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Dragon 6577 Flakpanzer I - Latest Acquisition! What a great kit!

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  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Rugby, England
Dragon 6577 Flakpanzer I - Latest Acquisition! What a great kit!
Posted by Hinksy on Saturday, May 12, 2012 9:02 AM

Hello folks,

I stumbled across this little gem yesterday when perusing my favouite on-line supplier of all things Dragon. I can't imagine why I hadn't noticed it before because if I had, it would already be gracing the shelves of my cabinet! Dragon kits in the UK are getting pretty expensive now and this was marked up for £43 but had a third off so with 1st class post and ordered YESTERDAY AFTERNOON it arrived at 11am TODAY at a total cost with post of £33! Bonus!        

http://www.dragon-models.com/html/6577builtupp.htm

I built the Dragon Pz I A about 18 months ago and it was a little gem. There was such amazing detail squeezed into this little kit and it surely was a pleasure to build.

This looks almost identical with some slight differences to some items but mostly all the same as far as the interior and chassis go. Obviously no turret but a tremendously well detailed 2cm AA piece mounted on the flat bed with an optional trailer that can be built up to be used with the build. There are two types of trailer that both look superb.

The PE is generous with tool clamps a-plenty or optional tools with pre-moulded clamps. A beautiful Brass fret makes up the 'netting' which would catch spent ammo cases. I'll buy an RB barrel as the kit one, although absolutely fine, looks a bit chunky and a replacement is literally a couple of pounds.

No Friuls on this - Pz I friuls are a nightmare (imo) and the kit Magic tracks build up really well. I know this as I used them on Pz I A build before - the only slight problem being I'll have to paint the chassis and wheels with tracks in place which I do find a bit tricky but will be ok doing.

All the options are Eastern Front 1941 or 1942 which suits my tastes as I really like these early war German builds - I'm not a great fan of the Mammoth huge Panzers from later if the war.

I'm going to finish my StuG C/D for the Panzer III GB and then I'll make a start on this. It's an 'involved' build that looks like it will take some time - with the trailer in place I think a small base will look excellent!

 

 

My original Dragon Pz I A:

 

I know this build is a couple of months away yet but I'd love to hear from anyone who has built this kit and read what they think and see photos/blogs etc.

I cannot wait to get started on ths! Yes

Cheers guys,

Ben Toast 

On the Bench - Dragon Pz. IV Ausf. G (L.A.H.) Yes

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  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Saturday, May 12, 2012 10:36 AM

It looks like a great little build. I too ran across Dragon's panzer I series a few years back. Although I am not a German armor fan, I am an early war armor fan so I picked one up. I have to say, they are very nice little kits; way superior to the old Italeri kit I built in the 1980s.

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Texas
Posted by wbill76 on Saturday, May 12, 2012 11:23 AM

Ben,

I would recommend getting an RB barrel replacement for the 2.0cm Flak 38 simply because the kit barrel is lacking a little in the detail department. The end is molded hollow but the flash suppressor just has dimples for the circular holes that were present. Not huge in the grand scheme of things but RB barrels are so inexpensive it's a nice detail to add IMHO.

As for having to paint the kit tracks with the suspension in place, that's not necessarily true if you get a little creative in terms of how and when you install the suspension. Wink

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Rain USA, Vancouver WA
Posted by tigerman on Saturday, May 12, 2012 12:12 PM

The finished kit compared to the size of the box is hilarious. Dragon's boxes are so huge. They seem to have a "one size fits all" philosophy.

   http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/wing_nut_5o/PANZERJAGERGB.jpg

 Eric 

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Rugby, England
Posted by Hinksy on Saturday, May 12, 2012 1:36 PM

wbill76

Ben,

I would recommend getting an RB barrel replacement for the 2.0cm Flak 38 simply because the kit barrel is lacking a little in the detail department. The end is molded hollow but the flash suppressor just has dimples for the circular holes that were present. Not huge in the grand scheme of things but RB barrels are so inexpensive it's a nice detail to add IMHO.

As for having to paint the kit tracks with the suspension in place, that's not necessarily true if you get a little creative in terms of how and when you install the suspension. Wink

Hey guys,

Thanks for looking in. I can't wait to start this one!

