Master Box

1/35 German Checkpoint

Kit Number: MAS3527

Reviewed by  Jack Kennedy, IPMS# 12511

MSRP: $24.95 Review kit provided by Dragon USA (www.dragonmodelsusa.com) I have been building and painting miniature figures for over 40 years and I have had my share of bad kits and good ones over those years. I'm happy to say that this set of figures is one of the finest I have ever encountered. I had never built anything by this new company but I was sure impressed with this offering. The set consists of six nicely cast figures, a man, his wife and their small child, and three German soldiers plus a guard house and two very nice dogs. (German Shepherds, of course, a Poodle just wouldn't cut it.)

The most impressive feature of these figures is the way that they are engineered. All of the parts fit perfectly. When the arms are attached the hands fall exactly where they are supposed to. This is evident with the officer holding the stop sign and paperwork, the man reaching into his jacket to retrieve his paperwork and the soldier holding the machine gun. This saves a lot of fitting and re-positioning to get it right. The sculpting is very good with much fine detail showing. The dogs are some of the finest I have ever seen. The weapons are of a quality equal to the best around. Very little cleanup of seam lines was required. The parts fit superbly and look just right. I usually don't make dioramas but this set just calls out to make one. All the necessary parts are in the kit and all that is needed is to get a base and apply some ground cover to it. That's what I plan to do. I painted the figures with Vallejo and Andrea acrylic paints. Each figure took only about 3 hours from start to finish. (I work very quickly). The most difficult part was masking off the stripes for the guardhouse. Unfortunately, there are no details or furniture to include in the guardhouse. I'm sure they are not necessary but could be found in the spares box if you felt they were needed. If I had to find any fault with this kit, it would have to be the lack of instructions and a painting guide. The only thing included is the box art. Thankfully, I have many reference books to show where the various equipment and weapons go and a guide of the proper colors to paint everything. Would I recommend this kit? You bet. In fact, I have already bought several different kits by Master Box and look forward to building them very soon. I would like to thank Master Box and Dragon Models USA for giving IPMS this kit to review and John Noack for giving it to me.

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