Here the first pics when opening the box :
Hosted by Darren Baker
Pascal's M48 A3 (Dragon 1/35)
pascalbausset
Joined: February 05, 2002
KitMaker: 1,416 posts
Armorama: 1,379 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 20, 2013 - 11:28 PM UTC
I just received the kit this morning.
Here the first pics when opening the box :
Here the first pics when opening the box :
Tojo72
Joined: June 06, 2006
KitMaker: 4,691 posts
Armorama: 3,509 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 20, 2013 - 11:36 PM UTC
Yes,very good,I got mine on wednesday,looks like a nice kit.I did order the Legend mantlet for it.
pascalbausset
Joined: February 05, 2002
KitMaker: 1,416 posts
Armorama: 1,379 posts
Posted: Friday, June 21, 2013 - 12:53 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Yes,very good,I got mine on wednesday,looks like a nice kit.I did order the Legend mantlet for it.
Which is the reference , TIA
zapper
Joined: October 18, 2005
KitMaker: 745 posts
Armorama: 734 posts
Posted: Friday, June 21, 2013 - 01:10 AM UTC
The Legend set (1033) is an old one for the Tamiya kit. I guess it will need some degree of work to fit the Dragon turret and the tie down strips have to be scratched. I assume we soon will see some update sets for the Dragon kit (Legend? DEF Models?), so if one is not in a hurry a little patient might pay off.
Cheers,
/E
Cheers,
/E
rfbaer
Joined: June 12, 2007
KitMaker: 1,866 posts
Armorama: 1,696 posts
Posted: Friday, June 21, 2013 - 04:22 AM UTC
The basic hull and turret look absolutely lovely.
pascalbausset
Joined: February 05, 2002
KitMaker: 1,416 posts
Armorama: 1,379 posts
Posted: Friday, June 21, 2013 - 04:42 PM UTC
Thanks Erik. Yes AM sets will surely appear in the next month.
Some more work :
The rear hull need some adjustements. Don't fit easy !
Some more work :
The rear hull need some adjustements. Don't fit easy !
pascalbausset
Joined: February 05, 2002
KitMaker: 1,416 posts
Armorama: 1,379 posts
Posted: Saturday, June 22, 2013 - 09:04 PM UTC
Tracks pics :
They need to replaced to much moulding lines that can't be deleted.
They need to replaced to much moulding lines that can't be deleted.
bat-213
Joined: December 30, 2011
KitMaker: 902 posts
Armorama: 788 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 23, 2013 - 10:30 AM UTC
cool build,do you finish a build and then do all the painting ?
pascalbausset
Joined: February 05, 2002
KitMaker: 1,416 posts
Armorama: 1,379 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 03:15 AM UTC
Quoted Text
the painting ?
Yes
SEDimmick
Joined: March 15, 2002
KitMaker: 1,745 posts
Armorama: 1,483 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 03:45 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Tracks pics :
They need to replaced to much moulding lines that can't be deleted.
What about applying some liquid cement to them to get rid of the lines?
jwest21
Joined: October 16, 2006
KitMaker: 3,374 posts
Armorama: 3,126 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 03:58 AM UTC
I tried that on mine...the seams are pretty drastic. I mixed some Tamiya basic putty and Tamiya thin and that seemed to do the trick.
pascalbausset
Joined: February 05, 2002
KitMaker: 1,416 posts
Armorama: 1,379 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 04:26 AM UTC
Quoted Text
What about applying some liquid cement to them to get rid of the lines?
I've try this method but with no really good results.
If some AM comes (correct drive sprockes, gun mask )i think put AFV tracks.
For instant I stop my build, here the last pics :
Charlie-66
#186
Joined: May 24, 2006
KitMaker: 771 posts
Armorama: 750 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 04:53 AM UTC
looks good so far. the roadwheel arm housings look great, and this is the firt kit I've seen that does a good job showing the torsion bar anchors. Now that I've seen this I need to order one.
