One of Masterboxes latest releases ( as of April 2010 ) and they just keep getting better. This kit takes their recently released BMW R75 Motorcycle and Sidecar with Photo Etch parts and adds four new figures, this time in an interesting move the four figures are two sets of bike crew, one pair dressed for winter, the other pair dressed for summer.
Moulded on two dark yellow sprues the details are very good with some very nice sculpting of the folds in the clothes and the details on the hands and faces. There is a small ammount of clean-up required, mostly the small amounts of flash.
The bike itself is a very good representaion and the inclusion of photo-etch spokes and sprokets improves it enormously. The purists will still find themselves with fine wire, CA glue and tweezers adding all the wires and cables that are never on these kits but if you want to go that far at least you have a very good base to build on. The bike has the option of either an MG34 or MG42 machine gun mounted on the side car with a drum magazine to fit if desired.
Decals include red crosses for a medical team or three otpions - 24th Panzer Division ( with alternative markings for Stalingrad as the Germans used to change their markings in the field to confuse the opposition ) ; Ramcke Parachute Brigade Libya and Tunisia 1942-43 ; 14th Fallshirmjager Division at Anzio 1944. A separate sheet of instructions is included for the bike while assembly and painting instructions for the figures are provided on the reverse of the box giving the paint numbers for Vallejo, Tamiya, Lifecolour, Humbrol and Agama paints.
The four figures as mentioned have good facial details if a little lacking in emotion but then if you’re looking to portray tired troops on the move then a blank expression does convey that best. The summer rider has the option of a helmetted head or a goggled bare head, the winter troops have the skirts of their coats moulded as separate pieces to give maximum detail. The wintered heads are also wearing balaclavas under their helmets. Personal equipment is included in the form of gas mask containers, waterbottles, rolled zeltbahns, ammo pouches, mess tins, entrenching tools and bread bags. There are also four Kar98K rifles, a map case and a rolled tarp for stowage on the rear of the sidecar.
If you take a look around at what is on offer in the way of a decent german motorcyle with sidecar and troops then what you find is …. this one. There really isn’t much else out there and what there is this is streets ahead of. It’s not a cheap kit coming in on a par with some of the Tamiya small armoured cars but I do think it is good value for money and it does look the business when done, and even more so when you go the extra mile and add cables etc.
Click on thumbnails for larger image.
