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Dragon M4a3 105mm


Joss

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Hi everyone, really looking to getting this one going!

This is the kit,

 

IMG_20171230_233814

The contents of said box,

 

IMG_20171231_171736

 

The extra bits dragon have included in the kit the side fenders are photoetch which is nice and looking at the instructions the road wheels rubber bits can be slipped on later which will mean no masking!!

The suspension seems workable and there's a barrel for the 105mm gun which is nice.

IMG_20180101_144752

 

The only problem is that the way the rubber/vinyl tracks have been stored is that they are stuck on this position.

 

2018-01-01_03-03-38

 

The plan is maybe to do the USMC machine as I like the yellow on green but Ill have a look for decals if not I'll just go for kit ones.

 

Joss

 

 

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3 hours ago, fatfingers said:

Aye up Joss,

 

Nice kit. Shame about the tracks. Quite fancy one of these for the stash.

 

Look forward to seeing this progress.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

Alright Steve, yeah looks to be a nice kit. Will be interesting to see how it builds!

Joss

3 hours ago, Hewy said:

Looks a nice kit from what i can see

 

Yeah detail seems nice I'll do some close up photos later!

Joss

3 hours ago, Ozzy said:

Welcome aboard Joss, it's a real shame about thos tracks but intresting you get both turret options.

Cheers Ozzy thank you have me on board! I plan on giving them a heat up an see how it goes! Yeah it requires a few extra bit of the sprue! 

Joss

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40 minutes ago, Threadbear said:

A while ago Bison did some Korean War Decals for this variant. 

That's good to know I shall have a look around and see to see what I can find. Thanks!

Joss

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Hi Joss,

That looks like a nice kit. And you have the same carpet as me!

I reckon those tracks will be okay if you soak them in hot water for a while, get them nice and hot, stretch them out straight and while keeping the tension on, dunk them in cold water until fully cool.

Let me know how you get on?

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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12 hours ago, Badder said:

Hi Joss,

That looks like a nice kit. And you have the same carpet as me!

I reckon those tracks will be okay if you soak them in hot water for a while, get them nice and hot, stretch them out straight and while keeping the tension on, dunk them in cold water until fully cool.

Let me know how you get on?

 

Rearguards,

Badder

Thanks badder! That sounds like a good idea I shall have a try and see how I get on with it! And I'll post a pic to see how it goes! 

Regards

Joss

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6 hours ago, PlaStix said:

This looks like it should be an interesting build Joss! Hope you manage to sort out the tracks.

Kind regards,

Stix

Thanks Stix, yeah hopefully I'll be able to finish it in time! I think with badders tip I should be able to get it sorted!

Regards

Joss

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Having never really done to much armour I'm going to have questions my first one is this.

The upper hull has two tabs in the back that stop the upper hull from sitting flush to the lower hull. Should I sand them off there is no mention in the instructions but I don't want sand of something that needs to be there?

 

IMG_20180102_182013

 

There are the suspects!

Thanks 

Joss

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If in doubt cut it out, you can see the 2 fixing points either side are lower. But those 2 at the end don't have any step, I would cut them off to allow a better fit.

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Fekkin DS-100 Tracks!  I had a set like that in a 1/72 Panther, but for added novelty one of them was kinda shrivelled at one end too.  After much (IIRC 13 months) online battling with Dragoncare I finally got a replacement set, tightly folded up into a tiny little ziploc bag!  :doh::wall:

 

My :2c: - Go aftermarket, it's just so much less painful  in the long run!  :D

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19 hours ago, Ozzy said:

If in doubt cut it out, you can see the 2 fixing points either side are lower. But those 2 at the end don't have any step, I would cut them off to allow a better fit.

Thanks Ozzy I've cut them out and it fits like a glove!

14 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Fekkin DS-100 Tracks!  I had a set like that in a 1/72 Panther, but for added novelty one of them was kinda shrivelled at one end too.  After much (IIRC 13 months) online battling with Dragoncare I finally got a replacement set, tightly folded up into a tiny little ziploc bag!  :doh::wall:

 

My :2c: - Go aftermarket, it's just so much less painful  in the long run!  :D

13 months and the fact they came in a tiny Ziploc! Where they any use after? You could almost call it dragonnotcare....

I'm going to try badders method first because I'm a tightarse :rofl:

Regards

Joss

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Just ordered one of these of t'interweb. Pictures of item show that the tracks have been packed flat and not wrapped around the card. Here's hoping!!! :wonder:

 

Regards.

 

Steve

 

Edited by fatfingers
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36 minutes ago, fatfingers said:

Just ordered one of these of t'interweb. Pictures of item show that the tracks have been packed flat and not wrapped around the card. Here's hoping!!! :wonder:

 

Regards.

 

Steve

 

Fingers crossed steve🤞when I first saw them I though it was a good idea but boy was I wrong!

Regards

Joss

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Be careful what you paint them with if you use them, they have been known to crumble to dust in under a year.....Nobody has (AFAIK) managed to pin down exactly what triggers it, but oil-based paints in direct contact with the DS-100 are one of the more likely culprits.  Sometimes however, they just do it all on their own:

 

tracks.jpg

 

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47210/thread/1394308707/Dragon+DS+tracks+turned+like+glass

 

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=227962&page=1

 

 

 

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Is it possible the tracks aren't plastic at all ? Sounds like a very common problem suffered in the late ‘80’s with vinyl Sci-fi kits ? I remember some batches of vinyl would literally melt on contact with paint. Im thinking they're vinyl ? 

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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On 03/01/2018 at 20:51, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Be careful what you paint them with if you use them, they have been known to crumble to dust in under a year.....Nobody has (AFAIK) managed to pin down exactly what triggers it, but oil-based paints in direct contact with the DS-100 are one of the more likely culprits.  Sometimes however, they just do it all on their own:

 

tracks.jpg

 

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47210/thread/1394308707/Dragon+DS+tracks+turned+like+glass

 

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=227962&page=1

 

 

 

Thanks sarge. It doesn't seem to bode well for these tracks does it!! I mainly use acrylics so I might be safe but I'll just see for the moment.

If I do need to replace them what sort of track are they?

Many thanks

Joss

 

On 03/01/2018 at 22:22, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Is it possible the tracks aren't plastic at all ? Sounds like a very common problem suffered in the late ‘80’s with vinyl Sci-fi kits ? I remember some batches of vinyl would literally melt on contact with paint. Im thinking they're vinyl ? 

Hi Corsair looking at those forums sarge posted they seem to a mix of polystyrene and vinyl may that's why they die? I'm not as old as the 80s but when I done modelling in the 90s as a youngun I remember mainly using enamel so maybe that melts them?!

Regards

Joss

 

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I have been doing a little bit of work mainly fiddling about with bits to get an idea and I've been jumping around the instructions to work out so subassemblies for painting. What I've mainly done is get the gun made and into the turret and the engine deck in with a little bit of the lower chassis done as well. (No pictures yet)

IMG_20180104_140424

 

IMG_20180102_214233

Really enjoying this so far can't wait to crack on when work allows me!

Regards

Joss

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Nice building Joss, she's coming together nicely. The rough casting of the turret and the mantle, are a nice contrast against the smooth hull.

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With regards to the DS tracks, the ones that I've used in the past, I've always sprayed a primer coat of Halfords grey primer and then painted/weathered them with Tamiya acrylics. So far, no problems, and some of them at about 8 years since painting.

 

John.

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