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REVIEW
Type 2 Ka-Mi
Mario_HR
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Croatia Hrvatska
Joined: June 28, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 04:44 AM UTC
Russell Amott gives us a very thorough build review of Dragons first ever IJN Type 2 amphibious tank in plastic in 1/35 scale [kit #6678].

Link to Item



If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
russamotto
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 06:31 AM UTC
Mario, thanks for helping to get this up. This really is an excellent kit. I hope Dragon meets this same standard with their future releases. I should have it painted soon and will post photos of the completed build.
tread_geek
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 07:11 AM UTC
Russ,

While not my scale, I read your review and found it concise and informative. As I am currently working on the recent Dragon release of the Type 97 Chi Ha, I wanted to see how the two would compare. My first thought is that there appears to be a definite improvement in their offerings, scale aside. Now if they can just get the bugs out of their instructions.

Cheers,
Jan
rolf
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Washington, United States
Joined: August 17, 2004
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 07:41 AM UTC
Russ, having finished the build part of my kit I have one unaccounted for piece. You made no mention of it and it is not in the instructions. It is part B32. I think it may go onto part B17 some how but am not sure. What do you make of it? I had no problem with the wheels in fact I hadn't even noticed the part number difference until after I put them together so I may have unknowingly done what you did. My fit of the front hull plate B11 wasn't the best but some Mr Surafacer 500 took care of the small gaps. I do agree with your assesment that this may well be one of Dragons best kits. Now I am hoping for two things, one that Model kasten does some tracks for it and two, that Dragon does a Type 95.

Roy
Plasticbattle
#003
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Donegal, Ireland
Joined: May 14, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 07:45 AM UTC
Thanks for the review and the build images Russ. Its great to see what comes in the box and a big plus ... how the fit is. Its dissapointing that they dont offer the pontoons conning tower and engine stack ... even if they were only used as diorama items. Its also a major booboo to not include iindy tracks ... especially on a vehicle that is out of the ordinary! That alone is why I wouldn´t buy this vehicle.
I like unusual armor, and the detail looks amazing, but Im not likely to buy a kit and have to search for cyber hobby tracks to complete it. I hate single length tracks and refuse to use them ... no matter how good the detail is.
russamotto
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 02:26 PM UTC
Thanks for the comments.

Roy, as for B32, I couldn't see a place for it. It may go with B17 like you say, as part of the inner details. It has an odd shaped placement hole that didn't match up to anything else. It is very early to make predictions but mine would be that there will be an expanded "Premium edition" or Cyber-Hobby version of this kit, and that part will be used, along with the flotation equipment and indy tracks.
rolf
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 02:40 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Thanks for the comments.

Roy, as for B32, I couldn't see a place for it. It may go with B17 like you say, as part of the inner details. It has an odd shaped placement hole that didn't match up to anything else. It is very early to make predictions but mine would be that there will be an expanded "Premium edition" or Cyber-Hobby version of this kit, and that part will be used, along with the flotation equipment and indy tracks.



Possible but what I find odd about it is that it is the ONLY piece that is unaccounted for. All the other "extra" pieces are optional parts. This one just a big blank. It actually looks like a pully wheel so I thought it might go onto part B17 since it really has no function in the kit as it stands now. It looks like Dragon prepped this kit for a full interior (sprocket detail on the propeller shafts, Part B17, fuel tanks and a few other parts). Yes and a float version is sure to come out soon.

Roy
russamotto
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 04:16 PM UTC
From looking at the interior photos posted in in the discussion on Missing-Lynx, it doesn't attach to the rudder control on the inside of the tank, B17. I wonder if it is the pulley attachment to the rudder on the pontoon? There's nothing else I can see that would use a pulley wheel as the kit now stands.

As a general note, I based my claim on the interior being white from the photos of the interior in that same discussion. This was the early variant. Later variants may have been painted the same color as the exterior. The entire gun would probably be in IJA Brown, or similar color. There's not a lot of info on the painting guide. The signal light on the box top appears to be, from top to bottom, blue, yellow and red.
Dangeroo
#023
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Posted: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - 07:20 PM UTC
Nice review on what looks like a fantastic kit detail wise! Certainly one to look out for!

Cheers!
Stefan
rolf
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Posted: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 - 04:00 AM UTC

Quoted Text

From looking at the interior photos posted in in the discussion on Missing-Lynx, it doesn't attach to the rudder control on the inside of the tank, B17. I wonder if it is the pulley attachment to the rudder on the pontoon? There's nothing else I can see that would use a pulley wheel as the kit now stands.

As a general note, I based my claim on the interior being white from the photos of the interior in that same discussion. This was the early variant. Later variants may have been painted the same color as the exterior. The entire gun would probably be in IJA Brown, or similar color. There's not a lot of info on the painting guide. The signal light on the box top appears to be, from top to bottom, blue, yellow and red.



If you are refereing to the interior photos that i think you are, those are of a 60 year old derelict. If you look at that picture (what B17 represents):

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/alpine_al/?action=view¤t=KaMiinteriorPalau.jpg#!oZZ3QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs153.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fs230%2Falpine_al%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DType2KaMiruddercontrol.jpg

the end of that rod is a key shaped. It could go on there. I just find it odd that there would only be one small part in this kit that that is for a kit that may (probably will) come out in the future. I'm not sold on the gun being brown either. I think the Japanese Navy would have had some lower ranked personnel perfoming some idle time paint job on them (at least the exterior portion). I'm painting mine grey. I have already started to lay paint.

Roy
russamotto
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Posted: Thursday, August 04, 2011 - 04:45 AM UTC
I've been looking at online photos and although it is hard to see in most, it looks like the guns match the rest of the tank color wise. The box art shows a gray gun. I can't see an artist name for it though. Do you know who painted it? Also, which gray are you using? The two hobby stores still open carry Panzer gray, gull gray and a couple of other aircraft colors. I'll probably have to go online to get a color match.
russamotto
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Posted: Thursday, August 04, 2011 - 10:02 AM UTC
B32 fits to part B17, on the tip of the extension above the hull. The keyhole in B32 fits the tip of B17 at that point. It creates a pulley link for the rudder steering with part B22. I think there should be an additional retaining bracket to hold it in place.
rolf
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Washington, United States
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Posted: Thursday, August 04, 2011 - 10:43 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I've been looking at online photos and although it is hard to see in most, it looks like the guns match the rest of the tank color wise. The box art shows a gray gun. I can't see an artist name for it though. Do you know who painted it? Also, which gray are you using? The two hobby stores still open carry Panzer gray, gull gray and a couple of other aircraft colors. I'll probably have to go online to get a color match.



I just decided to paint mine a mix of about 9 parts MM Gunship Grey to 1 part MM Light Ghost Grey. I wasn't to precise in the measurements though so I could be a little off. I like the results and really don't care if they are accurate as when it is weathered it won't matter much but I do like the color. I have the hull painted and was planning on painting the turret exterior this evening but am probably going to paint the interior first instead. I'll figure it out tonight. As for the box art painting I'm clueless. It's clearly not Volstad or Tainton as they both sign their paintings.

Roy

Roy
russamotto
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Posted: Monday, August 08, 2011 - 12:07 PM UTC
One final correction to the instructions. I should have caught this earlier. The decals for the tanks on Saipan, with the sunrayed Naval ensign, are marked 4, (4), on the instructions. This should be 4, (5), as the decals are also handed. The disc should be towards the mast, or in the case of the turret, towards the front.
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