Hand –to-hand fight, British and German Infantry.
Battles in north Africa. WWII era. Kit 1
Kit no: MB3592
Scale: 1/35
Pieces: 87
1 Sprue in tan
Ages: 14 and over
Where i got mine: Models for sale
Masterbox from the Ukraine add to their WW2 this month with their newest 1/35th scale kit consisting of eighty-seven pieces on one sprue in tan - featuring five figures fighting for their lives!
On seeing this pack the action shown on the cover took me back to my childhood in the country reading my “Commando!” comics, the hand to hand fighting scene that has been created here on one sprue has really sparked my interest and I thought it would be a good kit for us to look at.
The tan sprue is divided up into six sections pretty clearly and the instructions to make and paint this kit are provided simply in colour on the back of the box as is the usual style for Masterbox. The figures are shown fighting in a most dynamic fashion here with bayonets drawn. These are part I of a seemingly multi-part kit to come from Masterbox, and depict both “Jerries” and “Tommies” with bayonets drawn trying to get the best over their opposition, let’s look at the figures individually…
There are two “sets” of figures locked in mortal combat here – each of them have in common on the British side are in shorts and desert khaki fatigues with typical rolled up socks and galoshes with short boots. The “Tommies” are carrying Lee Enfield .303 rifles with bayonets here drawn. The equipment the Tommies are carrying is the regular type small battle pack with a bayonet holster and water bottle and entrenching tool. All of the equipment for the soldiers is moulded separately and looks great. Nothing from the wrong theatre or time – all kit is common to the typical North African theatre commonwealth solder.
The “Jerries” on the other hand are in dark yellow/khaki Afrika Korps uniform, this time in long sleeves and pants. As well as this all soldiers carry standard equipment Kar98 bolt action rifles, gas mask canister, water and canteen canisters as well as a bayonet pouch. Again all equipment is right on and is not out of place for the theatre or time. While there are no officers here and not much variation most of the soldiers who fought in the front line were privates after all!
The positives of this separate kit are the depth allowed for slightly off positioning fitting which would come with being in fierce combat – bodies and equipment flying everywhere makes this a great touch to these soldiers. The only thing that could have been different really would be maybe soldiers fighting with entrenching tools or any other utensils that could be added spare. Rifles though are fine in this case.
Here are some detail pictures of the kit – looking good isn’t it?
The soldiers are seen in a fairly fair fight, with one German and one British seeming to have the upper hand in each of these judo-like fights. As a difference you have another German soldier “biting the bullet” seemingly shot at a distance thrown in as well.
If you are after a large scale pitch battle Masterbox have more of this set planned so hopefully more will come with more uniform and weapons options in the future.
-Things I liked about this kit were the faces – You can see everything here – gritted teeth on the soldiers faces – buttons, straps buckles – Masterbox’s work with injection moulded figures just gets better al of the time. I liked their equipment and touches like fabric covered helmets and the nice folds in the clothing I liked very much here.
Here are the figures built up and in action from Masterbox – they do look great
Adam Norenberg
Many thanks to Master Box for the review sample used here.
