Introduction
Master Box LTD has released German Tankers A break between battles, WWII era, kit number MB35149, a set of four figures in 1/35 scale which represent four WWII German tank crewmembers in different uniforms involved in a soccer game, a male youth and a dog. The figures were sculpted by sculptor A. Gagarin.
Contents
The box that the kit comes in is the typical soft cardboard open end box with artwork of the figures on the top of the box by the artist Andrey Karaschuk along with a photograph of an older style soccer ball. The bottom of the box has a very basic assembly guide in the form of photographs of the completed figures and an artwork painting guide. The sprue is sealed within a sealable clear plastic bag. There is no separate instruction sheet included in the kit. There is only the basic assembly guide on the bottom of the box.
The Painting Guide
Included on the bottom of the box is a very basic painting guide. The paint brands referenced are Vallejo and Lifecolor. The paint colors required to finish the figures as per the painting guide are as follows:
Vallejo
- 820 Offwhite
- 837 Pale Sand
- 859 Black Red (Cadmium Brown)
- 869 Basalt Grey
- 905 Bluegrey Pale
- 928 Light Flesh
- 942 Light Green
- 949 Light Yellow
- 950 Black
- 951 White
- 962 Flat Blue
- 983 Flat Earth
- 997 Silver
Lifecolor
- LC-01 - Matt White
- LC-04 - Matt Dark Yellow
- LC-16 - Matt Raw Sienna
- LC-10 - Matt Dark Blue
- LC-18 - Matt Light Grey
- LC-41 - Matt Flesh #2
- LC-11 - Matt Light Green
- LC-03 - Matt Yellow
- LC-02 - Matt Black
- LC-01 - Matt White
- LC-08 - Matt Pale Blue
- LC-37 - Matt Burnt Umber
- LC-74 - Gloss Natural Metal (Silver)
Review
The Sprue
The kit comes with one tan styrene sprue which contains 33 total pieces. The sprue comes sealed in a clear plastic bag. All of the pieces are attached to the sprue with a minimal amount of contact points. When I examined the sprues I didn't find any bent, broken or missing pieces nor did I find any poorly placed knock out points.
The Parts
As I examined the individual pieces I found what I would consider to be a normal to minimal amount of flash however there are seam lines present. I did not find any push out (knock out) marks on the individual pieces. The detailing on the individual pieces is fairly decent.
The Figures
The kit comes with four WWII German tank crewmembers with varying uniforms, one civilian youth and one dog. I assembled all of the figures straight out of the box without doing any work on them (other than removing the small bit of styrene where I removed the piece from the sprue) to show all of the seam lines, flash, gaps and how everything fits on the figures. I feel this is a good way to show the work required on all of them. This has become my standard for figure reviews and it has met with praise and appreciation from my fellow modelers.
Figure 1. The Goalie
The figure is made up of 6 total pieces. The figure is wearing the appropriate uniform for the time frame with the panzer uniform of black trousers and grey shirt and the short lace up boots. The figures neck fits into the collar nicely and the detailing on the figures face is decent. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good and there are very few gaps that will need to be filled which is nice. The detailing on the clothing and other molded items is nicely done.
Figure 2. The Child
The figure is made up of 5 total pieces. The figure is wearing shorts and a tank top which are nicely done. The figure is also wearing some type of a cap but I dont know what it is supposed to represent. It fits on the head okay but in my opinion it could have been left out of the kit. If I was to use this figure in a diorama or vignette I would place a German helmet or a panzer crewmembers cap on his head just for a different look. The figures head fits on the neck fair but it will need some work to make the two sections blend together and look good. The detailing on the figures face is decent. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with a few gaps that will need to be filled.
Figure 3. Soccer player with right arm bent
The figure is made up of 6 total pieces. The figure is wearing the appropriate athletic uniform for the time frame of black shorts and the tank top. The detailing on the clothing and on the figures face is nice and the hair is a time appropriate haircut with nice detailing. The painting guide shows the tank top with the national eagle emblem. I expected there to be decals of the emblem however there were none included. The figures head fits on the neck good with a little bit of a gap to fill. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed and the overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.
Figure 4. Soccer player with right arm straight
The figure is made up of 4 total pieces. The figure is wearing the appropriate athletic uniform for the time frame of black shorts and the tank top. As with the other player the painting guide shows the tank top with the national eagle emblem. The detailing on the clothing and on the figures face is nice and the hair is a time appropriate haircut with nice detailing. There is a nice bend to left ankle which helps create a realistic look. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with few gaps to fill.
Figure 5. Tanker in uniform standing smoking pipe
The figure is made up of 7 total pieces. The detailing on the clothing is nice. The figure is wearing the appropriate uniform for the time frame with the panzer uniform of black trousers and grey shirt and the short lace up boots. The detailing on the figures face is nice and the neck fits into the collar well. The right hand fits up against the right hip nicely with a realistic look. The long stem pipe is a nice touch and there is a small indent in the figures mouth for the pipe stem to fit in. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with few gaps to fill.
Figure 6. The dog
The dog figure is made up of 2 total pieces. The overall detailing is decent and the legs and tail are shown in a realistic manner. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with the exception of the front of the dog which has a gap to fill. This could probably be fixed very easy with a little sanding. Personally I would like to have seen the dog in a more animated posed like he was chasing after the ball or the players. But that is just my thoughts on that.
The soccer ball and the pieces of fire wood
Not much to say about these three pieces other than they are in fact 1/35th scale representations of a soccer ball and two pieces of fire wood. The detailing on them is nice and they definitely help to create the intended scene. With the pieces of firewood looking as if they were cut with a saw it would be very easy to add a canteen or liquor/wine bottle on the end of one or both of them just for additional scenery filler. It should/would be an immediate penalty kick if someone knocks over and spills or breaks the bottle of spirits.
CONCLUSION
All in all this is a decent set of figures. You get five figures which are nicely detailed. I was impressed with the detailing and the poses of all the figures. A modeler will just need to be prepared to spend some time removing seam lines and filling the few gaps. Other than my few complaints I was very impressed with the kit and I feel that anyone who purchases this set of figures will be pleased with them. I would have no hesitation to recommend this set of figures to others. If desired the modeler could by a few of these sets and modify the other figures and make a larger diorama of a soccer game in progress.
REFERENCES
World War 2 Combat Uniforms and Insignia
Squadron/Signal Publications, #6013
Published in 1977
Martin Windrow with color illustrations by Gerry Embleton
Tank And AFV Crew Uniforms Since 1916
Martin Windrow
Color Illustrations by Gerry Embleton
Squadron/Signal Publications
You can see the set on the Master Box LTD web site:
A break between battles Live links
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