Master Box 1/35 Typ 170 V Tourenwagen

[Dave Ward]

My Barchino will shortly be finished & I've been pondering my next build, and I've decided on this...............

Not the most inspiring of boxarts! - It is of course a Mercedes-Benz, but obviously trade marks get in the way of naming it!
I've had this for quite a time & I've been hesitant to start it, as my track record with Master Box is poor! I've had major problems with fit & poor instructions ( mostly figures ), and my completion rate is low! Reading reviews on this model is generally good, but it seems that vague instructions are also present ( or not present! ). Having made quite a few cars recently, I think now is the time to have a go at this.
I'll put some sprue shots & detail shots up tomorrow.........................
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

I built this a long time ago, before joining Internet forums. I remember it fitting quite well but the plastic was a little brittle. The winter radiator cover and closed in windows are a nice touch and the engine detail was pretty good..

 

[Dave Ward]

Sprue Shots.......................

Parts look pretty crisp, no flash - plastic feels a little soft.
A few detail shots

Kar 98K rifles


Tubular steel chassis


Double leaf springs


Radiator ( no winter coat option )


Small parts look well moulded - although 7 ingates on the bumper seems excessive.


The colour call outs - all overall Panzergrau! No information on the decals - although 9 pairs of number plates are supplied, Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, Field Police & Navy. I believe, as these were second line vehicles, camouflage wasn't applied.

Instructions - well, they are on 1 1/2 sides of a multi folded A2 sheet - the other bit is model tips in several languages. Quite the largest instructions I've seen for a small model!

I'm not keen on these render style guides, unless the printing is very good ( it's not! ). You lose detail in the half-tones, due to the printing process. Simple ISO line diagrams are much clearer.
Looks OK so far, the crunch will come in actually fitting bits together...................
Dave

 

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
Sprue shots look to show decent detail. Personally I'm not a fan of those rubbery tyres. Roof up or down?
Jim

 

[Dave Ward]

Hi Dave
Sprue shots look to show decent detail. Personally I'm not a fan of those rubbery tyres. Roof up or down?
Jim

Jim,
hood down, I don't want to spend time on the interior & then hide it.....................
I'm not a fan of the vinyl tyres, either, but I'll have to make the best of them!
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

Sorry Dave. Led you astray a bit there. Just looked….I made the 170 VK….
Looks very similar though….

 

[Dave Ward]

Sorry Dave. Led you astray a bit there. Just looked….I made the 170 VK….
Looks very similar though….

Tim,
I wondered about that - the VK is the 2-door version, odd, the vast majority of the parts must be the same, I wonder why they dropped the thermal blanket for the rad?
Dave

 

[Allen Dewire]

The 170 VK kit came out a year after the one you're doing Dave. It's 4 door and has the winter set up for the windows and radiator....


I guess you have to wonder if it had a good heater in it though..........

 

[JR]

Just imagine it with four figures, driver plus
3 officers!
Are you going to have any Dave ?

 

[Dave Ward]

Just imagine it with four figures, driver plus
3 officers!
Are you going to have any Dave ?

John,
I have some German drivers, somewhere - I'll look them out. I have a visualisation of the car, driven by an officer, with the back seat filled with crates of purloined French wine & champagne!........................
But then again, maybe not!
Dave

 

[Jakko]

I’m picturing a little diorama representing the opening scenes of Das Boot … I mean, the Kaleu and Werner are obviously driving a Mercedes there

 

[Dave Ward]

I’m picturing a little diorama representing the opening scenes of Das Boot … I mean, the Kaleu and Werner are obviously driving a Mercedes there

Hmm,
where do I get a dozen drunken sailors? and they'd need modifying...........................
Dave

 

[RonGlass]

 

[Dave Ward]

Finally got to the bench! A hours or so has produced this:

The tiny engine has lo less than 16 parts - the chassis is a single moulding - a touch of over engineering, I think.
One thing that I had not picked up on is that the parts are not numbered on the sprues - it means constantly referring back to the sprue layout pics - which on an A2 sheet is a real pain! Each sprue starts at one ie A1, B1, C1, etc, so there are multiple parts called 8 foe example. The halftone instructions aren't printed at a good enough resolution to be clear.
Apart from that the parts are pretty clean, and no fit problems so far.....................
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

I’d forgotten the lack of sprue labels…..engine is a lot of parts but does look good when it’s done….

 

[Dave Ward]

Right - this thing is really beginning to peeve me - aside from the parts not being numbered on the sprue, they aren't called out on the instructions!

Luckily the parts are distinctive enough to be able to find them.
The instructions were done by someone with no modelling experience - on XVI the exhaust front pipe is added, with one point of contact it would have been better to add these after the engine is fitted, but that doesn't happen until XVIII

Add to that, the vagueness of parts location, my expectations of Master Box are being confirmed ( and the plastic is very brittle! )

I had to step away from this yesterday, as I was getting annoyed, and today hasn't been much better!
At the moment, this has a 50-50 chance of ending up in the bin.........................
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

It does build up nicely if you can get over the frustrations Dave. Perhaps little and often, with a better kit on the go at the same time so you can swap to something else, might be the way to go?

 

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
There does seem to be a lot of issues with the instructions. You would have thought that having produced a nice kit MB would have made an equally decent job of the instructions. If you're frustrated then an inexperenced modeller would have given up by now. For all that it's looking good.
Jim

 

[Dave Ward]

I'm thinking of adding the bodywork & ignoring the final tiny bits of the suspension, that I can't work out where to fit. - You won't be able to see them, anyway. It's rather disappointing, but about par for my experience with Master Box, they're short run models, not mainstream!
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

This is now going back into it's box!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't remember disliking pieces of plastic sooo much in such a short time. The only reason I'm keeping it is to remind myself never to buy anything from Master Box ever again . It has effectively killed my mojo. Whilst it is lurking on the bench, I've not felt the slightest inclination for any benchtime! I must have had a senior moment just opening the box
I'll clear up & have a look in the stash for a friendlier face...........................
Dave