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Built Review
135
Farmer's Cart
Farmer's Cart, WWII Era
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by: Jim Rae [ JIMBRAE ]

Introduction

This will be the first of two reviews. In the second, i'll be covering MB3538 - Somewhere In Europe 1944 which is is this release (MB3537) along with it's horses, two civilians and (as a bonus) two German Infantrymen looking longingly at an alternative to walking.

This is a release from a company which is demonstrating an absolutely impressive ability to surprise with each new release. Prior to this, this has been the kind of subject which would only be available through the excellent (but relatively expensive) Resin Manufacturers such as Adalbertus, MK35 or Verlinden. Considering the use that horse-drawn transport played in conflicts from WW1 up to the recent conflicts in the Balkans, it seems a little absurd that this area has been ignored by the Injection manufacturers. Up until now that is...


Masterbox's New Release

MB3537 - Farmer's Cart, WWII Era is a 1/35th scale, Injection-Moulded styrene kit which comes on a single sprue and contains just 35 parts. The kit is moulded in a sand-colored styrene and comes in the usual packaging from Masterbox - an end-opening, full-color box. Also included is a single sheet of instructions which also include a map of the parts on the sprue. Rather than the usual high-quality artwork, in this case a series of good quality color photos are presented of the completed model. No painting instructions are provided as this will be left up to the individual modeler's preferences.


In Detail

The quality of the moulding is absolutely excellent with only a few parts showing any flash - easily enough cleaned-up with a sharp knife. A few (inevitable) mould-lines are present, but are small enough to be easily cleaned up with the gentle use of some medium grade wet'n dry paper.

Construction (as can be seen from the scans) begins with the floor of the cart and adding the two angled strakes to hold the side pieces. The second part is attaching the wheels and the front part of the chassis which can be left loose to allow the front wheels to be positioned in almost any angle. Four parts which are included, are similar to tank hawsers, it may, with these, be desirable to replace these with sections with either cable of an appropriate thickness or even, as can be seen on other carts, with fine chain.


Construction Notes:

I first posted this as an 'In-Box' Review, however, I decided that to do proper justice it would be better to build it. Here are some comments on assembly.

Now, i've never actually (at least in THIS life) been called upon to build a real cart - Ikea's furniture is as far as i've gone... The impression I got though, is that the designer has followed the construction of an actual subject and reproduced it in plastic. Many of the pieces have locating pins attached to them which does ensure that one gets a good straight fit. However, be warned - some of the locating pins are bigger than the location holes so a little trimming is necessary. Major surgery isn't required - but you'll find yourself doing a lot of dry-fitting. It isn't 'shake'n'bake' but it's well within the capabilities of any modeler. Fit is also good enough that you won't find any problems and the engineering of the parts is really very good indeed.


How about some OTHER possibilities?

Now, the kit is going to build into an exceptional model straight from the box. However, there are some other ideas which present themselves.

The first, would be replacing the wheels with some suitable diameter wheels from a vehicle such as the Kubelwagen or even some of the Russian truck kits. This (particularly for a scene in Bosnia or other recent conflicts) would give another dimension to the cart.
Along the same lines, would be to rebuild the angled sides with plastic card and create a closed side rather than the open ones in the original model. Also, using the angled strakes as a guideline, a completely open cart could be created with adding a few more strakes. Another possibility would (as frequently seen) be to replace the sides with the woven 'wattle' type material seen in areas such as Russia...


Final thoughts

This is a model which most diorama builders will find an enormous amount of uses for. The quality of the basic kit is as good, if not better as anything done by Masterbox up until now and indicates that the company is at the the top of their game. The qualty of moulding is exceptional, the possibilities that I suggested above are only a few which could be applied. It could be used as part of a German supply column - even as an improvised ambulance in Soviet hands. It's also, I have little doubt, going to appear in future dioramas as part of a barricade.
The time period it could cover is equally impressive. It could be used as part of any diorama in almost any epoch in the last 500 years. and will be equally useful whether it's accompanied by Janissaries, German Infantry or NATO peace-keeping troops.
At first glance it seems like a 'useful' release - the reality is that it'll become one of the most useful in years...

My thanks to Masterbox Ltd. for the Review sample.
SUMMARY
Once again, Masterbox Ltd does the unexpected. Subjects like this have previously been the domain of the many excellent smaller manufacturers who are working in resin. For the first time, a subject as useful as this is getting produced in injection.moulded plastic - which will reflect considerably on the price!
  SUBJECT:99%
  QUALITY OF MOULDING:90%
  UTILITY:100%
Percentage Rating
95%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: MB3537
  Related Link: Item on manufacturer's website
  PUBLISHED: May 03, 2008
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.06%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 84.05%

Our Thanks to Master Box Ltd.!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Jim Rae (jimbrae)
FROM: PROVINCIA DE LUGO, SPAIN / ESPAñA

Self-employed English teacher living in NW Spain. Been modelling off and on since the sixties. Came back into the hobby around ten years ago. First love is Soviet Armor with German subjects running a close second. Currently exploring ways of getting cloned to allow time for modelling, working and wr...

Copyright ©2021 text by Jim Rae [ JIMBRAE ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

I have this on order in my LHS. As you say Jim there are lots of possibilities with this kit so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet.
MAY 03, 2008 - 05:50 AM
I think i have a picture where the Germans mounted a Pak 40 to it.
MAY 03, 2008 - 05:57 AM
My father told me that his dad (my grandfather) had a cart like that because he was a farmer. One day in 1944 he was forced by german soldiers (together with other farmers and village people) to do forced labour. When he left he took this cart with him. These people had to dig trenches and other militairy strongpoints. Some time after he got home, he was killed by heavy gun fire. Strange how a simple cart can tell a sad but true story. BTW, i really like this kit. This one has indeed great potential for 1001 diorama's to come. Frank
MAY 03, 2008 - 06:27 AM
Wow, I've got to get a couple of those. I think that they'd be warmly accepted in many dioramas. What a great thing to have. MB in my opinion is really hammering the nail with many of their products, ie... the civilians, border crossing... etc. EasyOff
MAY 06, 2008 - 04:32 AM
I've just made a little change to the Review - adding photos of the built-up kit.
MAY 06, 2008 - 06:45 AM
I dropped into All Models in Dublin today and this was waiting for me together with the Miniart US MP set. Masterbox and Miniart seem to get to the shop very quickly after announced release. The moulding is really sharp and my brain is buzzing with possibilities. When Karelia was ceded from Finland to the USSR as part of the peace settlement after the Continuation War my wifes family loaded everything they could onto a similiar wagon, burnt what they couldn't take and set out for western Finland. I imagine Similiar scenes were played out all over Europe. My other idea is to have a squad of really drunk Russian Frontoviks stting out for home with all their war booty.
MAY 06, 2008 - 07:45 AM
It's incredible isn't it? The 2000 piece 'super-kit's' are impressive models, but, it has to be said a bit limited in their possibilities - you can build that version and little else. Whereas, 30+ pieces in a Farm Cart and the possibilities seem limitless.
MAY 06, 2008 - 08:01 PM
As usual here, nicely-done. This one's in my stash for a Ukrainian village dio in my head....
MAY 20, 2008 - 11:19 AM
Masterbox is really coming about as a great company The kits seem to get better every release and I look forward to more of their releases Bob
MAY 20, 2008 - 11:46 AM
   
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