Stashfiller or BBB (Big Bl**dy Box)
Reminds me about the joke about the outplacement consultant.
The optimist sees a glass filled to 50% as half full, the pessimist sees it as half empty but the outplacement consultant says: "Hey, you've got way more resources than you really need"



/ Robin

On the bright side, you can put partially assembled kit in the empty space! or a sandwich. Maybe both

It's a Smart Kit...not a Smart Box !

H.P.

Hehe that was funny

All of the needed tools and paint would fit in the same half of the box as the sprues. The rest is still empty, a sandwich wouldn't make much difference and I think it is slightly too small for my compressor. Maybe a Tamiya Spray Work compressor would fit though ....

The box is the same size as HobbyBoss 85517, Russian BAZ-64022 with 5P85TE2 TEL S-400. That box is filled with styrene though
/ Robin

Then it must be for sprue browsers like me. I always face dilemma where do i put sprues while browsing them. This way they are always in the box!

-Dragon wanted to copy Eduard's Combo boxing but chickened out at the last minute.

-Cyberhobby was contracted out to make the box, they added space for the Gen2 figures they would add later.

-Black label guys were involved with the box design

You could do an In-The-Box-Build as a contrast to OOB
Sprues, parts, instruction, tools, paint et.c. stays in the box until the model is finished ...

The box is big enough, but too flimsy, to contain a diorama with the finished Ka-Tsu
/ Robin

Slowly but surely: their next line of models will be 'Smart Kit in Smart Box'; then 'Smart Kit in Smart Box for Smart People'...

Is that the space left available for the inaccurate parts?

Guys, you miss to point: the empty space assures positive buoyancy of the unbuilt kit. It's an amphibious vehicle after all, isn't...?

Maybe they have reserved space for the sprues needed for the already advertised torpedo-carrying version?
There were only two versions of this vehicle so they can't be planning the Panzer-game with mix-n-match sprues from 10 different kits to make a new version.

Another possibility is that they are somehow matching the size of the box with the price? The Ka-Tsu cost me about 10% less than the S-400 TEL so it could be a matter of matching price to the volume of the box.
There isn't that many parts either, two big chunks for the hull and then an assortment of wheels and small bits for the running gear and a handful of pieces for the deck details.
The instructions are thin compared to a Pz III or IV, all in all 6 pages:
Front with copy of box-art and the parts layout
Assembly instructions in 9 steps laid out over 4 pages
Paint diagram, one scheme which is medium green all over.

The included figure is a guy carrying a large camera. The figure sprue contains blued-out bodyparts which add up to three more figures, the camera is a separate sprue so I guess that the other one is a re-use from somewhere.
There are some other parts that are blued-out as well and the instructions tell you to cut 20 links from the DS-track.

Edit: Had to check those tracks, it is actually four sections of track so the Ka-Tsu uses the same track as something smaller. Twice the length minus those 20 links. Joining the cut off sections will be interesting .....
I hope there are aftermarket tracks for the shorter vehicle, whichever it is ...

/ Robin

Edit: I checked the Ka-Mi box and it is the same tracks, should have suspected this from the beginning ....

Sounds somewhat similar to bra inlays. Just like this box, those are disappointing as well when unpacked.
What is next? separate link DS tracks? can it get any worse that cutting and gluing them

Seriously dragon? Those tracks are just plain lazy.

Such a waste of box.Guess they want you to think you are getting something much,much bigger when there is little in the box to begin with.Also if this is one of these new "smart boxes" when are they gonna begin to make "smart people"?

Hey, it's a seagoing amphib, so it comes with a lot of buoyancy

May be oversized boxes are currently on sale in China?

Dragon sells boxes of air! I've been needing an oversized box for some time!

Sadly this kit falls into the catagory of great subject but very poorly executed.

I have submitted a build review for publication in Model Military International but, to summarise, this is a Black Label kit in a Dragon box.

Parts fit is actually very good, but detail on the actual Ka-Tsu parts is either very simplified or totally non-existent. Dragon has made no attempt to replicate the many welding seams on the hull and the fact that you have to cut the DS Tracks to get them to fit is frankly disgusting.

The rollers for the steering cable are not only featureless but they sit too low on the hull roof and are not at the same level as the steering 'fishtail' at the hull rear. The result is that the steering cable at the back has to angle up to to go into the fishtail, something that in real life would be catastrophic.

And that cameraman figure - if you expect the parts in the box to replicate the CAD artwork then you will be sorely disappointed. The new arms don't fit the camera and the pose is off-balance - sadly my dude got tossed in the bin out of frustration.

Parts are clunky in detail and thickly molded, with no detail at all on the hatch inners. Dragon appear to have not been bothered to send someone to measure and photograph the only surviving example to give us something worthy of the asking price.

The kicker for me though is the price. In the UK it is between £75 and £90 retail and at that I recommend that everyone leaves it on the shelf. There is about £20 of value in the box, no more, and that is only for originality of subject.

This is without doubt one of Dragon's poorest ever attempts at filling a box.

Yep! They only managed to fill it to 40%

I had been thinking of buying a 1/25 paper card model of the Ka-Tsu

and then try to build it in styrene in 1/35 so this is a big step in the right direction even if it does not take me all the way
I may have to check that card model again to see if it can be used as reference ...

/ Robin

Love those cardboard kits! In the past, I have built mainly aircraft, as cutting out tracks (or 10+ separate parts for EACH wheel) was too agonizing. With some skills, brilliant models can be built. The one i loved the most, was 1/33 Hercules. It was huge, and flew well (at least few times).

Oh, and by the way, cardboard kits approach 100% fill factor.

This kit is exactly why I have gone from Dragon fanboy to Dragon avoider. This is a kit of a vehicle that I have been long interested in but isn't at the level where I want to put a lot of extra work into it to make it presentable. I looked at it in the box and it's simply not a good kit even on casual inspection. Which sucks as this is a novel vehicle that would look great in a collection.

Yep. I'm with Matt here. I used to look at Dragon as the ultimate in armor kits. Not anymore. I can't think of many recent Dragon releases that I'd buy "sight unseen". I'm into kits of unusual items, and was really considering this kit, with some scratchbuilt torpedos, but no, I think I'll pass on this one. I wonder how long Dragon will continue with their "quality slide"? Where other manufacturers seem to start out on the low quality end, and improving kits over time, Dragon seems to be doing just the opposite, even as their prices keep climbing. This is a sad business model for what was once a great manufacturer.
VR, Russ