Dragon

1/35 U.S. Army Tank Riders 1944-45

Kit Number: 6378

Reviewed by  Scott Hollingshead, IPMS# 34786

MSRP: $14.50 Web Site: www.dragonmodelsusa.com I first fell in love with Dragon/DML when they released their 1:350 Soviet Typhoon-class submarine kit. I was in the Navy at the time, and was just starting to get back into modeling. They set a new standard then with their kits, and their slogan "steps ahead…always", seemed applicable. Of course the company eventually started delving into armor and figures with kits that drew me into new interests. This Tank Riders set is part of their Gen2 line, and once again, they are steps ahead. Typical for the latest releases from Dragon, there is a painting on the top cover (another masterpiece by Ron Volstad), and photos/CAD drawings on the sides and bottom of the box. There are two large sprues of parts for the figures, a slightly smaller sprue containing regular helmets (the ones on the sprues with the figures have netting molded in), canteens, pistols in holsters, and various small pouches. On a heavy card stock piece, there are three small sprues for the weapons, and a photoetched parts fret (for slings and straps). All totaled, there are 261 individual parts in this kit, making the price per part relatively inexpensive, if you look at kits that way. I found no flaws on any of the moldings in my sample. There is also a "direction sheet" with front and back drawings of the figures (again by Ron Volstad) and suggested paint numbers for Gunze and Testors paints. Although I have several Dragon 1:35 figure sets in my stash, this is my first in the Gen2 line. I have seen other figures from this line at my model club, so I had an idea of what to expect, and I saw these figures built up at the IPMS Nationals this year. If you have not purchased a set of these new figures, you may want to treat yourself sometime. Although more expensive than the standard figure sets, the detail is on a whole new level. As an example, the torso consists of a front and back that are hollow, the portions of the jackets below the web belt are individually molded along with the jacket collars, arms, legs, hands, and boots. As the soles of the boots will be visible when the figures are mounted, Dragon has properly captured their detail as well. I have read and heard that some people do not care for the level of detail in the Gen2 kits, as they do require more time to build, but those who want the best looking plastic figures available will really like these. With the hands and feet being separate parts, positioning them will be a breeze. Having about the same level of quality and detail as the resin figures I have built, I will enjoy having that detail to work with in plastic. For the figures in this set there are four helmets with molded on netting and six helmets without the netting included. The box art shows two figures with helmets that have netting, and the other two without. I am thinking of building mine this same way. Aside from three holstered M-1911 Colt .45's, the weapons include four M-1 Garand rifles (with separate receivers that can be shown open or closed), a Thompson submachine gun, an M-1 Carbine, and a Browning Assault Rifle (BAR). The box art and directions show only the Garand rifles and BAR being used, but I decided to use different experiment when I armed one of my figures. As I began my construction, I quickly realized that each figure consists of over twenty individual parts (the standard Dragon figure has seven), making each one a kit in itself. The level of detail is amazing, but if you are frustrated by small parts, be aware that each ammunition pouch is a separate item. Having a shirt that actually looks like a shirt with a hemline really adds a lot to these figures. Rather than having to use paint to create false shadows where shirt bottoms and sleeves as well a pant legs end is not required with the engineering that went into this kit. The difficulties that I ran into during construction dealt with the directions. When building a typical older style figure set from Dragon, vague directions will get you by, but that is not the case with this level of detail. The directions have you install more ammunition pouches than are available if you follow them. This would also require layering items on top of one another, such as the entrenching tool (shovel). I played by my own rules at this point, and filled the utility belts, but did not overload them. The directions also make no mention of the photoetch fret included in the kit.

When it came to arming my soldiers, I could not resist giving one an M-1 carbine, as they really are a fun rifle to shoot. In addition, as there were not enough ammo pouches to arm three of the riders with M-1 Garand's, I needed to go with something different anyway. There are plenty of extra items included in this kit, and they will be useful for any future figures or vehicles. Aside from the difficulties, this really is a nice kit, and I would highly recommend it for anyone wanting to add some figures to one of their late WWII American tanks. I want to express my thanks to the folks at Dragon Models USA for providing this kit for the IPMS to review, and to you for taking the time to read it.

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