Replacing the venerable Model T, Ford’s Model A was produced between 1927 and 1931, with several body styles, including coupe, cabriolet, phaeton, pickup, and town car. Nearly 4.9 million were produced in total.
The ICM 1/24 scale Model A Standard Phaeton (1930s) is a follow-up to the company’s 2024 Model A soft top release — the only difference being this one is top-down. It would have been nice to have the option in a single release rather than having two kits. Whichever version you choose will probably render the highest detail model of a stock Model A available. It is strictly stock — no customizing parts included. The only real options are the six different license plate decals. Parts are crisply molded in light gray without flash or badly placed ejector-pin marks, but there are seam lines you’ll need to clean up. The instructions are clearly illustrated with decent paint callouts, but, as always, reference photos are helpful.
The frame comes in multiple parts, so be sure to work on a flat surface and have a square to help make sure everything stays, well, square. I found the parts fit to be excellent, but some of the locator pins are tiny and don’t offer much support.
Every single component of the suspension is accurately reproduced. In some cases, the sprue gates were nearly as large as the part itself. Be careful, because some of the parts are extremely delicate. I ended up replacing the brake rods (parts D2, D3, and D17) with pieces of wire because I snapped the first one while trying to clean up the gate stubs. Some of the parts are keyed with a square locating pin, but because they’re so small, it’s sometimes hard to tell if you have it positioned correctly. Use a glue that gives you some working time in case some adjustment is needed.
The four-cylinder engine is faithfully reproduced, right down to the individual 1/24 scale spark plugs! The engine itself is pretty simple, but so is the real thing. I suggest you leave the upper radiator hose off until the engine and radiator are mounted to ensure they mate properly.
I liked the blue body/red wheels combination best of the three depicted in the instructions, but switched it up slightly. I used Mr. Color Thunderbirds Red (No. C327) and then used a sharpened piece of brass tubing to cut out discs of Bare-Metal Foil for the hub centers.
Next, I assembled as many parts of the body as I could prior to painting, using the floor/fender assembly as a jig. The fit was good, and assembly went smoothly. Tamiya Pure Blue (No. LP-6) was used for the main body color with Tamiya Royal Blue (No. X-3) for the trim band. I deviated from the instructions slightly by gluing the body to the floor before adding the interior panels, eliminating the chance of marring them.
The interior panels and seats were painted Cobra Motor Paints Reddish Leather (No. A.Mig-0318). I had a little trouble getting the rear seat back down flush to the body. My guess is that I probably didn’t get the bottom cushion snapped all the way down.
You will need to mask the windshield to paint the frame. Templates are provided in the instructions, but it’s easy to just tape it off. The wiper blade is molded into the windshield, too. With everything else being separate, this choice didn’t make sense to me; it should be an individual part.
While not the type of vehicle that’s normally in my wheelhouse, I thoroughly enjoyed my time building the ICM 1/24 scale Model A Standard Phaeton plastic model kit. With the complex nature and many tiny and fragile parts, I recommend it to a seasoned modeler; definitely not for beginners. Be prepared to spend some time on the floor looking for that little part that went twinging (yes, that is the technical term) off your tweezers, but when you are finished, you’ll have one beauty of a model.