DerGeist
Joined: January 21, 2008
KitMaker: 735 posts
Armorama: 707 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 06:58 AM UTC
Great looking build. Took the liberty of opening up the kit we have at the LHS I work at this morning. Looks like a very nice kit and I was surprised at the lack of parts. I'm not used to Dragon kits with so few parts. Did the Mod B only see action in Vietnam?
Erik
Erik
skyhawk
Joined: June 03, 2003
KitMaker: 1,095 posts
Armorama: 743 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 07:39 AM UTC
geez...those tracks are horrid. Might have to hold on to my AFV track or wait till trumpeter comes out with some workable ones.
otherwise, kit looks great!
Andy
otherwise, kit looks great!
Andy
M4A1Sherman
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Saturday, June 29, 2013 - 08:39 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Tracks pics :
They need to replaced to much moulding lines that can't be deleted.
Hi, All! Boy, am I glad that I bought a bunch of AFV CLUB M48/M60-series Track Sets, both Early and Late styles!!! I WAS thinking about shelving my 4 TAMIYA M48s, for which I've bought all kinds of Updates, Backdates, Metal Main Gun and Machine Gun Barrels, PE Sets, Stowage, Crew Figures, blah, blah, blah...
OK, so the DRAGON M48 is the LATEST AND GREATEST M48 out there. But looking at the close-up pics of how poorly some of the parts fit together, and the not so great DS Tracks, I think I just may forgo buying the DRAGON M48s as replacement kits. I think I'll KEEP my TAMIYA M48s in my construction loop- AT LEAST THEIR PARTS FIT TOGETHER BEAUTIFULLY!!! Now I don't have to post all those TAMIYA M48s PLUS GOODIES up for sale on eBay... And then again... Will I yield to the magnetic-pull of a brand-new novelty plus all the extra junk that I'll need to bring it up to my personal level of satisfaction..? I think not...
I'm disappointed in the somewhat indifferent engineering that DRAGON put into this kit of the M48. Especially since it costs about 3 times as much as I paid for each single TAMIYA M48 that I bought quite a few years ago. Why have I let these 4 TAMIYA M48s just sit for all these years? The answer is... I built the other 3 on display in my "VIETNAM-ERA" Display Case, so there is no real rush to build the others. Besides, I build mostly WWII stuff with a few modern pieces here and there...
Then there are my 1/48 Aircraft, my HO Brass Steam Locomotives & Trains, my 1/24-1/25 Classic Cars, and then.... You get the picture...
rfbaer
Joined: June 12, 2007
KitMaker: 1,866 posts
Armorama: 1,696 posts
Posted: Saturday, June 29, 2013 - 09:37 AM UTC
I too have a couple of Tamiya M48s in the stash, and a couple built, but I'm going to give the Dragon example a try, because it still has a lot of detail omitted by Tamiya. Looking at the pics in this thread, I can see several areas that Dragon has done well that require correction and or addition on Tamiya's kit, so I figure that puts me ahead.....
HDSC2D
Joined: March 12, 2013
KitMaker: 170 posts
Armorama: 141 posts
Posted: Saturday, June 29, 2013 - 02:18 PM UTC
Quoted Text
geez...those tracks are horrid. Might have to hold on to my AFV track or wait till trumpeter comes out with some workable ones.
otherwise, kit looks great!
Andy
I think Bronco is doing a set of workable tracks.
robsresinstop
Joined: August 25, 2012
KitMaker: 140 posts
Armorama: 138 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 30, 2013 - 07:00 AM UTC
Just bought one of the puppies on Ebay. Now after reading all of this and taking another look at all the available photos of the Dragon parts, I'm starting to lean more with Russel's comments on the Tamiya M48A3. After a good second look there are a few small boo-boo's with Dragon's Model B's and the price is, to me, too high for what you get.
vonHengest
Joined: June 29, 2010
KitMaker: 5,854 posts
Armorama: 4,817 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 30, 2013 - 07:34 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Quoted Textgeez...those tracks are horrid. Might have to hold on to my AFV track or wait till trumpeter comes out with some workable ones.
otherwise, kit looks great!
Andy
I think Bronco is doing a set of workable tracks.
