Piotr if this sells well when it is finally finished have you considered that there is a good chance more will be made which are more to your liking. Just think about the number of Polish people who fought on after the fall of Poland with the British with distinction. All that is being asked here is that members here help to make this as accurate as possible and is not meant as an insult to the Polish.

My, my, my, a flamewar is breeding 'round these parts. I'd say at least one poster should chill out and stop baiting MB staff. More constructive criticism, less insults, especially heaped upon people who gave the community so many great and innovative kits.

As for the Uhlan himself, I'd personally reposition one of the arms and make him reach for a pistol behind his back. Perhaps it's the effect of how Polish cavalrymen were romanticized in fiction, but I can see the vignette change from "defeated rider and two standing footsloggers" to "injured cavalryman willing to drag yet another invader with him to the grave".

Dear Pawel,

We received materials from Jim Rae that you gave for us. Thank you very much, materials will really help us to make a kit more correct.

.

Dear Piotr,

Are SS-men really the national heroes of Ukraine? Really?? These news impress!

We live just in those surroundings where Dnepr was forced in 1943, where very fierce fighting for breakthrough of the Eastern Wall and what is occupation and what are villages burned together with inhabitants is well remembered there. Therefore, what you’ve said is really great news for us!


Dear Marcin,

It’s a good idea, we will think over it!


Dear Jason,

we refused the scale 1/32 in favour of the scale 1/35 in due time, but after your words we will think over it seriously again

Alexander, if you consider releasing new sets about "September 1939" containing polish, russian and german figures I'm pretty sure it will find a lot of customers in Poland. We feel a great hunger here in Poland for good quality figures in that topic although I realise it is not very popular worldwide. I hope that the set with uhlan is just the beginning

Privately, I'm very far of considering any release of any model as being "political".

Keep on doing a good job!

Not just in Poland. Myself and many of the other modellers I know have a huge interest in early war and would love to see some figures suitable for Poland based dioramas.

My own input on this is more ethereal than literal. What makes a german soldier figure instantly say "blitzkreig campaigns" in my mind is the lack of the Y-harness and often the lack of the gas mask container ( they used to strip down to rolling gear and have their equipment bought up on trucks so as to be able to move fast and light ) and the use of the leather band and cross over strap on the helmets for attaching foliage to. To me that says "war in Poland" or "war in France". That and rolled up sleeves.

Those might not all be things that were strictly true to every german combatant in Poland in 1939 but those are the things I see in my mind when I picture early war german troops.

Lviv Ukrainian authorities to pay homage to soldiers of the SS Galicia:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aingwar/DzdyZC#

SS Galizien funeral on Polish cementery at Lviv,look at they caps.They have dead heads,They are nazis!

Piotr - fair warning. You continue in this line your posts will continue to be deleted...

For everyone else, this is a unique opportunity for many of you to actually help a manufacturer produce the kind of releases which YOU want. Please, keep it as courteous as it has been...

Absolutely agree with Jim. It's the first time for me when I get a chance to express my expectations and feelings to a company with world-wide range and I know I'm being listened.

Alexander

Wow thanks for the response, the release of any injection modelled plastic napoleonic/historic figures in 1/32 would be truly welcomed! I cant find the original post from last year which showed the hussar but from memory it was widely welcomed but many thought it would be more appropriate in 1/32.

I think there is huge potenital for plastic figure of this period in that scale. Ever since the airfix 54mm collectors figures went out of production theres been a big gap in the market. Yes Historex are still going but they are really showing their age and their not much cheaper that resin/metal figures.

Plastic figures would also be fantastic for the younger or inexperienced modeller as a inexpensive way into the hobby whilst for me they would be a god send as a relatively cheap source of spare parts. To be honest I would buy as many as I could for the horses alone!

Keep up the good work, as I said Im not really a WW11 modeller but I really admire masterboxs originality and thier guts to release such different material.

Alexander...thanks to you and your company for being the most innovative figure manufacturer in the world. I've said it before and I'll say it again...you guys always "think outside-the-box" and release unique and creative products. Thanks for this one especially. I'm very interested in the Polish and French campaigns.....even the earlier Czechoslovakian soldiers would probably sell very well....and will buy anything you release that covers these areas.
Your company has made enormous strides since your first releases.

As for the political aspects ( I don't see what Piotr sees but I don't live there either)...there is always going to be someone who is going to be offended by something you release.. Racial, national and ethnic feuds are never really settled. They lie beneath the surface and simmer for generations or even centuries and reappear later sometimes worse than before We still have people here in the USA who think the American Civil War is still being fought. I hope your response will let him see that there was no malice intended by the release of this set of figures..

Thank you for taking the time to respond to all of the concerns about this set. You can count on me to purchase this set and all other related kits. I hope you continue to release these fantastic figure sets for a long time to come.

Jeff

Dear Jason,

Thank you for your thoughts concerning scale 1/32.
We really think over it very seriously and we will start to think just now.


