Just posted, a review of one of Masterbox Ltd''s recent release - German Captives, 1944. This 1/35th scale figure set is very good, but does have a few ''issues'' - more in the Review which can be seen:

German Captives, 1944 Review

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Very solid review Jim, of a very interesting item. Very thourough, good images and it carries across well, on whats in the box. Cheers!

i must also agree that they are quite a nice set of figures, i have a few now stashed ready for the future

cheers

keith forsyth

I am just kicking myself I didn't pick up a couple sets at IPMS Nationals on the cheap. I could have written a review before Jim Rae!!!!

Would this be considered an Axis or Allied set???

Greetings all,

Many thanks for the review Jim. I like the poses and uniforms and this should be a very useful set across the board.

Cheers

Al

At risk of repeating the things, it IS a good set, but with several limitations...

I know what you mean Jim, but IMO all plastic kits have limitations, even including the Gen2 kits. Theres still a certain amount of clean up and putty is needed, here and there, to tidy up. I know detail may not be comparable between the two, but most modellers accept that there is some work to do before painting.
If they keep the price right, interesting subjects like this deserve to do well. I know I´ll be picking up a box of them sometime soon.

Frank, what is INCREDIBLY exciting about this set, is just what you COULD do with the addition of headsets, parts from GEN2 etc. it's limited, but only by one's imagination - see it as the ultimate in conversion sets....

Finally a manufacturer has included Vajello paint numbers!!

Today is indeed a bright day

Good review too Jim - cheers.

HI there

Indeed a great looking set with a lot of potential for conversion. The b/w pictures with coloumns of Germans walking into captivity guarded by allied soldiers pops to my mind.

Gonna have this one for sure.

Thanks for the review

Cheers

Simon

I notice that the box still says that it contains 'three figures', when in reality it contains six. Wonder how many modellers passed on this kit because of that mistake.

Dave, I think i's a Russian three. They don't seem to remember they don't have to hit anyone with nasty surprises anymore after faulty intel :-) :-)

:-)

100% agree. I think we’re talking about the same thing, but just different dialects. :-) . I never look at a subject that I’m interested in and see its "limitations" ... I just see the possibilities.
But .... I’m not nit-picking your choice of words either. In context of the above review, it probably IS the appropriate word.

I’m working on four Dragon figures at the moment, with a little tweaking and changing the heads on all four, it has lifted the stock figures immensely. That’s what I meant that all kits in some way have their limitations. Even the Gen2 figures, have their limitations when considering the amount of clean-up on all the extra parts and possibly having to use putty for some fittings/seams.
The issues with Masterbox can easily be forgiven, when exciting poses and useful additions are included. Unbuttoned jackets with no webbing …. how often could torsos like this, be used in other scenes as well? It’s also something modellers have been begging for, for years. Nice one Masterbox!

Bravo Zulu, Jim!
A good solid review of this set, I will indeed say! Good points made throughout, and well covered. Thanks!

I just finished working on some of the figures from this new kit and found the figures greatly improved upon by Master Box. While I am not happy with the one armored vehicle I did purchase, the figures are excellent. I liked the dejected look to them but found a bit more flash than I like. The detail on the uniforms was great but I replaced most of the heads with Hornet ones.
I did like the poses but I had problems with the German with the long coat slung over his shoulder. I couldn't get the little piece to match his hand. Instead, I made a belt out of lead foil and glued on his canteen and gas mask and will have that dangling from his hand.
Nice kit and I trust they will be coming out with more nice and refreshing ones like this one.
Mike

Finally got some through this morning. Typical Hannants though. Took a week to send them and then only sent one box so that they can sting me for a second lot of postage on the second box. I may tell them what to do with the second box... I'm impressed with the mouldings. Nice and sharp and very natural positions. A bit of flash to clean up and a bit of fillering as some bits don't fit too well but at that price such is life. Looking at the imaginative poses this isn't surprising.These are on a par with most Dragon kits (can't comment on Gen2 as I've not used any yet) and the facial details are sharper. They all look utterly p***ed off which is great :-) . The fit on the heads + Bergmutze is crap so quite a bit of trimming is required. I've used one but I think a Hornet heads in line for the other as I've thrown it away it was such a bad fit. The plastic is nice and hard so taking off epaulettes, breast insignia and pocket pleats is nice and easy. It's made converting them to late pattern tunics that much easier.I'd thoroughly reccomend these as they are superb. Very versatile and nice crisp moulding. Looking forward to more stuff by MB.

Well, I suppose it's a question of personal opinion, but I found both the heads and the hands the weakest elements. I've been trying out the Legend German headsets on them and they're really excellent on them as well....

I agree on the hands Jim as they look quite small but I'm using them for HJ so it's not too much of an issue for me due to their age. Facially, I am quite impressed though. I've found some DML faces a bit low in relief but as you say it's personal opinion. I have had to trim some of the ears on the MB ones though as I don't believe everyone in the German forces had "wingnut" ears :-)

I've just build and painted their US para set and I must admit poses are really nice, dynamic, but there is a problem with head. More specifically the fitting between helmet and head. The latter are way to large for the helmet. Apparently same problem with feldmuze...

Best,

Julien

Built three so far. The front two are the MB heads and the one at the back has a Hornet head. Insignia are Archers. Need to do a few tweaks like gaiter straps but they're quite nice to work with.

Having looked at the pics, does anyone else think that the Russians are accusing the Germans of being "boxheads" or "squareheads"?

Karl, this is a WHAT's NEW for a review, it isn't for you (or anyone else) to start putting up images of your own figures. There are plenty of spaces in the forums for this...Jim

Jim, I realise that it's a whats new section and I'm not looking for kudos in relation to my figures. I am however trying to show what they look like built up. What is the problem with that?