Dragon Models

1/35 German 1st Cavalry Division - Russia 1941

Kit Number: 6216

Reviewed by  Jack Kennedy, IPMS# 12511

MSRP: $11.95 Dragon sure has produced some wonderful figures in 1/35th scale and this set is no exception. I have built many of their figures and found them superb. Let me begin by saying that the fine detail on these cavalry figures is among the best that I have ever seen. It rivals some of the finest resin kits on the market today. Now let me begin the review. The first thing I noticed when opening the box is the huge number of parts for these figures. Not only are there a great number of plastic parts but a variety of photoetched brass parts. I also noticed that the instructions for these parts are not very clear. For example, the instructions call for placing some photo etched brass on the horses head for the harness. I had glued the proper pieces in place when I noticed that the same harness was molded on the horse's head already. The photoetch was redundant and when applied, was out of scale. The same was true for a large number of photo etched parts. As far as the plastic parts are concerned, they are molded beautifully but in so many individual parts that it became confusing. For example, the soldier's head is molded in two parts. I find this totally unnecessary. I see no obvious reason to have the hands, shoulder boards, belt buckle and collar as separate pieces. The same goes for the horse's hooves. The addition of photoetch reins is a nice touch and I welcomed it, since using paper just doesn't cut it. As I stated earlier, the instructions can be vague and the addition of the many accessories such as canteens, pistol, rifle, ammo pouches, and gas mask canister are not shown. More detailed drawings would have been welcomed. It took me a little longer than usual to complete this kit due to the ambiguous instructions. I did find that the fit overall was great. The painting guide is very good and the box art may also be used as a painting guide. The overall finished figure looks very good but I feel that this level of kit could have been made a lot simpler by not using so many parts and by having better instructions. I would recommend this kit to a modeler that has had experience building mounted figures and one that has good reference material. I would like to thank Dragon for supplying IPMS for this kit to review.

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