Dear Jeff,

Thank you for your support.
Really, political forces that may worsen stability in any country are activated so much in times of economic instability. And racial, religious and ideological questions may suddenly become burned and I agree with the fact that this forum is not a place of discussing such subjects.

Dear Piotr,

I understood not quite right what you are aiming at. Do you want to blame me for commitment to nazism? But I am not Nazi and it is interpreted negatively in the region of Ukraine where I live. Do you want to insult me? Ok, but are you sure that your efforts are justified?

Dear friends,

Thank you for the high appraisal of our work. Such appraisal supports us very much but it also imposes responsibility and forces us to work with full output.

Thanx everybody!

Alexander

Hi Alexander;

It's a great idea to participate to the debate and involve yourself in the discussion. Testing the apetite of the audience for a particular set, and make the modeller correct your set is a great idea, and a cheap one (no costly market test/interview and documents/inputs are given for free).
I think we are done with this poor argument which was to say : producers make germans because only germans sell well. And then you are the living proof that's not true : on 46 figures sets you released on WW2, around 20 are german subjects !
So my advise : for the desert set, correct the legionnaire leggins : no one worn such leather leggings in cush a hot country, except maybe some high rank officer in office with fan..
You main effort, for me, must be the heads of your figures. As of now, I found in 10 different kits the same square head. Details on them are too soft, so even with good painting skill, expressions don't show up. And add some variety on the figure face, emphasise each character. I know the last kits you released were a bit better for face expression, like shouting guys, smiling etc. Look ate the Kharkov german sets dragon released recently, the face are really good compared to the previous one.
If I may permit some input for the next subjects :
1) as apparently you like to sell combined sets (multiplying your sales ), one global subject could be early war. Then you can treat within it : Norway 1940, French chasseurs alpins and legionnaires, cool and varied equipements, landing on beaches, troops fighting on hills tops, german naval troops fighting on earth, gebirgsjager, british marine, even polish, and Norge. Still in early war you have dunkirk, french/scottish/british trapped on the beaches, could represent some dramatic atmosphere..
2) One of the subject yu didn't treat and who will sell 100% sure very well : us paratroopers. The in process kit on your website is nice, but you can them in action in Normandy/Bastogne/Sicily/Holland. Paratroopes have generally loads of equipement, so you will have to dble check accuracy given the number of paratroopers geeks around there.
3) One subject never treated by any manufacturers : chindits/australian in pacific. With one kit you can satisfy british and australian consumers. And I'm sure it will please one of our good young autralian friend here (regards Chas).

Lastly, I must say a big Kudo for your british tankers set in desert. Monty looks amazing of reality, camel is just great, details are sweet ! In this kit the face are really top notch, you should get inspired from it for the next released.

Best from Paris,
Julien

Master Box are one of the companies that have been highlighted as leading the field when it comes to releasing figures with the types of poses that modellers seek, and covering areas that many of your competitors fail to cover. The praise your company has received for its sets is rightfully deserved and long may it continue. The sets you are releasing are by and large received very well by the modeller, and you should be congratulated both in that and your wiliness to interact with your customers when it comes to new products.

One area where all plastic manufacturers encounter problems is with the heads/faces of the figures as the medium used effects the ability to have crisp face detail. With that in mind has any consideration been given to perhaps supplying resin heads with your sets or as a possible addition, or making your figures with the heads separate to enable easy replacement of the heads? I know that there are a number of companies that cater this area but if you are supplying them it would mean the heads are designed for the specific figure.

Dear Julien,

You are right: the kits with German soldiers are sold better than others and we can not fail to take it into account. Nevertheless, 17 new kits are shown at our website in the section “in progress”. 5 from them are kits with German soldiers and there are 2 more where the German, British and Russian are present. Thus, it is 2:5 score in favour of the kits with soldiers of other countries and this is not a wish, this is reality.

Concerning heads – look, for example, at our kit 3563 “Counterattack”. There are 9 heads with faces of people with different age and different emotions for the kit consisting of 6 figures.

Regarding extension of time period of our stories – we work a lot at it, am I right?)))

Dear Darren Baker,

the idea to supply our kits with resin heads is unfortunately unrealizable. There are too different techniques that define a great difference in production paces, in other words, the resin production volumes will never be in time with the plastic production volumes.

Concerning idea to put more various heads in each kit – sometimes it is really reasonable to do so and we do so!)))

Thank you both
Alexander

Thank you for answering that Alexander.

