Boxart of MasterBox's upcoming Vietnam kit release

[JamesOLeary]

Alex from MasterBox recently sent me a picture of the boxart for their upcoming Vietnam kit release to share with everyone. He was also kind enough to send me a test mould of the kit about a month ago to help me complete a diorama I was working on. The kit makes into a nice diorama on it's own. The sizing of the figures is quite nice as is the fact that a Vietnamese woman is part of the kit. The kit will consist of two sprues. One is of the figures with some equipment such as bandoleers and separate trouser pockets. The other is of equipment and weapons. The highlight for me was that there are two complete lightweight rucksack frames that are really well done. I'll do a kit review later when I have some more time to do so. I'm in the process of building some of the figures, so I will also comment on their construction when I do my review.

Anyway, here is the picture of the boxart.

There are some very interesting projects in the works at MasterBox in regards to Vietnam kits. The latest one that I saw that is in progress will be well received by armor and M151 MUTT modelers. It is not posted on their site yet, but when it does, I think it will be well received.

Cheers!
James

 

[shawngehling]

James,
Thanks for sharing... WOW those are sweet.
Can't wait to see your review.
Shawn

 

[moon puppy]

Thanks James, looking forward to your report on this.

Hey, we may need to fire up another Charlie Don't Surf build since we got you posting with us!

 

[AndyFettes]

Sweet !!!

I cant wait to see what the figures look like

 

[JamesOLeary]

Hey Guys!

It's good to be posting again. Based on the test moulds, these figures are pretty sweet. I haven't built many injection molded figures
since I started working with resin figures, so this should say something about the figures themselves. The figures are well done. 3 of
the 4 Americans have separate leg pockets which I think adds to the detail of the figures. Due to limitations in the injection molding
process, the details of the pockets may not be as deep as those found in resin, but a scraping along the lines of the details to deepen
them with a sharp hobby knife does the trick.

Some of the equipment is of later versions of the gear depicted, but there is so much equipment included with the kit, it should not be
an issue. For example, there are a few tri-fold e-tools that are in the plastic carrier instead of the nylon one from the M1967 gear.
No problem...use those for a modern kit and use the WW2 style e-tool with the handle that is also included in the kit for your Vietnam
guys. The M16 with the M203 is actually one that has a M16A2 upper receiver. Use one from another M16 kit.

There are pieces of equipment that are not usually found in Vietnam kits, like the lightweight rucksack frames. In this kit, you get
two of the frames by themselves, and then two that have packs already attached to them. In my diorama "Just Another Morning in Vietnam"
the rucksack that is showing the straps and has the bag part touching the ground is a MasterBox rucksack frame and rucksack bag. I made
shoulderstraps from putty as I did the sleeping roll, but the frame is the main thing that makes a difference.

This kit has alot of potential and after building the figures as they are meant to be with kit equipment and parts, I am going to build
another set of figures with my modifications to them. They really are pretty good in my opinion and have alot of potential for many
different diorama ideas.

Future releases look even better as the sculptor is learning more about Vietnam specific details.

Moon Puppy, perhaps another Vietnam Group Build needs to take place

Cheers!
James

 

[moon puppy]

Moon Puppy, perhaps another Vietnam Group Build needs to take place

Cheers!
James

Hey! Thanks for volunteering James! :Hiay
What a guy for stepping up to the plate like that. :drinks

Seriously, we all enjoyed Charlie Don't Surf, for myself, getting out of my element with the PBR was fun. We're always looking for new ideas and if you'd like to help out as a Campaign Advisor I know it would be another success. (not to put you on the spot or anything... )

 

[Cheyenne]

Thanks for the new kit news James ..................... they look very good .

I think maybe a Firebase gb is in order , firebase only , ........... hint , hint ..........

 

[Sharkmouth]

I can't wait for the Mutt riders for my gun truck.

Regards,

 

[iambrb]

I noticed that the launcher is indeed the M203 - this was not a general issue until the very end - I think about 1969 or 1970. In 1967 the main launcher was still the M79, but there was issue of the XM148, which is conceptually the same, but was shaped differently

I am not joking when I saw that I am glad that none of the figures resemble Bunny, Junior, or Barnes from Platoon.

 

[JamesOLeary]

I noticed that the launcher is indeed the M203 - this was not a general issue until the very end - I think about 1969 or 1970. In 1967 the main launcher was still the M79, but there was issue of the XM148, which is conceptually the same, but was shaped differently

I am not joking when I saw that I am glad that none of the figures resemble Bunny, Junior, or Barnes from Platoon.

I believe these figures were sculpted based on some photos from 1970 because they look like some that I have seen, hence
the inclusion of the M203. The box art shows Soldiers wearing the 1st Pattern Jungle Fatigue shirt which would be
indicative of a setting in 1965 - 1967 when it was more common to see those, but when MasterBox designed the kit, it was
meant to replicate the pictures from 1970. If modeling this set for a diorama based earlier, then I would just replace
with an M79 or the M148 from a Dragon kit. The time period I normally model is 1966 - 1968 since that was when my father
was there, but to build and paint the figures from the test mould, I am going for the 1970 look.

I agree that it is nice to have a set that doesn't represent a particular Movie character if one is to build them straight
from the box.

Cheers,
James

 

[kryptosdaddy]

Thats nice- i passed up a Tamiya set of 1/32 Vietnam Green beret figures recently and have been kicking myself because now they are GONE. lol