Yetifan Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Hi Everyone, Really looking forward to this and have decided to go way outside my comfort zone and decided to take on a Dragon 😮 Have recently built the Tamiya Panzer IV Ausf J so will be really interesting to see what the differences are between the two. The first and most obvious one is ....... LOTS OF PARTS! OMG the box was packed. Feeling a bit nervous now! The detailing looks good and the pre moulded zimmerit looks excellent. I’m quite pleased that they are rubber band tracks, the MENG single link tracks on my Panther Ausf A Late are sending me round the twist. Out with the family tomorrow but will be starting to open the bags on Sunday. Will be OOB and a three colour paint job. Thanks for looking and good luck to everyone in the STGB 🙂 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Wow!! That is a great looking kit! And what a lot of plastic! I'm pretty sure there will be a fair amount not used that will fill up your spares box. It should be a stunning looking model when finished. Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Nice choice Yetifan, I’m building the same kit. I built one of these a few years ago, the full box looks intimidating. There are a lot of unused parts, the kit goes together really well and quickly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 10 hours ago, Yetifan said: OMG the box was packed. Feeling a bit nervous now! The detailing looks good and the pre moulded zimmerit looks excellent. OMG indeed - looks amazing... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Makes my kit look, with only 5 sprues(!), like Dragon haven't provided me with enough plastic! I'm sure it will be fine.......... Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 Morning all, so here we go into the lair of the Dragon! And guess what, straight into a small issue. I have read about the Dragon kits having lots of parts and sometimes challenging instructions, but I did’nt expect to find that out in build stage 1! The two small hatches on the left side of the hull are magically in place in the instructions but not on the tub 😫 Still have’nt found them after going trough ALL the sprues! Also noticed that the sprues are all labelled differently and there are multiple sprues with the same letter identifying them. So no chance of building this with a hang over!! Right, coffee is on, time to get started 🙂 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Well that's just annoying! You could miss them out if you can hide them with the side skirt armour? Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 Ok, so narrowed it down to sprue A part 16 or 19. I’ve tried A19 but no joy, it has detail on the back that means its too big for the hole. So now to try A16, no sign of it anywhere else in the instructions. So A16 will need some trimming to remove the hinge arms and then a test fit. Some careful trimming on a pad of blue tak (be gone carpet monster!!) to remove the hinges and then some further trimming to sit in the hole and it looks like we are there 🙂 All a bit of a nuisance just to fill the holes. Anyhoo hopefully that is the last annoying thing to do (am I going to regret typing that last bit 🙂 ) Already 1.30pm and I am just about finished with build stage 2!! At this rate it could be next christmas before it’s finished. 😯 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Blimey there's some plastic in that box, it looks like one of those kits for the experten, really nice kit though I bet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 On 16/12/2018 at 16:48, Hewy said: Blimey there's some plastic in that box, it looks like one of those kits for the experten, really nice kit though I bet Hi @Hewy so far i’m not super impressed. The hull is warped so with the suspension units fitted the hull does not sit square on the bench. There is a firewall bulk head that I hoped would improve it but no joy. It’s not huge but is certainly annoying. Instructions missing parts out is new to me having only been a Tamiya builder to date. The details and quality of the moulding is excellent, but the large number of sprues and similar copies of the parts and sprues labelled with the same letter make finding parts a bit of a faff. Starting work on the upper hull so maybe it will start to win me over in the next build stage 🙂 Still happy with my choice the idea was to have a bit of a challenge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 So many sprues ..... aarghh 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 Stick with it yetifan, I’ve got mine at home now so will be able to give you a hand with any strange sprue numbering. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 I must admit to liking having lots of sprues to hunt through - the more the merrier! Kind regards, Stix 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 Using the essential blue tak cutting mat 🙂 even the turret lifting hooks are 2 pieces. No loss to the carpet monster yet lol 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, PlaStix said: I must admit to liking having lots of sprues to hunt through - the more the merrier! Kind regards, Stix it’s certainly forcing me to keep the bench organized 🙂 5 minutes ago, Ozzy said: Stick with it yetifan, I’ve got mine at home now so will be able to give you a hand with any strange sprue numbering. Hi @Ozzy I think i’ve found the hull hatches doh!! one each on Sprue A26 Thanks for looking, oh FYI via iPad onto Marvels Agents of Sheild on Amazon Prime, 5 seasons and loads of episodes to keep me going. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 I had something similar with an academy sherman, lots of duplicated sprues, and some that didn't apply, done my head in that, I put the wrong bogeys on at one point, had to rip them off a week or two later🙄You think you've got warpage, I shall photograph my zvezda King tiger hull tomorrow, it must twist round nearly 90 degrees, I've never seen anything like it before, I was going to start a bad, broken ,warped parts thread to show it off,peck on you'll beat it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 7 minutes ago, Hewy said: I had something similar with an academy sherman, lots of duplicated sprues, and some that didn't apply, done my head in that, I put the wrong bogeys on at one point, had to rip them off a week or two later🙄You think you've got warpage, I shall photograph my zvezda King tiger hull tomorrow, it must twist round nearly 90 degrees, I've never seen anything like it before, I was going to start a bad, broken ,warped parts thread to show it off,peck on you'll beat it. Thanks @Hewy made some good progress this evening and will start on turret tomorrow 🙂 I checked out your calliope and it looked great 🙂 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoat2966 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Yes, that is a packed box of plastic..........the more Dragon kit's I build....the bigger my spare parts box grow too........... I have to say, that Zim is terrific for moulded on. Really nice job they did there......will keep up with this one.......looking good so far...... Regards Simon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 Hi everyone, just a small update. All wheels now assembled and sanded, I gave them a mist coat of black so it’s easy to see when you rubbed down the small seams and nubs. Hull going well except for a real head slap moment when i realised i had glued the bogies on the wong side of the hull. I managed to break them off and hopefully they will glue back on ok. Started on the turret and some other sub assemblies. I often do small assemblies out of order just to fit in the available time. On annual leave now so will have some more time to get working on it this week. Still deciding on how to go with the paint finish. I need the airbrush practice but also like the hairy sticks. I’ll be checking in on your builds and see which way you guys go. Thanks for looking 🙂 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahavelona Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 On 17/12/2018 at 20:03, Yetifan said: Using the essential blue tak cutting mat 🙂 even the turret lifting hooks are 2 pieces. No loss to the carpet monster yet lol THAT is a genius solution that I have not thought of after all these years... I'm looking forward to seeing how you tackle this kit, it makes my kit look paltry by comparison! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 1 hour ago, mahavelona said: THAT is a genius solution that I have not thought of after all these years... I shouldn't have laughed, but I thought everyone knew about this. I was using it 40yrs ago. In all seriousness though, its always fantastic to witness someone's gratitude upon receiving a 'pearl of wisdom'. This is what BM is all about, in my opinion. 'Here's how I did it, I hope you find it useful.' Rearguards, Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 Hi Yetifan, I understand your horror over the sprues. I've only built one Dragon AFV, and i was one of their very early kits, so it was even worse! There I had to face single sprues with more than one letter designation on them. So the one sprue would have 'A' parts and 'K' parts on it. And THEN there'd also be a completely separate sprue marked 'K' with different parts on it. Now imagine that there'd also be an 'A' sprue with 'D' parts on it as well and...... Luckily, I was only building a StuG, so there weren't the high number of parts that you face! Still, the detail looks good. As for the 'warped' tub, I would suggest some metal rod, brackets or similar, to straighten it out and hold it there. I fear you may have many more fit issues if you don't Rearguards, Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 10 hours ago, mahavelona said: THAT is a genius solution that I have not thought of after all these years... I'm looking forward to seeing how you tackle this kit, it makes my kit look paltry by comparison! Hi i’m delighted you found it useful 🙂 there is nothing worse than the tiny part flying through the air heading directly for the carpet!!! @Badder the sprue lettering is really confusing and the work bench turns into a mess in no time with the constant shuffling through the sprues. I’m pretty sure that some of the multi part elements could be simplified without too much loss of detail. The fit around the gun mantle was not as goo as i expected and required some fettling to avoid the small seam gaps. As for the warped tub, it has reduced a bit with the addition of the central bulkhead and after making the error with the bogies i have tried to rewatch them to account for the twist in the hull. l’ll dry fit the running gear and see how noticeable it is and then look at some remedial fixes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 Good to see more progress! Looking good too! With regards the method for painting - I'd go for brush painting - although I don't have an airbrush! 😜 Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 Evening all, some updates for you. So finally glued the main hull structure together after something of a fight to get all the gaps to close up due to the slight warp in the hull. Did it in small sections with quite a bit of pressure to hole the parts together while the glue set, then the next section and so on. So side 1, side 2, rear quarter 1, rear quarter 2 then front. All seems to have dried ok and none of the gaps have opened up again. Still a small gap below the glacis plate which I need to figure out how to fill since there is no way to sand it beneath the gun port and the fenders 😞 The turret has come on well, a wash of XF-2 white then a brown wash on the gun interior with some gun anthracite and gun metal for the breach. The cupola was a bit of a fiddle but went together ok. Managed to not get cement on the clear parts but will have to take care when painting later. I did manage to get a couple of “glue prints” on the turret while holding the mantle in place. Luckily the turret sides don’t have zimmerit so will buff out with some 3000 tamiya stone abrasive. Tracks have been airbrushed with a mix of XF-69 Nato Black and XF-9 Hull Red so will let those fully dry before starting on the weathering process. Still some small bits of assembly to do and then some cleaning up before starting on the paint prep. Overall some good progress. Thanks for looking 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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