Introduction

Just before the holidays, Matho Models released some new sets of boxes in 1:35 scale. I received a care-package through the post (see last pic for full selection), including this set of beer boxes to review. They represent some very familiar brands here in the UK, and some unfamiliar ones that I assume are better-known on the continent.

review

The boxes come printed on glossy paper, representing typical supermarket packs of Stella Artois (8 boxes), Heiniken (10 boxes), Leffe (8 boxes), and two others I can't readily identify. The back of the paper is plain brown.

Assembly starts by carefully cutting them out with a sharp knife - it's well worth chucking a new blade in the old #11 for this! There are thick black lines between flaps where you are meant to cut on both sides so the black sliver falls out - this gives enough clearance between flaps to ease the bending and assembly process, but is fiddly so take your time. Folding is easy enough if you pin the box down with a metal straight-edge and lift the free part of the box by wedging a wide chisel-bladed knife under it, rotating the knife up to create the bend. Then it's a mater of gluing flaps - I used Gator's Grip glue. Locking tweezers come in handy too. Sadly there are no contents, but I expect it would be easy enough to carve some plastic or wood to the right size and simply wrap the paper around it. However, I found the Stella box to be more than stiff enough empty.

conclusion

These boxes may seem fiddly to assemble, but they are surprisingly robust once assembled, and certainly look the part. They can decorate any modern AFV, "technical" truck, or pretty much any slack-time diorama - I've seen a 1:35 scale shopping cart out there that could be loaded up and placed next to a car in a shopping dio. And the more clever modellers out there will no doubt find they can be "crushed" or flattened just like real empty boxes...