They are working on the T97E2 tracks:
Build Images from Bronco
jwest21
Joined: October 16, 2006
KitMaker: 3,374 posts
Armorama: 3,126 posts
Posted: Monday, July 01, 2013 - 12:43 PM UTC
I have been working on and off this kit- I don't know how to explain it, but I just keep getting the feeling that this kit is missing something. It feels like they rushed it out before it was ready. Maybe it's just me, but although this kit is better than Tamiya's, its a little disappointing. Maybe I am just spoiled with Dragons later WWII kits and their M1 series.
M4A1Sherman
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 03, 2013 - 02:19 AM UTC
Quoted Text
I have been working on and off this kit- I don't know how to explain it, but I just keep getting the feeling that this kit is missing something. It feels like they rushed it out before it was ready. Maybe it's just me, but although this kit is better than Tamiya's, its a little disappointing. Maybe I am just spoiled with Dragons later WWII kits and their M1 series.
I'll put my name to that... What's missing is all the OVER-ENGINEERING that DRAGON puts into their GERMAN WWII tank kits- DRAGON KNOWS that they'll "clean up" by selling all those "re-pop" GERMAN kits that they keep re-boxing with "NEW, with NEW TOOLING!!!" plastered all over their ads and on the new boxes... Even if their M48 turns out to be a dead horse, they'll make up the losses with all the same old GERMAN stuff.
Granted, DRAGON's new M48 is "better" than the old TAMIYA kit, but HOW MUCH BETTER? Yes, the parts in the new DRAGON kit look FABULOUS. Except for the DS tracks, which DRAGON COULD have spent a little bit more time with to make them look better.
They don't look much better than TAMIYA's!!! 
Then there are the not so great parts-fit problems. I know that with my level of experience, I can work around the problems. The question that I'm asking myself is this: "Are the relatively few advantages of the DRAGON M48 over the TAMIYA kit WORTH THE EXTRA CASH OUTLAY?" You'd think that for the retail price that DRAGON has put on this kit, we'd be getting a state-of-the-art M48. I think that I'll spend a little more time on my old TAMIYA M48s, improving and detailing as I go, rather than spend the extra dough and then fighting the lousy fit problems... 
BruceJ8365
Joined: December 25, 2012
KitMaker: 441 posts
Armorama: 441 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 03, 2013 - 03:17 AM UTC
Quoted Text
I'll put my name to that... What's missing is all the OVER-ENGINEERING that DRAGON puts into their GERMAN WWII tank kits- DRAGON KNOWS that they'll "clean up" by selling all those "re-pop" GERMAN kits that they keep re-boxing with "NEW, with NEW TOOLING!!!" plastered all over their ads and on the new boxes... Even if their M48 turns out to be a dead horse, they'll make up the losses with all the same old GERMAN stuff.
Any other modern armor builders getting sick of all the fancy new Nazi stuff they come out with every other day? I'd think that as the generations pass, the popularity of the WWII stuff would decline in favor or more modern (>1960) stuff.
I almost feel a visceral repulsion to the Nazi stuff; I can't imagine immersing myself in it. I just can't get the excitement over it all. Never have. Perhaps because when I'm building I'm kind of vicariously there with the equipment, some of it stuff I actually spent lots of time living in and around... so I can't put myself into the build of the Nazi stuff. I dunno, just me probably. Glad there's so many options out there for those that love the stuff.
DerGeist
Joined: January 21, 2008
KitMaker: 735 posts
Armorama: 707 posts
Posted: Saturday, July 06, 2013 - 02:41 PM UTC
I took another look at the Dragon M48 that the LHS I work at has in stock. The DS tracks in this particular boxing look amazing compared to the ones you received. There was absolutely no flash. I'd talk to Dragon for replacements.
Erik
Erik
shermaholic-king
Joined: December 30, 2012
KitMaker: 34 posts
Armorama: 33 posts
Posted: Saturday, July 06, 2013 - 02:54 PM UTC
My Dragon M48A3 is still in the pipeline somewhere. Have built two Tamiya M-48's...warts and all....Bruce, agree with you on the "Nazi" kits. All mine have holes drilled in the hull/turret. Targets for Shermans.
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