Master Box has produced some very nice figure sets over the years including one of my all time favourites ‘Cold Wind’. An aspect of figure sets that Master Box has taken on is too release series of figures, sometimes over quite long periods of time. The Indian Wars Series of figures has had a number of great additions of late and one of these is titled ‘Last Stand’.
Review
This offering from Master Box provides us with a cavalry soldier in a crouched position behind his dead horse. The other figure depicts a scout, I believe, this figure does not match the bent kneed shooting from the hip static figure depicted on the box artwork, instead we get a figure shooting from the hip while running in a sideways sort of gape.
The model is provided in the end opening thin card carton common to figure sets from Master Box. This box design is ok to look at and makes storage easy, but it does become easily crushed by items stored on top of it. Inside of the carton is a single grey sprue sealed inside a plastic bag. An examination of the sprue does not bring any issues to my attention with the possible exception of some sprue attachment points being on easily damaged areas.
The dead horse goes together easily for the most part, but I would have liked to see some connectors for the two halves of the body, this is due to some fettling being required to get a good all round joint. The ‘V’ cut joint for the ears is too large on the head part, this results in a sloppy fit that will require some filling to remedy. The mane of the horse took me a while to locate as it actually connects via the side of the neck rather than the back. The way the horse is laying is accurate as it is my understanding that cavalry horses were trained to lie down and provide the cavalryman with an area of cover. While I have not applied the tack to the horse a check of reference indicated that Master Box has done a very good job of tackling this area.
The cavalry man has the usual torso and two separate leg mouldings, but the arms are both two piece affairs. The approach used for the arms by Master Box has allowed for some nice moulding detail, but it does make it a little difficult to get the arms in the position where they hold and support the rifle as indicated. One other issue here is that the upper portion of the left arm is indicated as (No47) but the correct number is (No46). Details on the figure appear to match the limited reference I have very well and this includes the rifle, this is I believe a model 1865 .52 Spencer Carbine. The cavalry sabre is fair considering the limitations of scale; the guard on the hilt consists of two pieces which while on the thick side do a good visual job.
The hat recommended for this figure is the ‘bummer’ cap, my reference indicated that this piece of uniform was much disliked and replaced as soon as possible. Also supplied but not mentioned is the wide brimmed campaign hat and it is indicated that this is a very suitable replacement if decided for the cap, the numbers for this element are indicated but not shown. The hand and facial details of this figure rates very highly with me. The cavalryman is clean shaven which is supported by period photographs, but it should be noted that moustaches are also very common and so you may wish to add that detail.
The final figure that I consider to be a scout is a little disappointing for me due to it not matching the stance on the box artwork. The upper body is as indicated in my opinion but the legs are in a running stance rather than that of a person standing their ground. This change does not mean the figure is bad but rather not as appealing to me visually. The arms are again a bit of a pain due to the difficulty of cleaning up the connection points which are on the tassel areas of the arms. In all other respects I am happy with what is provided. The face of this figure is bearded and that has been well replicated on the model. The wide brimmed hat of this figure is going to be a pain if care is not taken when removing it from the sprue, this is because the connection point is on the edge of the hats brim.
Conclusion
This offering from Master Box is an interesting figure set as it offers the modeller two figures in action without the need for the external element to be visible. Construction of the set will be a test of the modellers abilities when it comes to getting the arms of the cavalry man in position to support the rifle. Clean up of some elements will be difficult due to connection points being placed in difficult areas. Despite the concerns I have raised here I do think this is a very nice addition to the range with a lot going for it in the hands of some of the members here.
SUMMARY
Highs: The dead horse is the item that grabs my attention due to how well it has been portrayed in plastic. I usually find that animals can be harder than figures to display realistically.Lows: The stance of the standing figure is not my favourite, one part is incorrectly numbered in the instructions and arm positioning is difficult.Verdict: A very nice figure set as regards display as in action figures can be hard to portray well and a great addition to this range of figures.
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About Darren Baker (CMOT) FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM
I have been building model kits since the early 70’s starting with Airfix kits of mostly aircraft, then progressing to the point I am at now building predominantly armour kits from all countries and time periods. Living in the middle of Salisbury plain since the 70’s, I have had lots of opportunitie...
That's a myth that Custer wore that jacket at the the battle of the big horn it became popular because of They Died With Their Boots On, where Errol Flynn was depicted wearing it but that film was made during WW2 and there's many inaccuracies I recommend reading Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell, or watching the adapatation starring Gary Cole.
