Masterbox Ltd. have just sent us images of their latest WIP. The subject of this new set is something which many have wanted for a long time - French Partisans (Maquis). The full, photo.report of this VERY interesting set, can be seen:

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Looks very nice. Masterbox certainly comes out with unique subjects. thanks!!

WOW

Masterbox hits another home run...
Looking forward to this set

Thanks for the news Jim

It's incredible that this is only the second set of armed civilians made in styrene and the last one was from Esci over thirty years ago!
Let's hope this might be the start of a trend...

Sweeeeeet, this has great potential tie-ins that come to mind just sitting here reading this -- their Checkpoint set for one, and the British Para set that already has a member of the underground with them... These are the days!

A very welcome set with bags of conversion potential, the guy in the riding breeches could be very easily made into a British Tank Officer.

Nice stuff.

All I can say YES! These'll go well with the old ESCI or Aurora ones or whatever I still have in my attic. Great idea. Another must purchase for me (unlike recent DML releases).

Rob

This particular set is one i waited for a long time.
Great animation and fantasticly sculped.
I absolutely love this one. Thanks Masterbox !
One tiny thing though.........!?
No way that a partisan would give a German officer medical assistance !
He would probably be shot on site.
Anyway,........I am gonna buy a few of these amazing sets.

Frank

Very nice set! Perfect for a 'just happened' dio scene be it town or country.




I believe his right hand was full of salt...

perhaps he's feeling for a heart beat, to see if a bullet is needed.

Nice to see a replacemnt to the Esci set. Nice legs on the babe!

Yesss, it's nice to see a new resistance set. Btw. what had happened with the old ESCI one? Seems to me that Italeri had reissued almost all of their 1/35 molds, except this one. I liked it very much, the figures were vivid (comparing to e.g. the Italeri ones) and the poses were good.

The legs of this new lady are really nice, but her frame looks to me a little bulky. No criticism, just a remark.

Like others (of a certain, advanced age ) I also have the old Esci set buried in the 'pending' stack and apart from one of the figures, it really isn't all that brilliant. It was innovative in its time (as was the Camel) but not really up to today's standards..

For some good accounts of Maquis activity in France, take a look at Das Reich by Max Hastings. There's always a possibility of doing some of the figures as Spanish Republicans (who fought with the Communist Resistance) - also, change the heads and use Soviet forage caps and you can do Yugoslav Partisans.

Once again, Masterbox is doing a set with IMMENSE possibilities...

How about Polish Home Army in Warsaw? At last a figure set to go with the Hetzer...

IIRC the ESCI set included a couple of AK (Home Army) figures, together with random partisans from various bits if Europe. The Masterbox set look better suited for French Maquis, specially since one has a French rifle and equipment.

EDIT: Actually it was one obvious AK member, three apparently French and two Yugoslav(ish)

For more reading on Allied liaison with French maquis (and all the other factions) try Roger Ford's 'Fire from the forest' (covering the SAS) and 'Steel from the sky' (ditto for Jedburghs)

BTW at least Masterbox know which way round a Bren mag goes

David

Well, give them a couple of Stens and those MB Maquis will become AK members in no time. Thanks for pointing that possibiliby out, Henk! In fact, even that poor German fellow might be quite usable - it is not unknown for partisans to use captured uniforms.

Good stuff there, yet again. Guess I need to get cracking at my reviews.

LMAO

AK figures would just be part of a long list - the more I think about, the more possibilities I can see.

Civilian clothing in the 1930s/40s was pretty much to a universal 'style' in Europe (effectively changing little from the '20s). Any fashion history graduates out there?