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:

• Young boy with shorts and hat (optional hats)
• Young lady in teen years with short dress and top
• Man in suit, cane, and beard. Probably late 40’s in age, with optional hats.
• Farmer with wood rake, late 50s to early 60’s
• plus there is a small wooden wagon.

The only modification I would do when building these is to replace the rake handle with either some brass or plastic rod. Attempting to clean up the four sprue gates plus mold seams while keeping it round would be next to impossible. Not to mention the handle was already broken on my sample, so replacement would be required anyway. Other than that this looks to be a fantastic kit and the figures will ad a bit more interest to any diorama set in the western portion of Europe. Thanks to Dragon USA and IPMS USA for the review sample.