This is one of Masterbox’s early sets, and the first one in their “Eastern Front Series” which combines  this kit with an opposing set of Russian figures plus a third set with two German and Two Russian soldiers in hand to hand combat.

The four figures contained in this kit come on a single dark yellow sprue contained within the usual Masterbox open ended box, with the usual attractive artwork. The mouldings are good with nice detail on the uniforms, webbing and faces, though perhaps a little soft on some of the creases and the moulded on helmet chin straps could do with sharpening up. There is a small amount of cleanup required with very small amounts of flash and some mould seams to remove, as well as a few shallow sinkholes in the tops of the helmets. Fit and finish is good with just a small amount of filling and sanding required to eliminate all the join lines completely.

All four wear the M40 field uniform with the M35 helmet, with the three enlisted men having Y-straps while the officer has none. Two also have moulded on gas mask container straps. All four wear marching boots, though one has his trouser legs worn outside of the boot tops rather than being tucked in, and the officer wears gloves and breeches. One figure is depicted as having just been shot and the pose pulls this off quite well.

The figure holding the MP40 has the magazine moulded into his hand which  means you get a proper looking grip, though it does mean the MP40 then comes with no magazine, as it is intended to be attached to the one being held in the hand. The officer likewise has his P38 Walther pistol moulded into his hand with a holster on his belt, though the holster is moulded with the flap buckled closed, so this would look better if the holster was resculpted to have the flap open and the holster empty.

Equipmentwise you get two gas mask containers, three canteens, three bread bags, four Kar 98k triple ammo pouches, one mess tin, and two short shovels in carriers with attached bayonets. There is also a pair of binoculars, the P38 holster as mentioned above, and two MP40 triple mag pouches, one of which has the smaller cleaning kit pouch.

The weapons included are the MP40 which as mentioned comes without it’s mag, the P38 in the officer’s hand, and two Kar 98K rifles. The details and mouldings on the weapons and equipment is good overall, though the Kar 98K pouches seem a bit small, and the hangers on the entrenching tool carrier need beveling in.  The buckles etc on the harnesses though are very well done.

Assembly and painting instructions are provided on the reverse of the box giving the paint numbers for Vallejo, Tamiya, Lifecolour, Humbrol and Agama paints.

On it’s own this makes a good enough little action oriented set, but where it really comes to life is when it is combined with the other two sets in the series to create a small vignette of a battle at close quarters, whether a vehicle is included or not.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.

This is one of Masterbox’s early sets, and the second one in their “Eastern Front Series” which combines  this kit with an opposing set of German figures plus a third set with two German and two Russian soldiers in hand to hand combat.

The four figures contained in this kit come on a single dark yellow sprue contained in the usual Masterbox open ended box. The mouldings are good with nice sharp detail on the uniforms, webbing and faces, though perhaps a little soft on some of the creases and some of the equipment could do with sharpening up. There is a small amount of cleanup required with very small amounts of flash and some mould seams to remove. Fit and finish is good with just a small amount of filling and sanding required to eliminate all the join lines completely.

All four wear the standard gymnastiorka tunic with the three enlisted men wearing the standard sharovari pants. The officer wears the dark blue officer’s sharovari pants with leather boots, with two of the enlisted men wearing the leather boots also, the third wearing low boots and puttees. The officer’s soft peaked cap is moulded in two halves to give the best undercut detail for the top, one soldier wears a helmet while the other two come with moulded on pilotka sidecaps but with optional helmets. One of these helmets is hollow, the other if you want to use it would require the sidecap to be cut off. One of the figures is posed as if he has just been shot, though I have also found that with some minor tweaking he can be used to portray a soldier dismounting from a vehicle.

Equipmentwise you get two canteens, three entrenching tools in their canvas carriers, two gas mask musette bags, one double mosin-nagant rifle ammo pouch, one small pouch, three knapsacks, one PPsH 41 drum mag pouch, and a DP-27 drum mag pouch. There is also a mapcase, holstered Tokarev pistol and a pair of binoculars for the officer, though you will need to add your own straps for the binoculars and mapcase.

The weapons included are two Mosin-Nagant 1891 rifles with attached bayonets, two PPsH 41 sub-machine guns and a Degtyarov DP-27 light machine gun, with a separate bipod that is moulded open. So you end up with a spare PPsH 41 sub machine gun. The details and mouldings on the weapons and equipment is good overall, though there is some light flash to remove.

Assembly and painting instructions are provided on the reverse of the box giving the paint numbers for Vallejo, Tamiya, Lifecolour, Humbrol and Agama paints.

On it’s own this makes a good enough little action oriented set, but where it really comes to life is when it is combined with the other two sets in the series to create a small vignette of a battle at close quarters, whether a vehicle is included or not.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.

This is one of Masterbox’s early sets, and the third one in their “Eastern Front Series” which combines  this kit with opposing sets of German Infantry and Russian Infantry to form one large set of twelve figures involved in close quarters fighting.

The four figures contained in this kit come on a single dark yellow sprue contained within the usual Masterbox open ended box, with the usual very attractive artwork. The mouldings overall are quite good with nice detail on the uniforms, webbing and faces, though perhaps a little soft on some of the creases and some of the equipment could do with sharpening up. There is a small amount of cleanup required with very small amounts of flash and some mould seams to remove. Fit and finish is good with just a small amount of filling and sanding required to eliminate all the join lines completely.

This set contains two german and two Russian figures engaged in hand to hand fighting, with one of the Russians using his helmet as a weapon and the other his entrenching shovel, while the German figures are armed with a handheld bayonet and a rifle with an attached bayonet.

The two German figures wear the M40 field uniform with the M35 helmet, with Y-straps, moulded on gas mask container straps, and marching boots. Both have very nicely done face and both have moulded on helmet chin straps. Both are equiped with a gas mask container, a canteen, a breadbag, two Kar 98K rifle ammo pouches, and a short shovel in the carrier with attached bayonet. One area that needs addressing is that one has a bayonet attached to his Kar98K rifle and the other holds a bayonet in his hand, but both still have bayonets moulded to the shovels which need to have the handles removed so that just the scabbard remains.

The two Russian figures wear the standard gymnastiorka tunic and sharovari pants, one with the high leather boot, the other with the low boots and puttees. Both have well done faces with the figure using his helmet as a weapon having a suitably angry expression. Both are equiped with a canteen, rifle double ammo pouch, gas mask musette bag, and an entrenching tool. In this case no modification is needed as one has the shovel still in the carrier where the other, who is using the shovel as a weapon, only has the carrier. One also has a knapsack.

The weapons included are the main downside to this kit as all you get is a single Kar 98k with attached bayonet. I know that the concept of the figures is hand to hand fighting and the use of the improvised weapons really helps this kit to stand out, but I would still have liked the option of another couple of weapons to have them either slung or on the ground, a magless MP40 perhaps.

Assembly and painting instructions are provided on the reverse of the box giving the paint numbers for Vallejo, Tamiya, Lifecolour, Humbrol and Agama paints.

The lack of weapons I mentioned isn’t a real biggy, more a personal preference that is easily addressed, especially if you have a halfway decently stocked spares box, so look beyond that. Yes there is a degree of cleanup, and some parts could use a little sharpening up, but combined together into one large set this and the other two sets in the series make up into a very nice little action diorama of their own.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.