Masterbox has been a godsend for the plastic figure world by releasing subjects beyond the traditional standing or “in-action” military figures. This latest release of WWII civilians is a fantastic set and fills a much needed gap. Civilian subjects had previously been only available in resin, and then fairly limited.

Within this set are parts for four civilian figures, Western Europe, ranging from young children to older men. A single sprue contains all 48 parts, which are nicely molded with no flash. You still get a little of the “low tech” molding with large sprue gates, but the parts themselves are crisp and full of detail. The faces are very well sculpted capturing the age of the figure very well. I would be hard-pressed want to replace them in resin, as they really are perfect. The four figures comprise of:

Background

The Grumman TBF Avenger was designed as a torpedo bomber to replace the TBD Devastator. The Devastator had been one of the first modern torpedo bombers for the US Navy but it was lacking is speed, firepower and armor protection. The Avenger entered production in 1942 and soon proved itself to be the perfect fit for the job. To meet production demands, General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft Division started production and eventually produced the majority of all Avengers. These were designated TBM.

Late in its production life, the Avenger was modified for anti-submarine warfare. Some of these featured an AN/APS-4 radar pod under the starboard wing and a searchlight pod under the port wing. In some cases, the rear turret was removed and the radar operator was housed in an extended rear canopy.

To briefly describe the aircraft, it was a single sweater pusher, bi-plane, powered by a 100 HP Gnome rotary engine. The lack of synchronizing mechanism made this necessary to have a forward firing machine gun allowing the pilot to "aim" with the aircraft and gun at the same time.

The kit is composed of 62 plastic parts, 36 photo-etched parts, a clear acetate sheet with a choice of two windscreens, depending on which version of the aircraft you choose to build; painting masks are also provided plus a decal sheet for four different aircraft. The detailing on the plastic parts is up to the usual superb Eduards standard.