Master Box Ltd

1/35 "Ticket Home" German Soldiers 1941-1943

Kit Number: MB3552

Reviewed by  Tom Jett, IPMS #46082

MSRP: $12.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Master box have released very fresh figure sets of late with unique poses, and uniform variations that provide the armor modeler with a great deal of options. This latest set "Ticket Home" is no different. This three-figure set is molded in flesh colored styrene and consists of 21 parts. Each figure consists of two legs, torso, two arms, and a head. Only one figure, the medic, wears headgear, and no weapons or uniform markings are included. First Impression Generally speaking, I’m not a huge fan of most plastic figures, but I have to say I felt these were above average and on par with other manufacturers, like Dragon and Tamiya. The faces (apart from the unique poses) were by far the best aspect of the kit, although I’d probably replace these with suitable resin heads if doing these figures for a diorama. I felt that some of the body parts looked out of scale, a hand or arm too big, or in the case of the grenadier, a head that looks a little too big in proportion to the body. Again, nothing too unexpected for a plastic figure set. The unique poses here are for me personally the big hit of this offering. Uniforms All three figures are clad in different uniforms. Included are a wounded Panzer crewman (NCO) in the traditional black tunic and pants, a wounded grenadier in the M40 5-button, enlisted mans field blouse with the four center pleat, non-ballooning pockets, and lastly a medic in the three color camouflaged smock with laced yoke, and gathered waist and cuffs. Construction This was straightforward, given the simple parts breakdown. As expected with most figures plastic or resin, some minor gap filling and mold seam clean up was required on all the figures. The seams were cleaned up with a sharp No 11 blade. Generally, gaps required filling at shoulders and the waist. I prefer to use Apoxie Sculpt to fill these gaps since you can smoothed it out with a wet finger or small paintbrush, to reduce the need for a lot of sanding later. I encountered no major problems with building any of the figures, and built all three as per the instructions. I left off the medic’s helmet however until after the face was painted. Painting The uniforms were painted in Tamiya and Lifecolor acrylics while all the flesh tones were done with oils. Reference material will be helpful particularly with the medics camo smock. This is not easy to get right and I’m not thrilled with how mine turned out but I did my best. As for the pose, the box art shows the trio riding on a converted Pzr I ambulance, but I didn’t have one built to evaluate how they’d fit on the vehicle. I suppose any vehicle could be used, but only after some careful test fitting beforehand with the desired hull. Overall, I was happy with the fit and quality of the figures, and in particular, the unique poses. Highly recommended. Thanks to Dragon Models USA for supplying the review sample.