Thursday, June 05, 2008 - 09:53 PM UTC
Three new figure sets have now been confirmed by the Ukrainain manufacturer, Masterbox Ltd.
Last year, Masterbox did something that, up until then, no manufacturer had ever done. Rather than releasing a series of 'one-off' figure sets, they released three figure sets together. The common theme in these sets was 'Hand-to-hand combat' and featured a total of 12 figures (6 German, 6 Soviet) one set was Soviet, another German and the third containg five figures. By combining these sets, the modeler is able to create a huge variety of combinations. It seems obvious to most people, but no manufacturer has chosen to copy this impressively innovative concept...

Now, Masterbox has gone back to this idea by releasing three sets of U.S. Marines AND (for the first time in decades) Japanese Infantry.

The same format is being followed - one set of U.S.M.C., another of Japanese and a third containing figures of both nationalities.

We were fortunate enough - due to the high-level of cooperation we enjoy from Masterbox, to bring you exclusive images of some of the figures 'in-progress' - these are republished at the side along with the box-art for the new sets.

As to the sets themselves;

MB3542 - "Japanese Special Naval Landing Force Tarawa, 1943"

MB3543 - "Bloody Atoll" U.S. Marine Corps Infantry, Tarawa, 1943

MB3544 - "Bloody Atoll" Hand-to-hand fight, Tarawa, 1943


This is perhaps exactly the right moment for Masterbox to release these sets. U.S.M.C. M4s have been released from DML and the Japanese manufacturer, Fine-Molds have an increasingly impressive range of Japanese AFVs.

With these sets, the War in the Pacific now looks more 'doable' than it was before...
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Comments

I agree. The DML Gen 2 sets are often a little static. Some of the best sets by DML are some of the older ones which can be improved with gen 2 equipment.I still like "desperate defence" for originality: rag tag soldiers in mismatched uniforms getting ready for an attack.
JUN 08, 2008 - 04:34 PM
Strange that - as it was the first of the GenII sets, a lot of people say the same thing. It's for me, one of the most useful of any of their sets....
JUN 08, 2008 - 08:42 PM
I've just been e-mailed from the company to say thet they won't be released until the AUTUMN... However, as we've waited around 20 years(more?) for a new Japanese Figure set, a few more months should be bearable...
JUN 11, 2008 - 09:19 PM
It's autumn now in the northern hemisphere right? Does this mean we can expect to see these figures released any day now? I'm very excited. Chas
OCT 10, 2008 - 03:26 PM
No, it doesn't. Masterbox is a small company and directly related to this, things DON'T get as quickly released as they do from larger companies. So, please be patient.
OCT 11, 2008 - 05:28 AM
It looks very nice
OCT 11, 2008 - 06:16 AM
Have to say Jim I was only talking to Henk the other night and saying I wish these 3 sets were in the shops.
OCT 11, 2008 - 06:29 AM
Does anyone know. Will u be able to make lots of different poses with multiple box's like the German-Russion sets
OCT 11, 2008 - 06:45 AM
No, it doesn't. Masterbox is a small company and directly related to this, things DON'T get as quickly released as they do from larger companies. So, please be patient. [/quote] Ok Jim. The reason for my impatience is that I am staring at my box of DML Japanese infantry thinking 'shall I build them, or shall I wait for MB's set and they'll end up twice as good!' I believe so. If the German-Russian sets are anything to go by you should be able to interchange parts quite easily and create some pretty dynamic scenes and poses. Chas
OCT 11, 2008 - 01:06 PM
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