Dear Alexander,

Thank you for having taking the time to answer me.
I didn't bought yet your counter attack kit (which looks really cool). As far as I can see for the in progress pictures, the faces look good. But If I may permit to be direct, and I guess it's what your looking for by asking modelers' opinion (as long as they are constructive) : I'm sometimes disapointed because I realise there are differences between the master figures and what's in the kit I bought. The masters presented in the in progress section are stunning. I particularly think to the citizenry kit, where facial expression are just top notch (beside the fact that's the first time I see beautifull civilian figures in plastic at affordable prices). But I often felt disapointed when I opened the Masterbox kit by the quality of the faces, even more when I painted it, because it was very diferent from the bow art and the masters presented on the in progress section. To go within the same vein of (I hope) constructive criticism, I don't understand why you put photoshop pictures at the recto of your kit. This could be seens as misleading advertisement...(I'm a lawyer, that's why )Isometimes see figures with very thin hair and very expressive facial feature, but once you compare it with the real kit, you understand there is some photoshop around... Why not asking some of you fellow customer to paint the kit for the recto pictures ? They would do it for free, because they wil be proud of it, and it will show the real potentiality of the kit (and not the photoshop skills of your graphic department.
For the face subject, even with two hours spent on the face, the details don't come up well. I guess hat's because details are not carved enough on the figure. Maybe you should have more 3D on the face, to easy the shadow and light paint work. But maybe the "flatness" is due to the plastic property, once again I'm not an expert..
I hope you won't feel offended by my remarks, I just want your figures to be perfect, because in regards to price, originallity and correcteness they are already nearly perfect !

Thanks again Alexander for what you have done for us, we the non germanholics modellers, and keep the same trends you will end up, rich, famous, and venerated

And to be more positive, I must say that for your last kits, the facial expressions seems to be better. But I prefer not to insist on that, so that you keep on perfecting your marvellous kit

Julien

Oh, and I forgot, I will send you send pictures of some of your kits I painted !

Best,
Julien

It´s not easy can talk with the owner of a plastic kits company, I can only add to constructive comments of the precedent guys that may be a good idea include in your figures series some of the "minor" axis powers:Rumanians Hungarians...these armies play is role in the east front and as far I know not have resin or plastic figures of them

cheers
Carlos

Really??? The director of Masterbox Models is interacting with modellers on the Armorama website??
Alexander, Sir, I applaude you for that alone!
Masterbox does produce unique and exciting figure sets. I hope it continues!
The quality keeps getting better as well, I recently purchased "Road to the Rear" and I highly recommend this set.
I have no real opinion on the set that this thread is about, other than it is unique!
As for future sets... I would love to see the siege of Budapest get some coverage, in particular some Hungarian figures.
Thanks again for "talking" to us, Alexander.
Bill.

Hi, Alexander, Привет

Though I do know my question is somewhat off-topic, yet I'd like to know when approx. can we antiicipate issue of the promised 1/32 Dougles DC-3 and the Junkers Ju-52? I got to make some "side" money for it, without setting up (too much) my wife, and probably I'll need some extra plaxe too in my hobby-room.

Good luck, and go ahead with similar superb kits.

Regards,

Imre Bencze

Well it shows how much they listen by giving us IRAQ kit 2 (MB3576) ,Insurgents at a very reasonable price for quality .I put mine together & they didn´t need much filler or flash scraping,well thought out poses & one with a choice of weapons option. Used all together or seperate they can really bring any diorama a purpose. I remember when I first heard of MB ,I wasn´t expecting much but now it appears that we are being spoiled,but I do go in for mostly modern stuff.

All I can say is that masterbox have been a breath of fresh air in the production of 1/35 WW2 figures. Their kits are inspiring, and it is nice to see the early war being covered. Can't wait to see the finished kit. Keep up the good work

I agree wholeheartedly with the above comments - In particular I loved the crow scout kit as it got me away from WW2 for a while and I look forward to more in the same line.
As for ideas for the future, if it is WW2 then I'd like to see optional heads & headgear included. For the British/Commonwealth troops it could be a selection of commando caps, regimental caps, slouch hats, turbans etc, much as Dragon did. I can't justify the expense of resin heads with my limited painting skills but would gladly pay a few extra pounds for a choice of plastic ones.
I'd also like to see some other conflicts covered. A set or two depicting the '82 Falklands Conflict would be great - it is a massively popular subject, just look at all the 120mm kits available, but has been almost totally ignored in 1/35.
Again, a selection of head gear would be very much appreciated here allowing the modeller to depict their prefered regiment.
Thanks again and I hope your success continues!

Thank you, Mr. Alexander, for participating in this forum and for your willingness to listen to modelers.

Just a couple of suggestions / wishes..

# More modern figures from different nationalities

# Definitely more insurgent figure sets.. and modern "generic" civilian figures with regular clothes - pants, shirts, T-shirts and shoes - which could be used in a variety of different conflicts.

# Would it be feasible / reasonable to ask for an accessory set (like some resin manufacturers do) which contains heads, hands, boots, weapons and personal gear which could be used to convert other figures?

Keep up the great work you're doing

Hisham

YES an accessory set,I have the British troops ,Caen, to start on but so far I have resisted temptation to cannibalize some things in the box