MHL-MARSHAL Mech Warrior
Ral Partha Figure Review
The MARSHAL has been painted bronze green with a British World War Two «Mickey Mouse» pattern sprayed on. This pattern is very difficult to apply without the help of an airbrush and a template, because the ears need to be perfectly round. The ears are arranged in overlapping clusters, very similar to the two-dimensional representation of a cloud.
The easiest way to create a template for the «Mickey Mouse» pattern is to punch irregular groups of 3 mm and 2 mm holes into a section of thin cardboard or plastic. The necessary hole punches are available at hobby shops, they are normally used for leather work. The templates are held close to the model, and dark grey paint is sprayed through them. The regulator of the airbrush should be turned down to 15 psi, otherwise the paint splatters sideways on impact with the model, defeating the purpose of the template. The pattern can be varied by aligning the templates in different ways, and overlapping them to create larger groups of ears.
Contents
- MHL-MARSHAL Mech Warrior designed by Jeffrey Wilhelm of Dragon Forge Design
- 3 Parts
- 40 mm Height
Evaluation
Easy to assemble, only the two arms need to be glued on. We used Rai-Ro filler wax to hide the seams between the torso and the shoulder pads. The hot liquid wax flows into seams and fills them. We then used a dental tool to scrape excess wax away.
Excellent cast-on detail. The MARSHAL consists primarily of rounded, angled, and sloped armour plate, with panel lines in the obvious places, and simple joints on the limbs. This solid industrial design looks very functional. The MARSHAL has no facial features, it’s wearing a helmet with a long airplane canopy as a visor.
Despite its mass, the MARSHAL appears to be quick on its feet, it’s a compact and agile robot. The posture is that of a gun-fighter, ready for the draw.
The MARSHAL has two mechanical hands, and it is perfectly suitable as an industrial robot, especially in the larger figure scales. This Mech would require no conversion to use it in a non-military diorama, its weapons are hardly noticeable.
Not strictly compatible with 1:72 scale. The MARSHAL is a solid Mech, not much taller than an M3 Grant medium tank, but with enough mass to stand up to one.
Cast from lead-free pewter. Mould lines on the shoulder pads need to be scraped off and sanded prior to painting.
The MARSHAL is a light Mech with medium speed. Using the jump thrusters on its legs, the MARSHAL may leap up to 20 meters into the air, and 120 meters in any horizontal direction. The Marshal is armed with two lasers equivalent to 75 mm guns, two lasers equivalent to 37 mm guns, two .30 calibre machine guns, a small rocket launcher, and a short-ranged anti-personnel flamethrower mounted in the lower torso. The MARSHAL is a simple design with clear lines, and no gimmicks. The arms and hands are well sculpted, and the figure looks ready to draw imaginary six-shooters. This is a versatile pose, it can be made to look perfectly harmless if the MARSHAL is parked in an industrial diorama.