introduction

Dragons 1/35 scale M16 MGMC is a great kit, and leagues ahead of the old Tamiya offering from almost a quarter century ago. And though it builds nicely out of the box, there is always room for improvement and additional detail. LionRoar from China brings us a full course meal in this set for Dragons M16 MGMC. Come with a full appetite, as this will certainly give you your fill of photo etch! You can get aftermarket for selective areas, or you can go whole hog with this offering.

In the Box

The first thing that struck me was that this set comes in a box instead of the usually folded card envelope. There is some weight to the box as well, as it contains no less than six PE frets, metal barrels with barrel jackets, and lots of instructions. Everything is nicely packed and there was no warpage of any of the frets.

The instructions come in long pages, front and back, consisting of only two sheets of paper. However the length of each sheet (almost 24”) covers quite a bit of work, so don’t be mislead by only two pages of instructions. They are printed in two colors, with a blue color highlighting the actual part to be dealt with and its location. Scanning through them, they seem nicely laid out and in a good logical order to facilitate assembly.

One interesting item is how the PE frets are covered on both sides with a self adhesive clear film. I first started peeling these off until I realized that if left on one side the film would hold the parts as I cut them from the fret. We will see how that works out when I start assembling this set.

What it covers

As a general overview, here are the areas it covers:

■ Engine and compartment: fan, radiator housing, various fittings on firewall
■ Frame: various replacements for thick kit parts
■ Cab Interior: complete detail for driver and passenger station including floor plates, dash, seats, and lots of other bits
■ Engine hood: complete replacement with working hinges
■ Radiator louvers: complete replacement with frame
■ Replacements for jerry can racks and OVM gear clips and brackets
■ Details for ammo drums
■ Details for radio including new box and “cover”
■ Headlight brush guards
■ Details for generator
■ Gun turret and mount: Turned brass gun barrels with cooling jackets, various details including replacement of thick kit parts
■ Ammo lengths for guns
■ Fighting compartment: new ammo racks, fold down armor plates, clips and brackets for internal items
■ Rear plate: new stowage boxes, bucket, brackets, and various details
■ Added jerry can racks for front winch/bumper

Conclusions

So is it worth it? Well, keeping in mind that just the barrels alone will run around $20, plus adding up all the various other items you get in the box, it comes out to be a decent deal. There is a lot of detail in this box, and also a lot of work if you’re up to it. I recommend it to anybody who wants to go “all the way” with their M16 kit, and I’m sure the final result will be worth it. I plan on having Toadmans M16 walk-around CD that I reviewed Here on Armorama in hand as I tackle the Dragon kit with this detail set in an upcoming build log. Stay tuned!