Hello All!

For this next Build Blog, I received the new Dragon Tiger I Mid-Production with Zimmerit & Borgward IV Ausf A Heavy Demolition Charge Vehicle.

I really look forward to this build, since believe it or not, I have never built a Dragon Tiger I kit.

As you all know the history of the Tiger I, I will bypass the history on it, and give you the background on the Borgward IV.

According to Wikipedia, During World War II, the Wehrmacht used three remotely operated demolition tanks: the light Goliath (Sd.Kfz. 302/303a/303b), the medium Springer (Sd.Kfz. 304) and the heavy Borgward IV (Sd.Kfz. 301). The Borgward IV was the largest of the vehicles and the only one capable of releasing its explosives before detonating; the two smaller vehicles were destroyed when their explosive charges detonated.

Borgward originally developed the B IV as an ammunition carrier, but it was found unsuitable. It was also tested as a remote minesweeper, but was too vulnerable to mines and too expensive. During the Battle of France, German engineers from the 1st Panzer Division converted 10 Panzer I Ausf Bs into demolition and mine clearing vehicles, using them to place timed charges on bunkers or minefields without losing the vehicle. The Waffenamt found the idea valuable, and ordered the B IV's development as a remote-controlled demolition vehicle. The first vehicles were delivered in 1942.

The Borgward IV was much heavier than the Goliath, and carried a much larger payload. The Borgward IV was operated by radio and the Goliath was wire guided, due to the Borgward IV's much longer range a driver in the vehicle would bring it independently to its destination before dismounting and conducting it to its target by radio. When it reached the target, the vehicle would drop the charge and leave the danger area. This put Borgward IV operators in great danger. While the Borgward IV was armored, its armor was inadequate by 1942-43, and its larger size than the Goliath made it much easier to spot.

In addition, Three models of the Borgward were produced, Ausführung (abbreviated to Ausf.) A, Ausf. B and Ausf. C, primarily differing in armor, weight and radio equipment.

The Borgward IV Ausf. A, the first model to enter serial production, was equipped with a 49-horsepower 4-cylinder water-cooled gasoline engine. Ausf. A was the most produced model, with approximately 616 produced between May 1942 and June 1943.

In June 1943, production shifted to the similar Borgward IV Ausf. B. The Ausf. B weighed 400 kg (880 lb) more, the radio antenna was moved and better radio equipment was used. From June to November 1943, 260 of this model were produced.

The final Borgward IV to see production, the Ausf. C, saw greater changes. The chassis was lengthened to 4.1 metres (13 ft 5 in) and the weight further increased. The armor on the Ausf. C was thicker than the previous variants, new tracks were used, the driver's seat was moved to the left of the vehicle and a new 78 horsepower six-cylinder engine was used. The Ausf. C was produced from December 1943 to September 1944 when production ended, with 305 examples built.

Near the end of World War II, approximately 56 Ausf. Bs and Cs were converted to the Panzerjäger Wanze, armed with six RPzB 54/1 anti-tank rockets. In the last days of the war, these vehicles fought some minor skirmishes against Soviet armor and saw some action at the Battle of Berlin.[2]

At least one Ausf. B was rebuilt as an amphibious vehicle, and in 1943 one Borgward IV was equipped with a television camera for observation.

Borgward IV production was relatively small: only 1,181 were produced, as compared to the 7,564 of the much smaller Goliath. Like Germany's other remote-controlled demolition vehicles, the Borgward IV was not considered a success; it was unreliable and expensive, although unlike the Goliath and Springer it could be used multiple times.

The following link has interesting information, as well as various pics, of the Borgward IV:

http://survincity.com/2012/05/teletanketka-borgward-iv-sd-kfz-301/

Next up, the instructions and sprue pics, so be on the lookout.

Look forward to your feedback, as always.

Jorge

As promised, Instructions and sprue pics follow up next:

Build begins later today... stay tuned!

I will be joining the ranks, as I have the Borgward IV waiting to be built at some point.
/Stefan

New pics coming up. Build to date has been a breeze, although repetitive, and I even haven't begun sanding yet... onto the pics.

PAY ATTENTION TO SPRUES AND PART NUMBERS vs instructions... you sill save some time al eliminate errors. Tons of sprues and repetitive numbers.

Sprocket assembly... pretty much straightforward... 2 pieces, beautiful detail.






Idlers... same here; 2 parts, very nice detail.




Roadwheels... IGNORE THE INTERIOR NUMBERS on the parts.








Nice details on roadwheels... weld marks, numbers and manufacturer marks on "rubber" rim.






Did I say ignore the number on the roadwheels...?




Bit of cleanup required for the torsion bar suspension.




Torison Bar installation.





Mind you... Front left torsion bar is different from all others. Be alert to this detail. This part is the rightmost one in the pic. one side has a bolt, the other does not, in order to sit flush against the front.



That is all for today... waiting for the glue to dry, in order to continue hull assemble in order to commence primer work.

As always, comments welcome anytime!

Another one !

What do you mean? You building one as well?

Woohoo another one,keep it up Jorge

This means many an early morning wake up to work on it!!!

Quick update....

Zimm texture is mighty nice. It is good not to have to do it with epoxy.

There are a LOT of parts, as in small, for various assemblies. Good for details, hell to pay for cleanup and assembly. But hey, I like the details!

Also, need to sand the muffler joints before installing. a very subtle cast surface has been molded onto the muffler armor... may add some more marked texture with Mr. Surfacer...

Hello All!

Slow to update, since I've had a lot of work at the office, and a lot of small parts in this kit.

Pics follow... still working on the hull...

There's a long-running problem with Dragon hulls in that the hull roof's rear edge sits too high on the rear wall.
The top surface at the middle of the roof should be level with the top edge of the wall.
Nip this one in the bud while you still can.

David

Thanks, David!

Will be sure to tackle this on time.

Hello All!

I have run into a HUGE snag here... missing the complete "A" Sprue... I have no barrel in this kit!

Just noticed, since I was starting to build the gun/breech/turret assembly.

Interesting thing is, I do have, mind you, loose since day one, the commander's copula in the box...

Any assistance appreciated.

You can go to Dragon's webpage and open a trouble ticket with customer service and explain that the kit is missing the entire A sprue.
I have open three tickets with them in the past and had excellent results getting a replacement for the missing item. Each issue was resolved within two weeks.

Well, Dragoncare came through, at least initially... contacted them yesterday, and got an immediate reply asking for my address in order to send the sprue.

In the mean time, will continue with other odds and ends for the build.

Great service from Dragoncare to date... will keep you posted.

here's some additional build pics, while I wait for the sprue A to arrive from DragonCare.

Build going smoothly, although there are a lot of small parts that really help the detailed look of the kit. I have really liked the kit so far; the level of detail is impressive, and the zimmerit (molded on) seems very realistic.

Pics follow; critique always welcome!

Parts breakdown in turret seats:




Upper hull and some of the turret assembled; Mr. David Byrden indicated to be on the lookout for the turret roof not sitting flush with the turret sides... seems Dragon corrected this, as the roof sits flush as expected:








That is all for now... will keep you posted.

What David Byrden meant was the middle section of the rear roof/engine deck (hull, not turret!) that should be sitting flush and not raised by a few millimeters like Dragon is depicting it. It is still wrong in your kit as you can see on some earlier pics of yours!

Got it; thanks for the clarification!

Gotta say Thank You to DragonCare... they sent the A Sprue as soon as requested. Build will continue today, so will post pics as soon as I have additional parts assembled.

Kudos to a great customer service experience from Dragon!

can you pls repost the pictures??