IS this an accurate kit? Any good? Really terrible? How about it? If it good, does it favorably compare to the great but pricey Tamiya?

It is my understanding even the Tamiya has accuracy problems, at least if the AM options are any indication.

Hey Bruce,
Which one, their JS-2, kit #6012 or their JS-2m, kit # 6018, same vehicle as the Tamiya kit ??
Dragon was supposed to release a Premium edition of the JS-2, #6318, but it's not supposed to be released until later in 2009.
I've built Dragon's original JS-2 a few years ago and the only major accuracy concerns that I recall were that the road wheels may have been a bit undersized and the lower hull was a bit shallow.
I don't know for sure about the wheels but, if I were to build another one, I would shim the lower hull with some thin strips of plastic stock to give some more clearance between the tracks and the track guards.
BTW - the track links are superb, you almost don't need any glue to hold them together.
IIRC, Dragon's JS-2m uses the same lower hull and road wheels.
Cheers

jjumbo

Detail is decent, 1990's quality, and the individual link tracks are nice, but dimensions are off. As mentioned, the hull is much too shallow, and the wheels are too small, resulting in a tank that looks distinctly squashed when assembled. Until this past year, the only way to get a decent IS-2 was to crosskit the dimensionally accurate but crude Zvezda kit with the better details and tracks of the Dragon kit.
That's unnecessary, now. Get the Tamiya kit, unless you have a good set of plans and some experience in scratchbuilding and converting.
Dragon's Premium Edition IS-2 has been long delayed, probably because it will require a complete revamping of the kit, not tweaking a few details, as with other Premium kits.

I have built a few of these kits, and one of the Zvezda JS-II's as well.

I am not sure I can agree that paying twice the price (or more) for the Tamiya kit will give you that much better of a build, aside from more accurate road wheels. With the slight amount of work needed to fix the lower hull problem, you can save quite a bit in $$$ and the details are comparable. No need to loose hope with the DML kit.

Of course, I prefer the mix of DML and Zvezda kit...

Apart from the too-small wheels, and shallow lower hull, the Dragon IS-2s are also a couple of mm too short in the hull and the turrets look crude and may also be dimensionally inaccurate. Shimming the Dragon lower hull is a bit of a compromise as it puts the return roller mounts too low for comfort.

As far as prices go, over here the Tamiya IS-2 is the same price today as the Dragon kits were when they were first issued back in the mid-90s. Making the Tamiya kit even more of a bargain.

Dragon's tracks are nice though

David

I can buy the kit for $10 USD.

It is kit #6018

I think i am OK

Good point...if I had a choice to START with, all things (like price) being equal, I would pick the Tamiya kit.

Another source of good JS tracks is Master Club clickable resin indy links.

I mostly agree. I just built two DML IS-2s and a Tamiya IS-2 for an upcoming AMPS Boresight comparative review. The Tamiya kit is better in almost every aspect - no question about it - but the DML kit is also OK in the sense that it is pretty easy to make the major fixes needed. I wouldn't go throwing out DML IS kits, and they tend to be quite a bit cheaper. It's not hard to find the DML kit around US$20 here in the US, but it is very hard to get the Tamiya cheaply.

When making price/value comparisons, it is worth noting a few hidden values in the Tamiya kit:

1. The two-piece plastic gun tube is so good, a bit of minor sanding will make it perfect. The DML tube is not as good. It will take more work to get it to the same standard and you may want to consider aftermarket. I just barely sanded my Tamiya tube, hit it with some primer, and it was fine.

2. The Tamiya kit has great wheels. The DML wheels are a bit small.

3. The Tamiya kit includes PE engine-deck screens - DML doesn't. So when shopping, consider the extra cost of PE for DML.

4. The Tamiya kit falls together. The DML kit takes a lot more work, unless you build it out of the box. Honestly the main fixes are so easy there's little reason not to do them.

Danny Egan
http://www.amps-armor.org

Thanks Danny, that is exactly the kind of thing we needed. I do not have the Tamiya kit to compare to, so I was a bit out of sorts to say more than the DML kits are not too bad.

Personally, if the BIG-T comes out with a ISU-152 version, I will buy it.

What did you think of the Tamiya Tracks? I have heard they are a bear...

I thought the Tamiya indy-link tracks were superb....oops, I mean "Join AMPS and get the full review in Boresight!"

http://www.amps-armor.org

I sold my only one yesterday as us$ 10

Well, 10 $ for the Dragon kit...that's hard to beat for Tamyia..
I've built the Zvezda JS-2 sometime ago, the only major problem were the tracks.
If Tamya comes out with a JSU-152 and JSU-122, I'll get them for sure, but the Tamyia kits are pretty expensive these days, even the older kits are getting expensive... oil prices are crashing and kits are getting more expensive ...

I started building my Tamiya JS-2 a couple of days ago. I am building it strictly OOB (needed a break from complicated Aircraft projects). I have never built the Dragon offering(s), and other than seeing the JS-2 in person overseas, and buying the Zaloga Osprey book, know little about the tank.

The build is the usual Tamiya offering (great fit, well engineered), and I have everything assembled and painted with the exception of the tracks which I am working on now. Every damn link has a small ejection pin mark, and I used "Mr. Dissolved Putty" to fill them which worked great but have really added a lot of time to cleanup and assembly.

I have used Vallejo Model Air Russian Green #71017 as the overall color (Great paint for airbrushing), added the few decals and hand painted the ID Markings in Vallejo white. It is ready for filtering, and then I will move on from there.

I don't have my camera presently, but I'll show some photos when she's completed.