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With the new HBO series “The Pacific” now airing on TV I can see a renewed interest in the Pacific arena of WWII, which will no doubt be reflected in the models on offer. So I thought it an apt time to take a look at this set released by Masterbox in 2009, kit number 1 in their “Bloody Atoll Series” which consists of this kit, a set of U.S. Marines, and a set which mixes figures from both sides together.

This set comes in the usual Masterbox open ended box on the usual single dark yellow sprue containing the four figures that make up this kit. A small sheet of decals is also included and the assembly instructions, as usual, are printed on the rear of the box. The figures depict an officer and three infantrymen in a “Banzai charge” with one of the infantrymen posed as if he has just been hit. The mouldings are very good, the detail is sharp other than the helmet straps and ears which could use sharpening up. Other than that the facial moulding is very well done with good expressions on faces that do actually look asian. Cleanup is minimal with only light mould seams to deal with and a little filling and sanding required to remove join lines once assembled.

The officer carries a Katana ( Samurai Sword ) and a holstered Nambu Type 14 pistol. You get two options for his right arm, one carries his sword down and swept back as on the cover art, while the other carries it up and forward as depicted on the reverse of the box. He carries the scabbard in his left hand and wears the soft cap with neck cover. His other equipment consists of the leather general purpose carry case, a mapcase, and a canteen.

The three infantrymen carry the Arisaka 99 rifle ( one may be a Type 38 as it includes the rod under the barrel ) and two have bayonets attached. In a nice move on detailling all three rifles come with separately moulded bolt handles. Each also gets a general purpose utility bag, a leather general purpose carry case, two mag pouches and a canteen. Each also comes with a tied blanket roll and a bayonet scabbard, two of which are empty to match the mounted bayonets, the third having the bayonet still in the scabbard. These three have complete heads with hollow helmets, though the helmet chin straps are moulded to the heads.

Six different decals are included with which to make the flags which can be tied to the rifles. This can be done by placing them onto paper or foil painted white and then attached with fine thread ( or simply glued ). 

This is a very nice kit and one of very few that represent Second World War Japanese figures. The sense of action in the charge is well portrayed and the detail and finish on these is very good. The only drawback to these is that you really need about a hundred more so that you can do a diorama of a Banzai attack on a fixed line.

A review of Kit No. 2 in the Bloody Atoll Series, U.S. Marines, can be read HERE.

Click thumbnails to enlarge images.

With the new HBO series “The Pacific” now airing on TV I can see a renewed interest in the Pacific arena of WWII, which will no doubt be reflected in the models on offer. So I thought it an apt time to take a look at this set released by Masterbox in 2009, kit number 2 in their “Bloody Atoll Series” which consists of this kit, a set of Japanese Marines, and a set which mixes figures from both sides together.

This set contains five figures of U.S. Marines and comes on a single dark yellow sprue. The mouldings are reasonably good with just small ammounts of flash and the usual moulding seam lines. The detail is also very good with things like the belt buckles and webbing clips all well defined.

The faces are well done with the wounded man having a nice pained look. The other four of them though do look much alike, though this could be down to the fact that they are all bald, because in a rather unusual move Masterbox have given all five figures full heads and four of them are bald. The exception is the wounded man who has hair, presumably as he has no helmet. The other four all have hollow helmets and full heads with no hair.

Three of the four helmets have moulded on camo covers, the fourth is uncovered and all four have no internal liners. Not that this matters if they go on a head but it would have been a nice detail that would have allowed the builder to exploit the full heads by having the helmets off. But that is nitpicking a bit really as it is akin to expecting weapon slings.

The weapons included are a BAR with bipod, a Thompson SMG, an M1 Garand, a second M1 Garand with the bayonet fixed and an M1 Carbine. Personal equipment consists of  two canteens for each, a first aid pouch for each, the correct ammo pouches for each, and oddly three of what appear to be shotgun ammo pouches.  

There is also a bayonet in a scabbard for the figure carrying the wounded man, the intention being that if you use the rifle mounted bayonet that you cut the handle off giving him an empty scabbard, otherwise you can cut the bayonet from the rifle and leave it in the scabbard on his belt.

In a very nice touch the NCO with the Thompson gets a mag pouch that has been moulded to show the top covers pulled between each mag leaving the mag top exposed, a technique used in combat to give faster access to the mags. He also gets a holstered Colt .45 and the twin mag pouch for it.

As is the norm with Masterbox, rather than printed instructions the assembly and painting guide are printed on the reverse of the box.

This is an excellent little kit, it does require a little clean-up but nothing that isn’t easily dealt with and these offer a great opportunity to put together a scene of U.S. marines on the attack.

A review of Kit No. 1 in the Bloody Atoll Series, Japanese Marines, can be read HERE

Click thumbnails to enlarge images.