Hi guys & ladies,
I got a lovely present today, a Tamiya Dragon Wagon kit :-) :-) :-). Has anyone here built one. Can I build it straight OOB or are there any bits that need fixing / improving. If so any help, tips etc would be greatly appreciated. If there are any posts on this any links to it would be greatly received. This now adds to a long list of kits that i need doing . Am I the only one or is this a common thing with modellers? Is it safe to say that having one or more kit / project one the go is the norm?
Cheers, Kenny.

Great present Stormin, I'm happy for you. In my view the kit is quite good on its own to be built OOB and you can easily scratchbuild with plasticard/copper foil the details you want to improve. There are dedicated PE sets, actually I've got both of that but some parts are hard to be put together, so I decided to keep them for another model.

Here a few shot of my OOB M26. The cabin is going to be "repainted" and finished with Italian markings.






Ciao and enjoy your wonderful present!!!

I built the full kit about a year ago. It is a fantastic kit. You will enjoy building it straight OOB.You can add PE if you like. I consider it Tamiya's best kit that they produce.

Hi Kenny ....Wow you must have been a good boy to get that as a present... What can I say about this kit ...Yeah it will look great out of the box ,but I'm taking it down town ...So far I have picked up 3 sets from Eduard and the Royal model set...Also a set of stencils for the markings from god knows who...So far I have added all the wiring (well most of it anyways)and hydraulic lines underneath ...Will anyone see it ?? Nah!! I know it's there...ain't that what counts..lol.There are quite a few links out there for the dragon wagon...but something has gone wrong with my favorites lists and I can't find them right now...I know you will find something on AFV interiors site..Also if you go the AMPS site there are lots of pictures of a dragon wagon being restored....I'm using 2 books from the Allies and Axis series with pictures of the dragon wagon along with another book from germany(can't remember who published it ..)Also I'm using a photo scope from an old Tamiya Model Magazine..which one I don't have it handy but if you want me to look it up for you I can ...I have put this aside for a while but not because of this kit but I was working on the load that was going to be carried...I flubbed that kit bad so I'm waiting for another insperation as to what to put on the trailer before I continue...Have fun with it !! You'll love it ...Don't forget to sand those wheels !! Long and boring but looks much better..

Rick

What can I say that these guys haven't except I love this kit. I have done three now and can't get enough of them. My latest effort was a complete super-detail with all the hydraulic lines and air lines, etc. I probably won't do that again, but only because you can't see half the work I did. You can see some of it in two folders at my webshots page:
http://community.webshots.com/user/rtwpsom2
There is a lot of detail you can add in if you want, but the kit is terrific as is. I would recommend the War Machine book and the Allied Axis #3, both of which cover it quite well. Here are three online reference sites for it:
http://www.kithobbyist.com/AFVInteriors/dragwag/dragwag1.html
http://www.ferreamole.it/images/Dragon/m25_dw_01.htm
http://www.amps-armor.org/Preservation/DW-Pics.asp?F=01

This is a very fun kit and I hope you enjoy at much as I did.

Rob

Hi there...Just look at my handle.

I rest my case, John.

When I get around to mine, I think I'll go to oob its such a nice kit and i doubt a PE would really make a major improvemnt for the cost and time involved in using them

What's the secret? A DragonWagon as a present? I get jumpers,socks and the ocassional jacket, my dear wife wouldn't buy me a Dragon wheelbarrow. "You've got all these other kits to finsh", she remarks, indicating my (very moderate) strategic plastic reserve. Do we finish kits was the question . Of course we don't , we're modellers.............Jim

Hi Guys,
many, many thanks for the advice and for the references. Plenty of for me. I hope to put this kit further to the top of my to build list. I hoped also to get my mates Digital camera and photo the build on this and to post it but he's broken it . I hope to buy my own soon so will leave it till I can do this.
Once again many thanks,
Kenny.