Bill (tut tut for 'skimming' my post) - I direct you to my original post and the 4th paragraph:

"The PE is generous with tool clamps a-plenty or optional tools with pre-moulded clamps. A beautiful Brass fret makes up the 'netting' which would catch spent ammo cases. I'll buy an RB barrel as the kit one, although absolutely fine, looks a bit chunky and a replacement is literally a couple of pounds." Wink

You must have missed that but quite true - they are so cheap it's a no brainer. The kit part is okay but for the sake of a few pounds why not updgrade?

I'm not sure about the tracks yet. I can't remember how I did the Pz I A last time so I'll have to look back at my old blog!

Tigerman - yup, the same old big box for a kit that is smaller than some of my 1/48 Tamiya kits! This isn't as deep as the usual boxes from Dragon but length and width are the same.

The sprues are still pretty big but the whole box could be a LOT smaller if they (Dragon) just thought about it!

If anyone has built this little Flakpanzer I kit and blogged their build I'd love to see it.

Before this build commences I'll be completing my Dragon/Cyber-Hobby StuG III C/D which is coming on really well and shall soon be in the booth.

Cheers guys,

Ben Toast

On the Bench - Dragon Pz. IV Ausf. G (L.A.H.) Yes

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  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Rain USA, Vancouver WA
Posted by tigerman on Saturday, May 12, 2012 5:02 PM

I have the Panzerjaeger I  and the box is the same except for depth as my Tiger I box.

   http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/wing_nut_5o/PANZERJAGERGB.jpg

 Eric 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Texas
Posted by wbill76 on Saturday, May 12, 2012 7:56 PM

Ben,

Guilty! I shall now do some seam cleaning as penance. Big Smile

Eric,

The DML box design is maximized for shipping via container ship trans-pacific and is designed to be as uniform as possible as a result...hence the similar dimensions between kits. Wink Also makes it easier for retailers to stock shelves to a uniform size. The cost of the extra cardboard on certain kits is more than offset via the gain in shipping logistics.

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Rugby, England
Posted by Hinksy on Sunday, May 13, 2012 8:08 AM

wbill76

Ben,

Guilty! I shall now do some seam cleaning as penance. Big Smile

Eric,

The DML box design is maximized for shipping via container ship trans-pacific and is designed to be as uniform as possible as a result...hence the similar dimensions between kits. Wink Also makes it easier for retailers to stock shelves to a uniform size. The cost of the extra cardboard on certain kits is more than offset via the gain in shipping logistics.

LOL!

Get cleaning them Seams, Bill! I've got some Friuls that need assembling here too Wink

Good point re the box sizes. It does look like their 1/35 stuff is all the same and all that changes is the box depth. Handy for the shelves and shipping like you say.

Do you know the RB number I need? Am I looking to replace the whole unit (i.e. breech and everthing) or just the barrel and flash suppressor?

Cheers buddy,

Ben Toast

On the Bench - Dragon Pz. IV Ausf. G (L.A.H.) Yes

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  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Sydney, Australia
Posted by Phil_H on Sunday, May 13, 2012 8:33 AM

Hey Ben,

This is such a little gem of a kit, you might want to consider spending an extra few dollars and opt for something like the Voyager barrel, which has the textured grip surface on the barrel itself and comes with a PE magazine. Just a thought.. Big Smile

PS: The RB Part no is 35B36 (for the L/65 barrel)

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Texas
Posted by wbill76 on Sunday, May 13, 2012 10:57 AM

Phil has you covered Ben. Make sure you get the longer one (L/65) as Phil mentions as they have two flavors, the shorter one being designed as a KwK for things like the armored cars and similar vehicles. Wink

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Rugby, England
Posted by Hinksy on Sunday, May 13, 2012 4:52 PM

wbill76

Phil has you covered Ben. Make sure you get the longer one (L/65) as Phil mentions as they have two flavors, the shorter one being designed as a KwK for things like the armored cars and similar vehicles. Wink

Cheers Phil & Bill,

I can't wait to get this started but the StuG for Andy's GB must be completed first, no matter how tempting this kit looks. It certainly is a little gem Yes

I had a look at the kit barrel, Bill. Like you said it has dimples, not holes so for the sake of a few pounds, an upgrade is definately needed!

