Reviewed by: Pablo Bauleo (IPMS #46363)
Review Product Type: Diorama
Review Type: Kit
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Masterbox
Manufacturer website: www.mbltd.info
Mfr Stock No: MB 3566
MSRP: $13.00
Provided by: Dragon Models
Vendor Web Site: dragonmodelsusa.com
Kit Review:
The domestic animals set is a welcome addition to the 1/35 scale diorama, adding some more every-day objects (or animals) to the traditionally military-focus aspects of dioramas.
Masterbox has released a single sprue of 26 parts containing two cows and one goat. The box shows two goats, but it is just two suggested painting options. The sprue attachment points are medium sized and some part preparation and cleaning is needed. Care is needed when removing parts from the sprue as to avoid damaging detail. Overall detail is good, with clearly detailed faces, eyes and ears. You can even see the ribs in the cow sides. The goat fur might be a bit overdone but that makes painting and washing easier.
The parts have no locating pins and there are some mold lines that need to be removed. The mold lines tend to run along the legs and bellies of the animals. The overall fit is below average. I've used a few clamps to get the parts to fit and I then ran liquid cement along the join. Still I needed some putty and sanding, mainly along the back and the neck areas of the cow. The goat parts have a better fit than the cow.
Scale accuracy is difficult at best when dealing with 'live objects' due to the natural variation on size of animals, but from my measurements the cow and goat backs are about 3 and 4.5 feet tall, respectively which seems to be about right.
The sprue has a limited-run flavor to it given that has no location points, the medium size sprue attachment points and prominent mold lines. I would recommend this set for the averaged to experience modeler.
I would like to thank Masterbox, Dragon Models (www.dragonmodels.usa) and IPMS/USA for the review sample.
