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In-Box Review
135
Meeting on Promenade
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by: Scott Lodder [ SLODDER ]

introduction

What do you do when you want to include civilians in your dioramas? You can take a look at kit 329 “Meeting on Promenade”, it’s a resin kit from PlusModel that represents two civilians. The pair of civilians is a business man in a suit and a woman in a dress.

The Kit

This section will review the kit by itself on its own merits. The next section will compare it to other brands.

The resin itself is a decent resin. It is a bit soft and should be workable with basic resin tools. The resin blocks are on locations that allow for easy removal with little clean up. There was a bit of very thin flash that needs to be touched up. My kit didn’t have any air bubbles from the pour. All the other PlusModel kits I have reviewed do not have any bubbles or gaps either. You should look forward to a good solid kit.

The man is a typical business man or well dressed man on a Sunday. He is in a suit and is holding a cane. His basic stance is acceptable for someone in a casual conversation. Just looking at the man gives you a ‘soft’, ‘close’ impression. Everything seems very smoothly molded and close to the body. The detail of the front of the coat does not seem to have much negative casting (open area behind it.) The folds and creases seem a bit soft too.

One structural problem I see with the suit is in the buttons. The space from the bottom of the lapel to the hem is very long. However, there are only two buttons. I think three would have been better. Sure you can add a dot of putty to fix it. Another structural issue is how close his right elbow is to his body. This gives the whole figure an odd ‘feel’.

The woman is a nicely dressed lady who is holding her dog. As with the man her basic stance is acceptable. The box art is poorly done as it has her weight on her back foot, not her front foot. This gives her whole body an odd look. If you position her with her weight on her front foot (right foot) I think the whole visual of her will be better.

The sculpting here is also very ‘soft’ and ‘chunky’. The creases and folds in her dress, at the elbow for example, are far too thick for even a cotton or linen dress. The dog is oddly proportioned with a very small head.

Brand Comparison

With no 1:1 version of this kit to do reference comparisons, I’ll use a proxy comparison. I’ll compare this kit with other common manufactures. The three I’ll use are: Verlinden, Squadron, and Warriors.

The first is Verlinden. The points that jump out at me are the size of the head and boots. The Verlinden figure is much larger on both pieces. Another point to make is the texture and depth of the clothing. The PlusModel sculpting is not as crisp as the Verlinden figure. The size and scale shows that the PlusModel figure is a much smaller person, which may be acceptable. The size of the trunks are decently matched. The arms are bit different. The Verlinden arm is considerably larger than PlusModels.

The Warrior figure is much closer in size and scale. The Warrior figure will end up being a few inches taller than the PlusModel figure . The overall size and scale are closer between these two figures. I would be more comfortable putting these two figures close together in a diorama.

The last figure is from Jaguar. This comparison is really no match; these two figures look like different scales. The detail of the Jaguar figure is great and really shows the level necessary to routinely compete with bigger manufacturers.
All these comparison show one major difference, crispness. The detail on long standing manufacturers is easy to see. On the PlusModel the folds and creases just aren’t there.

The scale isn’t quite matching the three big manufactures either.

Conclusion

This kit is a great subject and has the potential to fill a great niche in figure modeling. It really falls flat on execution. The molding reminds me of a sculptors early works. Everything is close, but just not ‘there’. Some additional time needs to be spent on making the detail sharper. I would also rather see more parts (arms, hand etc) with strong size and detail instead of close detail for easy molding.

This kit probably won’t be the center piece of any diorama, as it doesn’t have the strength to hold attention. It could act as a supporting kit of figures in the background of a project.

SUMMARY
Highs: The subject is great and the price is good for a two figure resin kit.
Lows: The scale is on the small side and sculpting is weak and soft.
Verdict: Take a look if you need this subject, but be prepared to add your own detailing.
Percentage Rating
70%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 329
  Suggested Retail: $13.40
  PUBLISHED: Dec 21, 2009
  NATIONALITY: Czech Republic
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 82.50%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 85.93%

Our Thanks to Plus Model!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Scott Lodder (slodder)
FROM: NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

I modeled when I was a teenager. College, family and work stopped me for a while. Then I picked it back up after about 12 years off. My main focus is dioramas. I like the complete artistic method of story telling. Dioramas involve so many aspects of modeling and I enjoy getting involved in the ...

Copyright ©2021 text by Scott Lodder [ SLODDER ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

No wonder the guy looks depressed look what he married. Why can’t Plus Model make an attractive or feminine female figure? She looks like she hit every branch on the ugly tree TWICE! And then went back for a second go, or maybe its a man in drag. I know a realistic female can be made as you only need look at some of the female figures that are portrayed as tankers and infantry. Scott I think you have been very generous to Plus Model where this offering is concerned.
DEC 20, 2009 - 04:30 PM
They would make a very nice set, as part of a zombie diorama. I agree. Plus Models does a lot of nice items, but where they get the ideas for their figures is anyone's guess.
DEC 20, 2009 - 04:48 PM
Wow! These make the Italeri German Artillery Troops look good! I cringe at the price these things will fetch - a waste of money.
DEC 20, 2009 - 07:49 PM
No, I think Scott was very fair in fact, He clearly pointed out the shortcomings but also made some good points about how they could be used. It's NOT a set I would buy at all, and yes the comment about PlusModel needing to reevaluate their future figure releases is well made. The other areas of their release program are good, allowing their figures to damage their reputation isn't terribly smart?
DEC 20, 2009 - 10:50 PM
Grading is subjective and I wanted to let the photos give you a side by side comparison which you wouldn't get anywhere else (manufacturer site). And scales are subjective, my son has a High School grade scale of 7 points (100-93 = A). The big point that you guys are seeing is that PlusModels does have a wide range of kits and the other kits are really good. Support them for that and hopefully they can gain experince in figure sculpting along the way.
DEC 20, 2009 - 11:13 PM
Scott please do not take my comments as being pointed at you in what you have done here, my comments are aimed at Plus Model for releasing what I feel is a bad product, and I know that reviewing some products is harder than others. As despite in some cases your shock/horror at the product you must remain factual, and you have done that. I felt you were overly generous in the percentage score that you gave this product, not in the review and conclusion you gave.
DEC 21, 2009 - 04:10 AM
Darren - no harm done, no offense taken. I can't wait to build this and see if I can turn a sow's ear into a purse
DEC 21, 2009 - 05:04 AM
   
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