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Dragon Tests The M48
SgtRam
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#197
Ontario, Canada
Joined: March 06, 2011
KitMaker: 3,971 posts
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 12:05 AM UTC
An update posted by Dragon Models shows a test build of the recently announced M48 American Tank.
Link to ItemIf you have comments or questions please post them here.
Thanks!
CMOT
Editor-in-ChiefEngland - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: May 14, 2006
KitMaker: 10,954 posts
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 02:37 AM UTC
This looks to be a very good model of the M48. I would however have expected the cloth mantlet cover to be present in dragon styrene or similar.
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#186
Texas, United States
Joined: May 24, 2006
KitMaker: 771 posts
Armorama: 750 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 04:14 AM UTC
Quoted Text
This looks to be a very good model of the M48. I would however have expected the cloth mantlet cover to be present in dragon styrene or similar.
I agree, the dust cover for both the main gun, and the MG in the TC's cupola should be included!
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: October 16, 2006
KitMaker: 3,374 posts
Armorama: 3,126 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 04:32 AM UTC
legend needs to make an update set for this like their one for the Tamiya set. Good looking kit...can't wait for this one!
Quebec, Canada
Joined: January 01, 2004
KitMaker: 7,600 posts
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 05:59 AM UTC
Wait!! In a couple of years, or less, Dragon will release the "new newly-tooled, correctly-corrected" version.
Colorado, United States
Joined: January 20, 2005
KitMaker: 7,219 posts
Armorama: 6,097 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 07:01 AM UTC
I don't care about the mantlet, that's easy enough to fix. And yes, Legend will do the cover. My concern is that they get the front hull shape correct. It's hard to tell from the angles in the photos provided, but I'm not quite certain...
None of the photos on Prime Portal seem to show the shape well either. and the best one I have is this one:
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Alvsborgs, Sweden
Joined: April 14, 2004
KitMaker: 68 posts
Armorama: 38 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 08:00 AM UTC
Considering how much Dragon charge for their kits I'd say it's poor form to leave out such a prominent detail as the dust cover.
Texas, United States
Joined: June 12, 2007
KitMaker: 1,866 posts
Armorama: 1,696 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 09:07 AM UTC
I'll be buying more than one anyway.....
After doing several mantlet covers on Tamiya kits, I can live with it.
Texas, United States
Joined: November 17, 2010
KitMaker: 119 posts
Armorama: 81 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 01:19 PM UTC
If it doesn't have the dust cover why bother. That's a prominent feature and only graveyard or gate guard ones don't have it. I'll pass until they make it right. A little off here and there is better than missing important parts of the whole tank. That's what you see not a little off on the minor details like the overall shape of the glacis plate which can be fixed with a little putty. Actually the turret on the Tamiya kit is correct, the height of the suspension is wrong and that can be fixed without major issues. I'm not going to spend $50 and add another $50 for a correct turret and cupola. Or the Legend kit which as far as I know is OOP. I'll stick with the Tamiya kit for now until I see some results of this kit. I have seen people try to do those covers from scratch and it never looks right.
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#384
Nevada, United States
Joined: August 23, 2005
KitMaker: 1,426 posts
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 01:47 PM UTC
I'm with you on this. Spent many a day on the M-48, as well as M-60's and never ever once saw one in the field without the mantlet cover. I also don't want to spend another 40 bucks or more on an update set
Quoted Text
If it doesn't have the dust cover why bother. That's a prominent feature and only graveyard or gate guard ones don't have it. I'll pass until they make it right. A little off here and there is better than missing important parts of the whole tank. That's what you see not a little off on the minor details like the overall shape of the glacis plate which can be fixed with a little putty. Actually the turret on the Tamiya kit is correct, the height of the suspension is wrong and that can be fixed without major issues. I'm not going to spend $50 and add another $50 for a correct turret and cupola. Or the Legend kit which as far as I know is OOP. I'll stick with the Tamiya kit for now until I see some results of this kit. I have seen people try to do those covers from scratch and it never looks right.
La Rioja, Spain / España
Joined: October 29, 2003
KitMaker: 200 posts
Armorama: 188 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 08:26 PM UTC
I agree with bigdaddy. I will wait for AFV club ones....
Skåne, Sweden
Joined: October 18, 2005
KitMaker: 745 posts
Armorama: 734 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 08:52 PM UTC
Yepp, I'm not saying it's a catastrophe with the missing cover, just saying it's lazy not providing it when the real vehicle rarely operated without it.
Still I can't help remind you of AFV Clubs tradition of not providing dust cover with the actual kit. Both their M41 and their Centurion kits come without it, and it's instead sold as a separate item. Not lazy, but kind of cheap. Hope they stop that tradition w h e n it's time for M48 release.
