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Hand-to-Hand Fight – German & British Infantrymen WWI 1:35


Mike

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Hand-to-Hand Fight – German & British Infantrymen WWI
1:35 Master Box Ltd via Creative Models


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Trench warfare was a common theme of the Great War, and a horrific one at that. Some of the stories passed down to me by my Grandfather would curl your toes, and it left an indelible impression on many millions of men at the end of the war. This set aims to depict some of that carnage, with a pack of five figures and a section of trench within the slightly oversized box. There are five sprues within, one of which holds the two British and three German soldiers, two for the trench itself, and another two in sand coloured styrene that contain lots of accessories for the figures.

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The figures are all in action poses as the subject matter dictates, the two Tommies defending and the three Germans attacking. Both British figures are in the familiar WWI battle-dress and are in dramatic poses that could be used either for bayonet attack or shooting at your whim. Two of the Germans are in poses that suggest clambering into the trench, with one in a bayoneting stance. The remaining German is an officer with a broom-handled Mauser in a semi-recumbent pose suggesting injury, which is reinforced by his free hand clasped to his stomach. Officers suffered the highest casualties in the trenches, so this is perhaps representative of those statistics. Sculpting is up to Master Box's usual high standard, as is the natural pose of the various figures. The accessory sprues provide more than enough weapons, tools and equipment to adorn the soldiers and the trench, with plenty to spare. As usual the instructions consist of photos of painted figures with their parts and colours marked on them, and a reference table showing the Vallejo and Lifecolor paint codes.

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The trench parts are moulded on two identical sprues in grey styrene, and when completed form the U-shape of the trench, plus a small section of the ground each side lined with sandbags. The sides of the trench are made of wooden planking, which has a realistic texture, as do the logs that reinforce the sections. Parts for a ladder are also included, plus a "shooting step" along the front wall to differentiate back from front. The ground parts are supported by angled U-brackets that hold the whole diorama to shape, although if you wanted to enclose the groundworks you could consider making panels from sheet styrene to hide the inner structure. No painting instructions are included for this part of the set, but brown mud, brown wood and light brown sandbags should do the trick!


Conclusion
The box is perhaps a little larger to echo the value presented over and above the standard figure set, and with some careful painting it should build up into an impressive diorama with little scratch-building on your part. With a little effort it could also be extended to include a piece of WWI armour or space for some more of the excellent WWI figures that are on the market now.

Very highly recommended.

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Review sample courtesy of
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