In a radical departure from their usual areas of interest, Masterbox Ltd. has announced a new range of figures covering the Vietnam war and, thanks to them, we''re able to bring the first images of the first set in-progress: 3595 - “Patrol in Jungles”. The first photos of this 'In-Progress' set, can be seen:

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Thanks!

This is great news. I'm very happy they decided to do something from the Vietnam conflict. I hope in the future we'll see some Vietnamese civilians.. and maybe a water buffalo pulling a cart, or something along those lines.

Hisham

Wow, never saw this one coming. Well done masterbox for continuing to give us variety. To be honest I think MB are now becoming what dragon could have/should have become. If you go back to the early 90's when Dragon first appeared in my part of the world they quickly built a broad range of innovative subjects that we hadnt seen from other maunfacturers before, from vietnam through to modern figures and even us civil war subjects. Somewhere I think they lost their way and have become obsessed with pointing germans, ok it works for them but for many us its not want we want.

The sad thing is, is that Dragon had built up quite a range of vietnam sets but they were their early release and no way compare with the current state of the art and are anyway no longer easily available.Maybe this type of release might encourage them to look again at other subjects. Im not holding my breath though.

Great - and hopeful of many more to follow!

OMG, it's raining Masterbox news !!!
A very welcome move from MB ! Once again they prove their ability to fulfill modelers needs. Vietnam is a very popular subject be apart from Dragon, no one did it in plastic.
May I write my feeling on the kit (I guess so as it is the purpose of such pre release pics) :
I do REALLY like the pointing officer, and the guy advancing forward with the backpack on his butt. I'm a bit reserved on the machine gunner, he looks like Rambo..The ammo belt is cool, but the position and the arms look strange.
I do not like the positioning of the second forward guy, with the M16 block on his shoulder. The position is not very original to my point of view.
Lastly the helmets looks a nit odd to me, like Us marine helmet with covers..But I'm not a specialist of Vietnam. For me the helmet should be worn lower, specially for the M16 shoulder guy and the machine gunner.

Sorry for appearing nittle picking, but this was my feeling about those two figures. But again the two others are just GREAT !

Best,
Julien

What a great news from Masterbox!! This was the best model kit news for me this month!! It's a very welcome release, and the poses look great. I'd get a few sets. Thanks!
Now time for happy dance.

Looking good! Tho' glad it's a first pic type situation...

- the advancing infantryman's ALICE pack isn't set up right, IIRC. The pouch section of the ruck should be fully supported on it's frame, not hanging off the frame's lower edge y it's upper edge.

- the machine gunner's grip on his M60 IS weird... do I see him holding it up at the waist, using the carry handle? Um, no.

- read an earlier comment, re: the other advancing infantry's 'holding his rifle as tho' to snap off a sudden shot from the shoulder'; this is a reasonable pose. Wouldn't be walking for three hours like that tho'! Best used in an appropriate scene, as always.

Looks good. Don't need em yet, tho'.

Hurrah!
About time some manufacturers catered for us Vietnam war nuts!
I agree with many of the other comments here. A definite no-no with the M60 machine gunner. His sergeant would have kicked his butt! Also, the ruck does not hang off the bottom of the frame as stated above. It can be located towards the bottom or can be attached to the top but definitely not hanging down around the guys ass!
And please, please can we see more figures who have flak jackets on to wear them unzipped. Most photo/video footage of the war shows grunts with them open. It was way too hot to wear them zipped up!
I really do hope this branch out into Vietnam related subjects becomes a series of great figures & accessories like civilians, more NVA/Viet Cong, rickshaws, water buffalo & cart, water buffalo & rice paddy plough, even the Lambretta Lambro 3 wheeler series as there were so many in use at the time.
Come on Master Box! You can do it!
Well done, anyway.
Joe.

