Great Britain’s Mk.I Male was among the very first tracked, armored fighting vehicles, entering action in World War I at the Somme in 1916.
Master Box’s kit of this historic vehicle is molded in soft plastic with one-piece tracks, movable cannon, and — not labeled on the box — a photoetched-metal fret for the grenade screen on top. No decals or other markings are included.
Building the hull from multiple pieces was no problem. The only trouble was removing the springs from the sprue. They were a little fragile, and one end broke off.
The trailing wheel assembly is built from multiple pieces with a photoetched-metal detail added on the axle. The wheels were a little awkward, with the locator pins being shallow. I had to drill out holes so the wheel would fit over the axle.
Be careful when assembling the track guides (parts C6, C3, C4, and C7) so you don’t install them upside down. Make sure the notches are lined up on the bottom; this is where the track joint will go.
I glued one of the track guides to the hull side, let that dry, then added the spring and wheel assemblies along with the other track guide. This left the wheel assembly free to pivot up and down. I had a small gap on one side of the hull-track guide that I filled with white glue. I super glued the tracks together.
The gun casemates were built and added to the track guides with no issues. The cannons can be moved up, down, and side to side. Vision ports can be positioned open or closed.
While assembling the A-frame for the grenade screen, be mindful of the drawing that show parts D17 and D11 in place. You have to cut out the X on top before adding the photoetched-metal screen. It is thick and out of scale, but the addition of the screen really improves the look.
The early camouflage schemes were elaborate, but, when it was found that the tanks were soon covered in mud, they were painted brown. Using the box art as a guide, I painted the hull with Tamiya khaki, and the tracks/trailing wheels Tamiya gunmetal. My model is lightly weathered with Tamiya pastels.
It took me three quick hours to build and finish this tank. With its features and ease of assembly, this kit adds to your possibilities in building WWI trench warfare dioramas. I hope Master Box releases more tanks from this time period.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the May 2014 FineScale Modeler.