Anthony
well ... Frederic Remington's Painting of Custer's Last Stand depicts him wearing it, as many other period paintings. i will look for the book you recommanded though
It's a good book I can also recommend Crazy Horse and Custer by Stephen E. Ambrose and Killing Custer by James Welch. Both are good reads the coat in question Custer wore during the winter campaigns, including his infamous ambush at Washita in Nov 1868 i say infamous because the 7th Cavalry killed at least 75 women and children.
The scout can be any number of civilian contractors or Army officers. He's missing Custer's long hair and sharply trimmed goatee regardless of his clothing. And the trooper is dressed completely wrong for Little Big Horn though would pass for the 1868 campaign.
I'd be tempted to put the two against each other in a American Civil War vignette of one of Mosby's or Forrest's raids.
Can't be Custer, who was blond, didn't wear a beard, had a mustache and goatee which were closely trimmed for his last campaign, and carried Bulldogs, not a Colt. Also, his campaign hat was a tailor made hat, and his brother Tom and W. W. Cooke had similar hats-- the "scout" on the box top is wearing a different "Stetson" appearing hat. At the Little Big Horn, Custer wore a pair of leather breeches and a blue fireman's campaign shirt with yellow or white trim, purchased by many officers of the 7th Cavalry. His buckskin jacket was left with the pack train, and still exists today. Little Big Horn troopers would have worn the later sack coats, and sky blue trousers, most of which would have had the inseam reinforced with the white fabric from flour sacks. Walter Camp's notes on the Little Bighorn is probably one of the best first person resources for the campaign, and consists of personal recollections and evidence from both sides. That book and Randy Steffen's four volume series on the US Cavalry are probably the best sources you can find for uniforms and accoutrements of the cavalry on the plains. Don't get too hung up on the dates for implementation of uniform changes, as this was a tumultuous time in the history of the US Army, and for many years after the Civil War, earlier uniform styles were worn as existing stocks were exhausted. The Post Civil War years were a time of "belt tightening" and benign neglect for the Army, and it took a long time for new weapons, uniforms and equipment to reach troops at distant posts in the old west even if Congress grudgingly released the funding in the first place. So it's certainly feasible to have seen an 1868 uniform coat on an 1872 trooper.
VR, Russ
The trooper is wearing a cavalry shell jacket which according to Randy Steffon's books as well as the plate he did for the Company of Military Historians and so on dispute the wearing of shell jackets by 1876. It's too short, the button spacing is wrong as is the collar for any style of sack coat. Again see the build blog for the completed figure. Shell jacket which I argued could have been retained through the 1860s but were superseded by the 1870s by sack coats.
You're not quoting any source that I hadn't already consulted. That's why the trooper could even go with the charging Civil War cavalry set for a vignette of one of the crazy cavalry skirmishes of that conflict. He would also work for an early Indian Wars, but the jacket would have to changed for later.
The trooper is wearing a modified 1859 pattern dress coat. The regular army had an unofficial "field uniform" during the post-civil war era. Dress coats, which were made of a higher quality than most blouses (sack coats) were sometimes modified by having the skirts cut off to about hip length, braid and buttons removed from the cuffs and the standing collars replaced by "roll-over" (fold-down) collars. The buttons were usually left in place and can be either side of seven buttons and still be proper. In addition I would identify the "scout" as a buffalo hunter taking an Army scouting job during an active campaign season. Please note the Infantry version (.45-70-405) of the Springfield Breech Loading Rifle Musket (so called "trapdoor) he is holding. These figures could accurately be used in a diorama showing a scene from the period 1874-77. Change the scouts rifle to a Henry and pistol to a cap and ball Colt/Remington and push this era back to 1866? I worked at several American Indian Wars related historic sites from the late 1980s to the early 2000s and I have encountered this question before. Photographic evidence exists and I reference the following: The U.S. Army in the West 1870-1880: Uniforms, weapons and equipment by Douglas C. McChristian 1995. Osprey Men-at-Arms #63 also. I am impressed by this company's research. BTW, T.V. and Hollywood are NEVER an accurate source of details for this period of history. Curiously enough the Three Stoogies are since the uniforms and weapons they are using in their "Civil War" short films are actually Original Indian Wars Surplus!
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