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Texas, United States
Joined: November 17, 2010
KitMaker: 119 posts
Armorama: 81 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 11:25 PM UTC
It looks like to me that no matter what you buy to make these armored vehicles right you have to modify and scratch build. I served with the US Army in the 1/11th acr and drove many of the M113 vehicles. I spent many hours living in them, driving them, cleaning them and doing maintenance. Even the excellent Academy kit is flawed. I built a few of the Tamiya versions and got so frustrated I dumped them in the garbage. Maybe my skills could not get me to where I wanted at that time but even so they were terrible. The more I tried to fix it the more frustrated I got. I do not understand why these model makers do not get it right the first time. Are the details too small? How could a company forget the mantle cover on a tank? To me that's inexcusable, maybe I'm nitpicking having been in a Armored unit and having spent time on tanks and armored vehicles. I can never forget the smell of the exhaust of an M1 Abrams, that was the only place you could keep warm in the motor pool on a winter day in Germany.
Texas, United States
Joined: November 17, 2010
KitMaker: 119 posts
Armorama: 81 posts
Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 11:29 PM UTC
The drawing on the box shows the cover, so maybe they include it as an add on or something. It's a terrible oversight that will limit the sales and that might hurt future releases of Vietnam era models. Dragon already has discontinued most of their Vietnam line.
North Carolina, United States
Joined: June 06, 2006
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Posted: Friday, May 17, 2013 - 01:03 AM UTC
Colorado, United States
Joined: February 06, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - 03:58 PM UTC
I cannot agree more. This indeed is a shame if DML sells this kit w/out the covers. It will be an expensive kit and they may realize that their resources were wasted when the sales become low.
Quoted Text
The drawing on the box shows the cover, so maybe they include it as an add on or something. It's a terrible oversight that will limit the sales and that might hurt future releases of Vietnam era models. Dragon already has discontinued most of their Vietnam line.
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: October 16, 2006
KitMaker: 3,374 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 02:42 AM UTC
HLJ and Hobbysearch have the Dragon kit in stock
Indiana, United States
Joined: June 10, 2005
KitMaker: 6,188 posts
Armorama: 5,960 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 03:39 AM UTC
Why don't they have options with these kits anymore?
I mean, the option of adding a cover, or the light... it wouldn't cost that much more to include them.
~ Jeff
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: October 16, 2006
KitMaker: 3,374 posts
Armorama: 3,126 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 03:50 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Why don't they have options with these kits anymore?
I mean, the option of adding a cover, or the light... it wouldn't cost that much more to include them.
~ Jeff
my guess would be that they just missed it. I have a Legend set for the Tamiya that I picked up for $10. That takes care of the canvas cover on the mantlet, the sprockets with holes and the search light. That leaves just the cover on the .50 cal turret to make
Indiana, United States
Joined: June 10, 2005
KitMaker: 6,188 posts
Armorama: 5,960 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 04:12 AM UTC
Also (and I do not own any reference material) wouldn't this be more popular with aluminum wheels or was that primarily on the M60?
~ Jeff
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: October 16, 2006
KitMaker: 3,374 posts
Armorama: 3,126 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 04:28 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Also (and I do not own any reference material) wouldn't this be more popular with aluminum wheels or was that primarily on the M60?
~ Jeff
pretty sure the aluminum wheels were on the M60 and even they went back to the M48 wheels
Removed by original poster on 06/04/13 - 19:27:04 (GMT).
New Jersey, United States
Joined: July 25, 2006
KitMaker: 1,139 posts
Armorama: 946 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 05, 2013 - 09:03 AM UTC
Quoted Text
It looks like to me that no matter what you buy to make these armored vehicles right you have to modify and scratch build. I served with the US Army in the 1/11th acr and drove many of the M113 vehicles. I spent many hours living in them, driving them, cleaning them and doing maintenance. Even the excellent Academy kit is flawed. I built a few of the Tamiya versions and got so frustrated I dumped them in the garbage. Maybe my skills could not get me to where I wanted at that time but even so they were terrible. The more I tried to fix it the more frustrated I got. I do not understand why these model makers do not get it right the first time. Are the details too small? How could a company forget the mantle cover on a tank? To me that's inexcusable, maybe I'm nitpicking having been in a Armored unit and having spent time on tanks and armored vehicles. I can never forget the smell of the exhaust of an M1 Abrams, that was the only place you could keep warm in the motor pool on a winter day in Germany.
When were you in the 1/11th, I was in A troop in Fulda back in the Sheridan and M60A1 days. The 48 kit is disappointing I crewed and commanded M48A5s in the NG for 7 years. So I know them well, never saw one without the cover. The Dragon hull would work as a 48A5 conversion with some borrowed parts from Academy. Leaving out the cover is like leaving the main gun off. Guess I'll wait this out.
Some times 48s could use aluminum wheels as replacements. The rule was both wheels had to be the same type on the same axle. They could be mixed on the tank. But take it from a M60/48 taker aluminum road wheels sucked. They had steel wear plates to keep the center guided from chewing them up and they were forever coming off. Constant maintaince headache.
Tom
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