Jan Etal gives us a Mostly built review of the Dragon Armor Pro 1/72 Flakpanzer V "Coelian"

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Thanks Dave for getting this...



...one up.

It was definitely a bit different!

Cheers,
Jan

Jan,

Great review and it's nice to finally see something about this kit other than the box top or Dragon propaganda CAD images. I can't help but think that this tank reminds me of the Sgt. York AA tank that the Americans were working on years ago. While it's a Paper Panzer it's still different and is quite an eye catcher. You mention and have the picts of those plugs on the idler but are there any other areas like that? Are these really because the mould is old or were they on the original Panther model also? I presume you won't be continuing this in a Blog anytime soon!

Regards,
AJ

@weathering_one - AJ,




Thanks and I'm glad that you like the review and took the time to comment. I also thought that the Flakpanzer reminded me of the SGT. York (in a vague way). It definitely is an interesting vehicle and would have been ahead of it's time had it gone into production.




There are actually a number of parts that have these projecting plugs. The 'A' sprue has all the running gear has numerous sprockets, wheels and idlers for various Panther versions on it. Almost ALL the idlers have these plugs to one degree or another. The one major part that has these is the engine compartment rear deck (C1). They are so thick and project so far from the underside of the part that it won't fit when you try to install it over the engine compartment detail part (C33).








On the first point, I can't be 100% positive whether these issues appeared on the older kits and my research didn't find any reference in reviews of them to suggest that it was common. A friend that has been in the hobby for years and also was involved in the mould making process was the one who suggested that the flash and the plugs were caused by wear on the mould. On the second point, you'll just have to wait and see!

Thanks for commenting.

Cheers,
Jan

Jan, a well written and informative review. I really like the "Armor Pro" series from Dragon, but have noticed with the 3-4 new kits issued that you get less and less for your money while the price keeps going up. It used to be that you got all kinds of extra goodies with an Armor Pro kit, and they were a little special , but that does not seem to be the case any more. Jeff T.

@imatanker - Jeff,

I too feel your (and all Braille builders) pain. There has been quite a stir in this community about Dragon's "change of direction" as far as what constitutes an Armor Pro kit. I fear that modellers are taking second place to collectors of prebuilt models and what we get is sort of the scraps.

It's sad that with this kit we see the best part of it being from an old previous release while the turret is IMHO excessively simplified. I'm not saying that the moulding isn't good but how much better it could have been if Dragon had maintained their previous standards for Armor Pro kits. Thanks for commenting and for registering your disappointment about their recent releases.

Cheers,
Jan

Jan, It is a sad thing. I have been buying up the older kits as I can because I honestly can't see things turning around. I'm hoping it does, but I'm not very confidant. Lets hope Dragon see's the light and turns it around. Jeff T.

Jeff,

Since you are collecting some of the older kits, would you happen to have one of the earlier Panther or Jagdpanther ones? If so, could you have a look at the sprues and let us know if the rear engine deck and some of the idler halves have the projecting moulding plugs as shown in the photo above? Not that it's a big deal (except for the idlers) but forewarned is forearmed.

Thanks,
Jan

Jan, I will have to check my stash, but I don't think I have a Panther. I am going to have to change that
But I did build this kit # 7345....

And I do remember that it did have the big tails on the underside of the engine deck cover.
This is a good example of what an Armor Pro kit should be, and once was.
It had DS tracks and some nice PE including the hoist chain


And the lifting hooks

Well detailed engine deck,(I added the screens)


And the finished kit

As I stated above, In my opinion this s what an AP kit should be. If I get a chance I will check my stash and let you know. Jeff T.

Jeff,

Talk about nostalgia and a case of "you don't know what you got 'til it's gone!" I had a look over kit #7291 (SdKfz 186 Jagdtiger - Porsche Version) and it has a similar engine compartment and back cover. The PE is similar to your kit (sans lifting gear) and the overall moulding is what I'd call superb when compared to the Flakpanzer. Virtually no flash evident and the engine deck is perfect with a few ejector pin marks on the underside. BTW, thanks for posting the images and the Jagdtiger looks great!




Okay and thanks. Hopefully someone reading this thread that either has a Dragon Panther G in their stash or has built one might shed some light on the earlier AP version. I'll see if one of the Braille builders in the local IPMS club might be able to provide some help.

Cheers,
Jan