Master Box Ltd The Trench WWI & WWII Era (MB35174) 1:35

[Mike]

The Trench WWI & WWII Era (MB35174)

1:35 Master Box Ltd via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

Diorama bases are often fun and an opportunity to be creative.  Having to make everything from scratch can be a bind though, so if you need to build a section of trench, this is a very useful option to save yourself some time in creating a dug-out with typical WWI style that was sometimes reused in WWII, as the Great War veterans had developed trench warfare over a period of 4+ years and had got it totally dialled-in by the time they finally went home.  The set arrives in a figure-sized box, which from Master Box always seems to collapse, or maybe that’s just me being clumsy.  Inside are two identical sprues in grey styrene that you may have seen before if you have any of their WWI diorama sets.  The front of the box has a painting of a trench, while the back has a photo of the finished article with numbers and letters to point out parts and paint colours using the legend on the right, and the colour table in the bottom left.

 

 

 

The trench parts form the U-shape of the trench, plus a small section of the ground lined with sandbags in front and behind.  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 sloped C-shaped 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. 

 

 

Conclusion

A neat short-cut to create a trench, and perfect as the basis for a WWI diorama with WWII dug-outs also an option.  Lots of good-looking wood texture, and although a little bit of flash has crept into this moulding, it’s not difficult to remove with a sharp blade, and it’s always preferable to a short-shot part.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of