Hi guys,
I've finaly managed to finish off all the stuff I had started , so now I am allowed to start my Tamiya Dragon Wagon kit!

Just spent some time looking for reviews, tips, and it looks like a lot of it have built the kit since I've found many pictures. However I could not find a review or tips on the forum.

Does anybody have anything to share with me? Anything I need to watch out for?

I know Tamiya is not the most popular brand on this site to say the least, but I do think that this kit looks really good in the box!

Here's a review .
I hope that helps.

Dave

Thanks!

Does everybody agree with the :




:-)

The review was written in December 1998, and hasn't been updated since July 2003. A long time before DML started producing their utterly fantastic new kits and Tamiya gave up on the 1:35 market.

i have three different tank transporters including the dragon wagon. one tip: weather the tyres first (specially the ones on the flatbed) before installing them..it will be easier to weather the whole transporter in your final stage. the chains and ropes also need alot of attention..make sure you read the instruction carefully. hope this helps.
...and yes that's a nice model kit. enjoy building all the way.

I got one for Christmas last year. Some very nice detail, especially the winch mechanism. The kit went together pretty easily, but there are a gazillion parts so it does take some time. It took me about three months to finish mine, but I am a prety slow builder.

One tip I can give you is to leave the rear view mirrors off until the very end, else you'll be breaking them off every time you go near the model.

Good luck.

The Dragon Wagon is contemporary with the Famo & trailer kit which was greeted @ the time as "possibly the finest model kit ever made". Even OOB you should get a fine model, & there are now enough AM bits to go bonkers if you so desire. I think this just shows how quickly you can lose it in business if you take your eye off the ball. Seriously though, while the later Tamiya kits are very good, the chief complaints are with a) the cost & b) the fact that there are no "extras" included (PE, ali barrels etc), & on these counts they compare poorly with Dragon. From the point of view of ease of assembly Tamiya kits are still better, they do "fall together", but you do pay for it.

Ropi, take your time, test fit everything, but above all.....enjoy yourself! It's a fantasic kit....one of the best Tamiya ever made...........don't forget to share it with us when you've finished....or even better......why not start a thread showing us progress as you go along?

Vinnie

Hi Nicoropi....here is a very nice build article I saved a while back...
http://www.guntruck.com/M25DragonWagon.html
and here is a link to some pictures from the tech manual...


http://www.ferreamole.it/images/Dragon/m25_dw_01.htm

hope these help a bit.

Rick

Trust me, it will be 10 times easier than the M123c tractor and M15a1 trailer I had to convert :-)

I haven't gotten around to my Dragon Wagon, but it is a typically great Tamiya kit. We are not down on Tamiya, just disappointed. Whereas Dragon is paying attention to what we are saying and asking for, Tamiya has pretty much ignored us and just keep serving the same old meat and potatoes rather than a little "gourmet" like Dragon is doing.

Thanks guys, The references will be helpful. Richard; I've had your page on the Dragon Wagon in my bookmarks for a long time!

Vinnie, I follow your advice and I will post some pictures as I go along.
Then it's great if you guys can guide me!

So here is one at the end of step 9. As always my dilema is coming back :
- Shall I stop building and start painting this, as well as all the parts that are going to be difficult to paint when assembled ie wheels? There are already those 4 chains that are to be metallic gray... Will I be able to reach later in the build...

Here are more pics of the DW as well.

http://www.tanxheaven.com/m26dr/m26.htm

Some of the M15A1 tractor (some significant differences but many of the same features)

http://www.tanxheaven.com/m15a1/m15a1.htm

Military Miniture In Review MMIR had a full build articale in a old issue. It should be helpfull ampersand
Pub has a web site maybe you can get a back issue or PDF.

tree

Hello Ropi,
i build the kit first and painted it afterwards. Only some small parts like fire extinguishers, gas bottles, water bottles, brush guards or so were seperately painted and then added to the model. The chains were handed as well. Here is a link to my DW album:
Dragon Wagon

Building this beast was real fun. Good luck and happy modelling

cheers
Harald

Here's the latest picture on Day 2.
I'm having so much fun, building the tyres was a lot of fun.
The method I used to remove the flash on the tyres is just to sand them with sand paper. This gives an awesome look of tyres who've just crossed Europe.
Doing a lot of painting at the moment, figures mostly. The figures are not so bad for Tamiya figures!
You can see on the picture the color of the Olive Drab which gave me cold sweat. I think it is not that bad.

I hope it stays fun like that.