hitch so it would sit flush to the frame.

The inside of the rear fenders required some work. They have ejector pin marks that were problematic to remove due to the tight space in which to work. Plus there are holes used to locate the lockers (parts C9, C10 & C11) on the top of the fender but they go all the way through the fender and the locating stubs on the lockers are longer than the holes, which make them extend into the wheel well. So you will need to trim off the stubs, then fill and sand them flush.

On my kit the right rear fender was not completely molded which required some filling and sanding to make it match the other side.

The kit supplied jerry can will not fit into the designated spot on the right fender under the bridging panels (parts C4 & C5). I replaced it with a pair of cans from the spares box.

ICM Instructions Step 4 (Joining the Rear Passenger Compartment, Bumper and Engine Hood to the Frame):

Step 4 is where you run into a puzzler that took me a while to figure out. Three unidentified parts magically appear on top of the frame, but there is no reference to them prior to this point in the construction sequence. Referring back to the parts diagram I eventually identified them (parts C27, C28 and C29) as the bottom panels for the rear passenger compartment. Part C27 goes to the front, C28 to the middle and C29 to the rear (I've indicated their proper positions and part numbers in the construction diagram with red fill). Mounting them to the frame before adding the rear compartment, as called for in the instructions, seemed like a recipe for disaster since there is nary a location point for them on the frame. After some though I found it much easier to add the panels directly to the bottom of the compartment piece (part C2). Also there is a large sink hole that needs filling in parts C27 and C29.

I found the instructions totally useless in identifying exactly where parts A14 and A15 went. I made a guess and attached them between the front frame and the front axle to give extra support in this area.

ICM Instructions Step 5 (Adding Remainder of Minor Details):

The windshield was another area of concern. There are two blobs of plastic attached to the outer edge of the frame which I suppose are meant to be lights. In any case I found few pictures of Protzes with lights mounted to the windshield, so I removed them.

Another problem with windshield concerns the missing ventilation panel that runs just under the main section of glass on the front driver's side of the windshield (refer to diagram). Starting to feel a bit lazy at this point I chose the easy route and dodged the extra work, and fear of breaking this delicate part, by adding a cover fashioned from Tamiya two part epoxy putty.

There are three different wheel rims supplied, all numbered identically (part A27): four shallow dished wheels with short hubs, two with long rounded hubs, and two with long flat topped hubs. Being unsure as to exactly which went where I had to refer to my reference material for some guidance. The four shallow dished wheels with short hubs go on the rear axles, the two rims with long rounded hubs go on the front axle, and the two rims with the long flat topped hubs are for the spares mounted to the body.

The wheel rims were most annoying to work with. The edges are very thin and fragile so you need to be careful removing them from the tree and fixing the attachment nubs or you'll notch edges of the rims.

The neck on the Notek light was too long and it was trimmed some for length.

The rear tail light (which has no part number) appears on the rear of the vehicle in this step but once again there is no reference to it earlier in the instructions. From what I could figure out from my references it is of a later design and as my plan was to use the 1940 French campaign markings I replaced the kit part with a section of plastic rod to represent an earlier round style brake lamp.

ICM Instructions (Building the Pak 36 Gun):

You get the option of building this as towed gun or one in firing position. I chose the towed configuration. Here again the vague instructions left me scratching my head in bewilderment at the placing of parts. I had to guess as to exactly where parts C54 and C55 mounted to on the inside of the shield. The same applied to the elevation and traverse wheels, which also proved to be a pain to put together due to the miniscule parts and its multi-part construction.

The only modification I made to the gun was to alter the barrel's travel position. Adding the parts as they come from the box will set the barrel level to the ground and I wasn't sure if this was going to allow enough ground clearance when mounted to the vehicle's hitch, so I cut off most of the elevation gear (molded to the barrel, part C30) so the barrel point upwards somewhat.

The hitch loops on the end of the Pak 36 legs (parts C42 & C43) need to be opened up if you want the gun to be towed.

The gun's left axle part (C38) was missing its stub for mounting the wheel so I drilled a small hole and added a stub from a short section of plastic rod.