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No Soldier Left Behind – MWD Down Figure Set 1:35


Mike

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No Soldier Left Behind – MWD Down
1:35 Master Box


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Master Box figure sets often tell a story, and this one tells it well on the boxtop. A Military Working Dog (MWD) has been injured in the course of duty, and is awaiting casevac while two handlers comfort him and two more provide covering fire should it be necessary. The Chinook is coming in hot in the background and the beginnings of a dust cloud are being kicked up. An excellent painting, and the inclusion of the name of the sculptor A Gagarin gives a clue as to the quality of the box content.

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Inside is a single sprue of grey styrene in a re-sealable clear foil bag, with parts for four soldiers and the hound, as pictured on the box. Each figure is confined to one section of the sprue with their accessories nearby, and the pooch has been moulded in four parts for maximum detail, using the natural breaks in his assault vest to hide most of the joints. Pity help the person that hurt him if my other half ever catches him! The only difference from the box top is that fido doesn't have moulded-in muzzle, so you'd have to fabricate your own if you wanted to. A lot of the dogs used in modern warfare are German Shepherds, but there are quite a few other breeds used, so choose your mutt's colour scheme according to your preference.

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The other figures are thoroughly modern and have modular US assault vests with MOLLE II loops for the attachment of pouches and packs. A variety of these are included to accessorise the figures, and each figure has some variation to break up the monotony, from dump bags to ammo pouches and comms. Weapons for each figure include a pair of M4 derivatives with ACOG sights, one of which has an Underslung Grenade Launcher (UGL), plus an M14 marksman's rifle, and an L249 light machine gun. Each soldier has a separate head with comms headsets moulded in, and is designed to fit inside the MICH helmets, some of which are fitted with fabric covers, and all having fittings for night vision goggles on the front. One of the kneeling soldiers can be depicted comforting the dog or wielding a side-arm by using an optional arm that is supplied with the kit.

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The sculpting is superb, and every pouch, MOLLE loop and accessory is crisply moulded, with little in the way of seams filling needed due to the clever placement of the joints. Using the Hobby Elements Molding Flash Sanders in your motor tool (e.g. Dremel) should leave the moulding seams nice and smooth in no time though.


Conclusion
Even though the idea is for the dog to be wounded, it is posed in such a way that it could be sitting in a more relaxed manner, so without adding any blood it could be used as an uninjured MWD for dioramas or even riding a vehicle. An excellent set for a very wallet friendly price.

Very highly recommended.

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Review sample courtesy of
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I'll let others who have more knowledge than me discuss the correctness of the equipment loadout carried by the figures & MWD (Military Working Dog), so I won’t comment on that.

However, as a volunteer who has a Belgian Malinois such as this one that is owned & payed for by a major military organisation currently in my backyard under foster care (refer the profile pic), it fills me tremendous pride to see manufacturers taking notice of the incredible role these animals fill in the modern military environment.

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  • 7 months later...

This is a good kit with great poses, and per usual for the MB kits I've got, the detail on the figures is really good.

 

I think my only gripe with MB stuff is that, in the case of the modern ones, the weapons don't always match what's depicted, or would be correct. There's also a bit of confusion between the box art  of this kit and the instructions regarding uniforms.

 

For example, on the box art they appear to be wearing ACU and the guy on the left has an Army unit patch on his sleeve. However, he's also carrying an M16A4, which is a Marine rifle. The painting instructions look to portray desert MARPAT rather than ACU as well.

 

The M16A4 in the kit is strange because it has a collapsible stock on it, whilst the Para SAW depicted on the box art looks to be an older Minimi style. The M14 marksman rifle is also a bit erroneous for the period as it would more likely be an EMR or something like the M110, or at least a modern M14 DMR. 

 

I'm fond of the MB modern kits and I'd hope they do more of them, I just think the weapons need a bit of updating to match the more current gear of the soldiers depicted :)

 

Gaz.

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