DML-DRAGON

Hey guys, thanks for the info! I was truly puzzled about these brands and who owned what. I appreciate all I learned in one thread!

LOL! I still have one of those BMP-2 kits as well. It was my first DML buy & build back when first released. For some reason I actually got that one together pretty well.

I was stationed in Germany until December 1990. I bought my first two DML kits while in Germany, the T-72 w/ERA and the BMP-2. Those two kits and their variants (BMP-1, T-72) have been out at least as long. I know subsequent versions I saw stateside after I returned from Desert Storm that included a sticker on the outside of the box advertising Iraqi markings and an extra decal sheet as well.

I still have the BMP-2 partially built; it was one of my first attempts with DML's individual links, and it wasn't pretty.

It's pretty wild going over my mind about these old DML kits.  I still recall someone bringing in the DML 6001 Nashorn to an IPMS club meeting.  It must have been about 1992 or something...

Yes, Kirin released the Dragon T-72 as both the Iraqi Republican Guard T-72M1 Lion of Babylon and as the Yugoslavian/Free Kuwait M-84. Both kits were basically the DML T-72, but the M-84 had a resin turret included.

Some other re-boxes under the DML/Dragon label were these:

ex-Alan Pz IIC German light tank

ex-Alan BA-20 Russian armored car

ex-Alan Valentine British Infantry Tank

ex-Alan Bishop SPG

ex-Alan SU-76 Russian SPG (among the worst kits ever made)

ex-Al-By  Panhard 178 French armored car

ex-Bego Kubelwagen

Kirin was a boutique label also started by the DML company.  It released a  SdKfz 138/1 'Grille' Ausf. H Self-Propelled Gun (using Italeri Hetzer hull components), later re-labled under DML.  Kirin may have made a few other injection plastic full kits -- I don't remember.

Some of the original DML also began as other companies' kits. Some of their Imperial German armor kits were former Gunze Sangyo kits with the multimedia parts (white metal or PE) replaced by plastic parts. Also their original Sherman kits (M4A3E8 and M4A1) were based on the Italeri Sherman kits.

I'll also throw "Shanghai Dragon" into the mix. They are another arm of the same company, which repops Dragon's "B-list" of older kits which aren't the latest and greatest. These include the older M1 Abrams series, some of the Imperial series kits and some older ship kits.

Sort of like Trumpeter and Hobbyboss. Both are designed and made in the same place, under the same roof. But Hobbyboss came about for the same reason to get around importer deals.

It was explained to me that the whole "Dragon-DML-Cyber Hobby" name fiasco was instituted to allow the parent company of those names to be able to circumvent certain "exclusive distributorship" deals that it had made with some large American retailers. Cyber Hobby, in fact, ws created for this specific purpose, apparently, because a major US distributor had had an exclusive deal with Dragon in the early days of online retailing, and when other companies started growing in the developing cyber market, