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In-Box Review
135
U.S. Marine Corps Infantry
U.S. Marine Corps Infantry, Tarawa, November 1943
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by: Darren Baker [ CMOT ]

Introduction

A little under two years ago MasterBox released three sets of figures depicting;

• Japanese Imperial Marines, Tarawa, November 1943. (Reviewed Here)
• U.S. Marine Corps Infantry, Tarawa, November 1943.
• Hand to Hand Combat, Tarawa, November 1943, depicting troops from both sides of this area of conflict. (Reviewed Here)

When announced, and then released, there was a lot of interest shown, but I have yet to see any built. I have covered the Japanese Imperial Marines, Tarawa, November 1943 (Reviewed Here) and in this review I will cover U.S. Marine Corps Infantry, Tarawa, November 1943 to be followed by Hand to Hand, Tarawa, November 1943 as I wanted to see if they lived up to the hype at time of release.

Contents

Inside the standard end opening box which is typical of MasterBox you will find a single Tan sprue containing all the parts for the figures in a poly bag.

Review

I am going to start this review by taking a closer look at the end opening box. On the front is a pleasing colour print by “A. Karaschuk” depicting the enclosed five figures that make up the set. The sides of the box carry warning notes in English, Ukrainian, Russian, and German along with images of some of Master Box’s other releases.

The back of the box shows the five assembled figures painted and is the only assembly guide there is, as there are red lines depicting the number of the parts for each figure. On the back there is also a picture of the sprue which shows the number layout of the pieces as there are no numbers on the sprue itself. Disappointedly there are no painting instructions of any kind and does not suggest any manufacturers paints. The only guide as such is the images of the five assembled figures.

The five figures break down to a grunt shown advancing with a Thompson MG at waist height, as if firing from the hip. A BAR gunner shown with the weapon leveled ready to fire which is held a little higher than the hip (I suspect firing a BAR rifle from that position would be difficult, but that is just an opinion). The remaining three figures are all rifleman showing one with his M1 Garand rifle held in a shoulder firing position, another is shown carrying a wounded “brother” to safety and again carrying an M1 Garand rifle (one of these two figures can be equipped with an M1 rifle with bayonet fitted as there is only one rifle supplied with the bayonet), lastly you have the wounded Marine carrying an M1 carbine.

Each figure consists of seven basic parts which are;
• Two legs.
• Two arms.
• The torso.
• The head.
• Hollowed out M1 helmet.

The parts are free of flash but they all have mould seams that will need to be removed, which will not always be an easy task. The sprue connection points are not always in the best of places, specifically the attachment points on the arms where it is hard to clean up without damaging the crease detail of the uniform, this is unfortunately fairly common with MasterBox figure sets.

Uniform detail is of a very good standard with particularly good crease detail. The faces are very good for injection moulded plastic figures as they are very expressive, with the facial detail of the wounded Marine being exceptional in my opinion. The hands, or more specifically the fingers, are lacking in definition. The artwork on the front of the box shows what I believe to be the correct pattern camouflage that would have been worn, whereas the painted figures on the rear show for the most part fatigue colours, which I believe to be wrong. The M1 helmets give you the option of camouflage covered and plain, but you only get five in total so you will need to decide who does and who doesn't.

The personal weapons have come in for criticism for being inaccurate and so I have taken the time to measure them with a digital caliper. I started with the M1918 BAR rifle which measured .09mm too long, it is also supplied with a separate bipod which was not normally attached. The M1 Garand rifle came in at .02mm short, the M1 carbine is short by .02mm, and the Thompson MG is spot on when checked against the M1 version of the weapon on the World Guns website (http://world.guns.ru/index-e.html). Detail wise I believe they are of a good standard with the only nuisance being the need to drill out the end of the barrels, and the need to make your own weapon slings. The bayonet shown attached to one of the M1 rifles is a little on the bulky size but acceptable.

Personal equipment for the Bar gunner consists of eight belt mounted ammo pouches when there should be six with three on each side, these held 12 twenty round magazines with one of the other Marines carrying a shoulder sling with three pockets holding 6 twenty round magazines which has not been replicated in the set. The Bar gunner also carried a small leather pouch beneath the rear most magazine pouch on the right hand side which carried tools for the weapon and is supplied. The BAR gunner does have a first aid kit which is shown correctly placed on the assembled figure, and he also has two 1 quart canteens, cup, and carriers (late type Iwo Jima).

The Thompson machine gunner is, I believe, the officer of this group as he is also equipped with an M1911 holster, there are no other identifiers on his person which is correct as the Japanese would pick off officers. He is also equipped with four belt mounted ammunition pouches for the Thompson, and two 1 quart canteens, cup, carriers (late type Iwo Jima).

The two M1 Garand rifleman are both equipped with 10 ammo pouch belt with five pouches on each side, a first aid kit worn hung on the belt at the rear between the ammo pouches, and two 1 quart canteens, cup, carriers (late type Iwo Jima).

The M1 carbine rifleman is equipped with four ammo pouches, a first aid kit, and two 1 quart canteens, cup, carriers (late type Iwo Jima). While on the subject of this specific figure it should be mentioned that his is the only one shown wearing the gators, and while that is a part of a Marines uniform these were rarely worn. If they were it was usually under the trousers rather than over the top, so while this is not beyond the realms of possibility it is unusual.

Conclusion

All in all a reasonable set of Pacific Theatre US Marines with a good selection of poses and weapons. The injured Marine shown being carried away to safety is an eye catching aspect of this set that I am sure will turn up depicting other units and theatres with some scratch work. There are a few errors such as there being too many ammo pouches for the BAR gunner (easily corrected). The complete lack of KA-bars is one omission that really surprised me as the US Marines always seem to have one somewhere about their person. Another item I expected to see the Marines equipped with was grenades, but alas not.

The lack of any kind of detailed painting guide is a poor effort by MasterBox, and a fault that I believe they no longer replicate. I will recommend this product either on its own or as part of the three set series as it does offer some interesting possibilities, particularly with the injured Marine being carried to safety.

References used:
• World Guns (http://world.guns.ru/index-e.html)

US Marine Rifleman 1939 – 1945 Pacific Theatre, Warrior series from Osprey publishing ISBN: 9781841769721

US Marine Corps Raider 1942–43, Warrior series from Osprey publishing ISBN: 9781841769813

US Marine Corps 1941–45, Elite Series from Osprey publishing ISBN: 9781855324978

SUMMARY
Highs: The highs of this set for me are the assortment of weapons and figure poses, with the injured Marine being carried a high point. It should also be mentioned the faces in the set are very good.
Lows: Silly mistakes (easily corrected) aside from the omission of at least one visible KA-Bar, and a complete lack of a painting guide is disappointing.
Verdict: I recommend this set as, despite its faults, it still has a lot going for it.
Percentage Rating
79%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: MB3543
  Suggested Retail: £7.50
  PUBLISHED: Mar 05, 2011
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 87.04%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 84.05%

About Darren Baker (CMOT)
FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

I have been building model kits since the early 70’s starting with Airfix kits of mostly aircraft, then progressing to the point I am at now building predominantly armour kits from all countries and time periods. Living in the middle of Salisbury plain since the 70’s, I have had lots of opportunitie...

Copyright ©2021 text by Darren Baker [ CMOT ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Thank you for getting this sorted James.
MAR 05, 2011 - 09:15 AM
Thanks for this review Darren, I was looking forward to it and I believe you have answered any of the questions I had about this set.
MAR 08, 2011 - 03:45 PM
The third and final set will be reviewed soon Jeremy, glad you found it of help.
MAR 08, 2011 - 06:07 PM
Great Darren, looking forward to it Darren
MAR 09, 2011 - 04:20 AM
Good review there Darren. The only thing I don't understand is ther amount of flash on a new mold. I thought that came from excessive use and heat over a period of time when the surface warps a bit. Anyway, they still look promising and workable and I will be P/U at least two sets of each. I have the western front set and I congradulate Masterbox for thier release of these sets that are interactive. Something other companies should note. They are really becoming my favorite company for figures and accessories lately. Variety is the key here and I think they are going to have winners here.
MAR 25, 2011 - 10:40 AM
These three sets used in conjunction should create a lively battle scene and you could of course add further sets and do a little scratch work/mix and match to increase the nukbers further. I did not call it flash as for the most part they are mould seams which will take some work to clean but not overly difficult, why it is there I cannot answer.
MAR 25, 2011 - 03:49 PM
To distinguish between what is flash and what is a mold seam; a mold seam should be solid and obviously where the two tool halves meet. Its considered flash when there is a risk it could break off or come loose. In the medical industry flash would mean rejecting as they couldn´t risk small pieces blocking canals or being loose and mixing in with products. From what I can see this mold seam is excessive and for a medical product would be rejected. For a model I dont see this as a huge problem as long as it doesnt effect details. This is probably caused by tooling that is not aligned properly or the process is not properly optimised or the machine is not capable of running these tools due to age or size. Thanks for the review Darren. I got the other 3 box set with US soldiers and its a similar story. For me the biggest issue is soft details ... especailly the hands. I usually go for Hornet heads, but their hand sets would be useful here as well. Great action poses though.
MAR 26, 2011 - 01:31 AM
I am forced tp agree with you Frank as regards the hands as they could be better and in their latest products they are improved. The heads in this sets are reasonable and I consider that they good for plastic, I would also say that they of a good enough quality that they do not have to be decapitated for Hornet heads to be applied.
MAR 26, 2011 - 02:01 AM
Nice review, but it would help if you told us what version of the uniform the figures wore. Weren't there multiple camouflage versions?
OCT 31, 2012 - 12:35 PM
   
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