Kit Number MB3556
One thing that has always been hard to find in 1/35 scale in plastic kit form is good female figures, so this set from Masterbox, released in 2009 together with its sister kit “Luftwaffe Hefferinnen” is a welcome addition for many of us.
This kit comes in the usual open ended box on a single dark yellow sprue. The quality of the mouldings and the finess of the detail has improved noticeably over earlier Masterbox kits which weren’t themselves that bad but often need a little cleanup. The moulding on this set however is excellent with very nice facial detail especially with the female faces looking like female faces.
There isn’t a huge amount to this kit, just the two male figures, two females figures, the monkey and the parrot, but what you do get is very well presented. The skirts on the women are moulded with separate parts so that there is full undercut detail - so much so that it appears they are both going commando. The sailor’s neckerchief ends are a also a separate part and the naval officer includes details on his epaulettes, the ribbon bar and emblem on his cap.
One of the women has a small bald spot where her cap goes which makes her look funny without it on ( but once it is on it looks perfectly fine ), while the other woman has a separate part for her pony tail. One of the women carries a satchel over her shoulder though you will need to add your own shoulder strap to this as none is included, though that should be considered a plus as one added from thin paper or foil will always look a lot better than any moulded on one.
The parrot and monkey are also well done overall though the monkey could use a little sharpening up around his right arm where it joins his body as it sort of merges in and lacks full definition. Likewise the parrot needs more detailing around his legs and feet, mainly as he has no feet, so if you use the parrot you will need to add his feet and tidy up the legs to help them stand out from the tail.
This is a great little kit, especially for scratchbuilders. I say that because I know that the subject matter aon the surface doesn’t have a great deal of appeal to armour builders, but with some very minor modifications both women can be changed into European civilians. The naval figures likewise can be resculpted quite easily into a Kriegsmarine sailor and a german officer in prewar dress uniform.
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