Cheers for the help on that RB number guys.

Take care and have a good week,

Ben Cool

On the Bench - Dragon Pz. IV Ausf. G (L.A.H.) Yes

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  • Member since
    May 2011
Posted by panzerbob01 on Monday, May 21, 2012 6:14 PM

Ben;

Hi!  The D's Flakpanzer 1A...  I have not built this "premium" kit yet (it's in my pile), but did do the previous rendition, kit 6220. I did that as a "strict OOTB" and it was IMHO both a great and fun build and a rather stunning little styrene beast when all done.Big Smile

The premium kit differs from the 6220 kit in only a few ways Geeked - one being that the 6220 kit came with a pre-formed brass PE front compartment plate, whereas the later kit has this in styrene.  This could be a plus or a minus...  the PE bit was a little fiddly to work with but, once done, really came out fine.  Not having done the premium kit with its styrene piece, I cannot say what it looks like in comparison.  I anticipate that it will maybe be easier to assemble the styrene bits on to, and I'll be thinning the edges of it, as it was made of pretty thin sheet metal. 

The premium kit otherwise has much the same PE set as did 6220 - screens, gun shield bits, little chains, etc. with the "hi-points" being those bits used to make up the spent-shell basket...  I think that I would go with scratching the netting with bridal-veil next go-round. The PE was both a pain and actually not very correct in scale nor appearance Crying .  The premium kit offers a different (and I think better version) trailer with the larger box which shows in most flakpanzer pics which have a trailer.  (In the real world, most of these Flakpanzer 1A were accompanied into action by another special vehicle - an ammo-and-crew carrier "Laube" built on another Pz 1A hull - as the Flakpanzer had little room for the crew nor anywhere to store more then a couple of ammo cans. So that trailer may be more useful following a SdKfz 10/5...) 

The other big changes from the 6220 kit lie in the improved road-wheels set and the inclusion of "magic tracks" over those links-on-sprues that the 6220 has.  I personally think that the roadies are the best improvement offered by this new kit - they are new-tooled styrene wheels which are fitted with tiny brass (PE) rings to represent that essential (and lacking in Pz 1A and 1B kits before the D introduced these PE flange rings, and Tristar added in a styrene analog of the same feature on their last Pz 1A kit "early / late version" 35028)  flange feature to really show the complex form of the Pz 1A/B road wheels Big Smile .  The new roadies are really cool, and the added rings make them sing and pop!

Otherwise, it's pretty much the same kit as 6220.  The interior is the same - OK but can always stand lots of detailing and work.  Strangely, the kits come with a radio set, but no antenna nor mount nor any other related bits...  but the real thing may well have had a radio (albeit there is no place inside that hull for anyone to sit and operate it at!), so should also have an antenna...Sad  The gun is, I think, the same for both kits - it's a good kit - taken right out of the Dragon Flak 38 kit box. But you don't get those PE main shields in either Flakpanzer kit (boo hooSad ).  The kit gun barrel, as discussed by others, is OK (and as I did mine OOTB, I used it - with some attempt to drill out the flash-hider a little to better capture its thin and rather delicate look) - but really wants to be replaced by a metal item if you want that better look.  The RB barrels are great - I've used them on several Flak 38 versions.  The flash-hiders (key feature) are grade A, and the length is pretty right on.  One can easily improve the RB barrel (or any other which does not have that hand-grip knurled feature) by painting your barrel, masking it with tape bands, and spraying on 2 slightly lighter colored bands.  

All in all, I think you'll enjoy it.  I really liked the 6220 kit, and plan on doing the premium edition with some added detailing myself (hey, it IS pretty tiny as a panzer goes, so there's less problem fitting another one onto the shelf, as versus, say, adding another StuG or Tiger!Stick out tongue).  Whenever you get building and posting, I'll be looking!

Cheers!  BobBig Smile

 

 

 

 

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