MiniArt Toolmakers (38048) 1:35

[Mike]

Toolmakers (38048)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

Tools don’t make themselves, but who makes the toolmakers?  Their parents, of course!  This set of figures and accessories from MiniArt is a pair of toolmakers working at a long bench on some unknown task, with some accessories lying around to assist them in their travails.  The set arrives in a shrink-wrapped figure box, and includes five sprues in grey styrene, plus a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass and a single sheet of instructions.  The painting guide is on the rear of the box, showing suggestions for the figures and the bench.

 

 

 

The bench is of the old-style wooden type, with eight drawers beneath the bench and short legs holding it off the ground, made up from individual sides and an open bottom, the parts located by small pins and depressions.  If the open underside bothers you, a thin piece of styrene card could be used to close it up, but who’s going to see it?  On top of the bench are a number of tools, including a double-ended bench grinder, a large vice, and a pillar drill with belt drive made from a PE strip.  The majority of the rest of the PE parts are used in the two tool boxes, one of which is closed up, the other open.  Both of the ends have PE mechanisms that allow the drawers to fan open, and includes PE lids for the open drawer, plus a bunch of tools for inside the box, including spanners, screwdriver blade, file blade, and a number of styrene handles for the blades, and larger tools such as an adjustable spanner, hammer, pliers and tyre wrenches. 

 

 

The two figures are both hard at work in their two-piece overalls and work boots, one operating the pillar drill, the other filing something in the vice.  The jaws of the vice can be posed at any position, so it’s for you to decide what he’s working on.  As usual with MiniArt figures their sculpting is exceptional with crisp detail and sensible parts breakdown plus loads of extras on the other sprues to add some detail to their vicinity to use in your diorama.  The painting guide on the rear of the box also shows the figure part numbers, and the paint numbers correspond to the chart below that gives the modeller colour swatches, Vallejo, Mr.Color, AK RealColor, Mission Models, AMMO, Tamiya and colour names to assist you with choosing your paint.  It’s a guide though, so you can make your own choices should you feel the urge.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

This isn’t something you will find just hanging around in every model shop until now.  Now you will, and it’s a useful piece of equipment in anyone’s diorama arsenal with tons of detail packed into the sprues.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Currently out of stock with Creative, but keep checking back

 

Review sample courtesy of

[John_W]

I think (from the box illustration) that the bench top is folded metal (it is painted and rusted) and that is why it is hollow.

[Mike]

19 minutes ago, John_W said:

I think (from the box illustration) that the bench top is folded metal (it is painted and rusted) and that is why it is hollow.

You know, you might be right!

[Julien]

The bench grinder looks to be a modern type, where as the belt drive drill would not be allowed today I would think.