/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/MMPT002-A.jpg
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Japanese, in their island outposts, used various methods of defense to deny Allied forces a foothold on their territories. One of these were steel pill boxes which dotted their island perimeters. They were often used as command posts to coordinate the rifle and machine gun positions that made up the primary beach defenses for the Japanese forces. They were prefabricated with double walls made of 1/4 inch thick steel and often these walls had a sand-filled space between them. In many cases these walls were banked with more sand or the trunks of palm trees for extra support.
------------------------------------
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/betio_pillbox.jpg\
Photos from LoneSentry, link at bottom.
More commonly found at Tarawa, there are some reported to have been present at Kiska, according to Stan Cohen's series on the Aleutian campaign "The Forgotten War". The interior of these pill boxes were divided into an upper and lower chamber. The upper, designed for an observer, often contained a seat, a voice tube, and the top hatch. The lower chamber housed two machine guns. There were two large ports at each flank with bracket supports for the guns, as well as a small peep sight at the front.
KIT OVERVIEW AND CONSTRUCTION
First thing to mention upon opening the box as there is no real construction here—you basically have the pill box shell to work with. The base of the hexagon-shape pyramidal structure is 5.5 inches wide and it stands about 3 inches high. As I was preparing to take the pictures, I noticed a door taped to the inside of the pill box The door is too wide for the doorway…I am not sure if it is meant to be inside or outside the doorway as there are not many reference photos of this section of the pillbox.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/003%7E7.jpg
All openings are covered in a very thin layer of the light grey odorless resin that makes up the model shell. Casting is pretty well done- with only a very small amount of bubbles that can easily be tied into the steel texture. The only one that really stands out is one directly above the door. There is no interior detail—so if you choose to model the separate compartments, you will have to scratch build them yourself…but that should not be a problem since there was not much there besides a seat and voice tube.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/001%7E7.jpg
Really—this is a great platform for working on your painting and weathering techniques on a larger scale. All the great surface detail just cries out for rust stains and other weathering effects common for Pacific island climates. Reference material is scarce at best however…the only real color picture I have been able to find is the box art itself…which has it painted in a shade of olive green. Possibly some of the Japanese Army colors found in the Tamiya and Modelmaster lines might have something similar to use.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/002%7E6.jpg
The top hatch detail is good—although if you want to represent a damaged pillbox, where the top hatch is commonly shown either blown off, or with some or all of the 6 triangle-shaped top hatch doors opened, you will have to carefully cut it apart to get the effect you want to depict. The exterior hatch lines are clear and crisp, which should allow for some ease in scribing the hatches open.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/005%7E8.jpg
CONCLUSION
Masterpiece Models has created another winner to add to both the 1/35 and 1/48 scale diorama markets in this piece. The outer detail is crisp—right down to the many bolt heads which make up the separate sections of the shell. Those who really enjoy weathering will have a field day with the pill box. It should set your Pacific scene with either Japanese or Allied armor apart from the rest—and the open ports really lend themselves to detailing the interior with spare infantry stowage as you can see quite a bit from the outside. It comes highly recommended and is available for $24.95 from the Masterpiece Models website.
As mentioned, reference materials on this more obscure subject are scarce at best- but my thanks to Saúl García for his help in finding great online resources. In writing this review, I relied on the following:
http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/jp-betio-island/index.html
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=119172
http://dracobooks.com/Photo-Interpreters-Guide-to-Japanese-Military-Installations-Part-I.html
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Japanese, in their island outposts, used various methods of defense to deny Allied forces a foothold on their territories. One of these were steel pill boxes which dotted their island perimeters. They were often used as command posts to coordinate the rifle and machine gun positions that made up the primary beach defenses for the Japanese forces. They were prefabricated with double walls made of 1/4 inch thick steel and often these walls had a sand-filled space between them. In many cases these walls were banked with more sand or the trunks of palm trees for extra support.
------------------------------------
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/betio_pillbox.jpg\
Photos from LoneSentry, link at bottom.
More commonly found at Tarawa, there are some reported to have been present at Kiska, according to Stan Cohen's series on the Aleutian campaign "The Forgotten War". The interior of these pill boxes were divided into an upper and lower chamber. The upper, designed for an observer, often contained a seat, a voice tube, and the top hatch. The lower chamber housed two machine guns. There were two large ports at each flank with bracket supports for the guns, as well as a small peep sight at the front.
KIT OVERVIEW AND CONSTRUCTION
First thing to mention upon opening the box as there is no real construction here—you basically have the pill box shell to work with. The base of the hexagon-shape pyramidal structure is 5.5 inches wide and it stands about 3 inches high. As I was preparing to take the pictures, I noticed a door taped to the inside of the pill box The door is too wide for the doorway…I am not sure if it is meant to be inside or outside the doorway as there are not many reference photos of this section of the pillbox.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/003%7E7.jpg
All openings are covered in a very thin layer of the light grey odorless resin that makes up the model shell. Casting is pretty well done- with only a very small amount of bubbles that can easily be tied into the steel texture. The only one that really stands out is one directly above the door. There is no interior detail—so if you choose to model the separate compartments, you will have to scratch build them yourself…but that should not be a problem since there was not much there besides a seat and voice tube.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/001%7E7.jpg
Really—this is a great platform for working on your painting and weathering techniques on a larger scale. All the great surface detail just cries out for rust stains and other weathering effects common for Pacific island climates. Reference material is scarce at best however…the only real color picture I have been able to find is the box art itself…which has it painted in a shade of olive green. Possibly some of the Japanese Army colors found in the Tamiya and Modelmaster lines might have something similar to use.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/002%7E6.jpg
The top hatch detail is good—although if you want to represent a damaged pillbox, where the top hatch is commonly shown either blown off, or with some or all of the 6 triangle-shaped top hatch doors opened, you will have to carefully cut it apart to get the effect you want to depict. The exterior hatch lines are clear and crisp, which should allow for some ease in scribing the hatches open.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/005%7E8.jpg
CONCLUSION
Masterpiece Models has created another winner to add to both the 1/35 and 1/48 scale diorama markets in this piece. The outer detail is crisp—right down to the many bolt heads which make up the separate sections of the shell. Those who really enjoy weathering will have a field day with the pill box. It should set your Pacific scene with either Japanese or Allied armor apart from the rest—and the open ports really lend themselves to detailing the interior with spare infantry stowage as you can see quite a bit from the outside. It comes highly recommended and is available for $24.95 from the Masterpiece Models website.
As mentioned, reference materials on this more obscure subject are scarce at best- but my thanks to Saúl García for his help in finding great online resources. In writing this review, I relied on the following:
http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/jp-betio-island/index.html
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=119172
http://dracobooks.com/Photo-Interpreters-Guide-to-Japanese-Military-Installations-Part-I.html