I really appreciate what MasterBox is doing with this kit. I also appreciate that MasterBox is the type of company that listens to their customers so they can make improvements to their kits. I think this will be a great addition to the Vietnam Modeler's toolbox as the poses are pretty well animated and realistic.
Many of the comments I have read so far have already been addressed. These photos are of the sculptor's initial concept. I've provided alot of feedback concerning the equipment and the machine gunner and there are going to be some changes and I'm sure perhaps more changes based on other feedback from sites like this.
The lightweight rucksack does attach directly to the frame. In the kit, the frame (which is really well detailed) and rucksack bag will be separate items to allow the modeler to choose for the high carry or low carry attachment. The machine gunner is going to be totally reworked. I'm really looking forward to the release of this kit.
Cheers,
James O'Leary

Is there anything Master Box can't do?

This is awesome so far! Definately going to get a set of these!

What a great news!!! I'll definatively get one set at least. Bravo MB

Hi James, how have you been? I agree this is a great addition for 'NAM modellers. Also agree with the changes that need to be made. Would be noce if they added a 5th figure, and RTO, and we would have a full patrol.
Shoot me an e-mail off-line, would love to chat with you .
Regards,
WalleyV

Nice move MB. Hopefully this isn't just a response for figures for the Academy Ontos. I am hoping that this may encourage a trend from other manufacturers. I'd love to see Dragon re-issue alot of their old Nam Series kits...and dare I say maybe even update some of their Nam Series molds.

.... Thanks for the link. Excellent figures. Delicacy in the details and poses. ... Jorge.

Hey Walley! It's good to see you here. I sent you a PM/IM (whatever they are called) with my email addresses in it.

GAB,
I can assure you that MasterBox's entry into Vietnam subject matter has nothing to do with Academy's release of the Ontos. This kit is supposed to represent Army personnel. The Ontos is a Marine Corps vehicle.

As with all of their figure kits, MasterBox's aim is to tell a story with this kit and make the figures in such a way that they are compatible for use in larger scenes or as single figures.

Cheers,
James

@James, I was referring more to sales than subject matter. I'm hoping that this just isn't a one or two set by them for Vietnam, but a serious attempt to provide figures for that conflict. Sorry for any misunderstandings.

GAB,
Sorry, I guess I misunderstood your comment about the Ontos. At various sites I've seen all sorts of comments about needing figures to go with the kit, so I thought this was one of those kinds of comments. I think you will see alot more from them in the future.
The thing that will make it easier for them to come out with more Vietnam kits will be positive feedback/demand for their Vietnam kits and subject matter ideas.
They already have some very good ideas on the drawing board that they are in the process of developing. It's not going to be a quick process, but it will definately be worth the wait.

Too cool for school.
I hope they release more Vietnam themed kits *cough Australian Infantryman on Patrol cough*

James, no problem. I actually have plans on building an Ontos after Christmas. I'm planning on using DML's old US Marines Khe Sanh & Tet figure sets for a dio. I haven't given any thoughts on the crew yet.

The basic uniforms on these figures, especially the trousers and the cargo pocket details, are very poor. The Vietnam jungle utilities fit was much more baggy than today's BDU, ACU or whatever the current designation is. The flap over the thigh cargo pocket was actually cut at an angle, not straight across. The legs did not taper at the ankle, but were wider to the point that one could pull them on over the boots--I could, but I wore mine a bit larger than "normal". The flak jackets are also Marine M-55 jackets and are much more bulky than depicted, especially the hard Doron plating around the midriff. Flak jackets in general are not reproduced as bulky as they are in real life. The Marines were more strict about wearing the flak vests closed up, though this is not to say one would not see them unzipped. The helmet covers are also pulled pretty tight, aren't they? The overall fit of the uniforms seems a bit too "tailored" and do not have the baggy appearance that was common. Personally, these figures do not impress me too much; DMLs 1st Cav set 3312 had more accurate uniform outlines, though detail was still "soft" and not as crisp as it could have been. We do need more Vietnam figures in plastic, but these need more work before they are acceptable.

Yes, a RTO would be a good idea instead of the M16 shoulder guy.

Best,
J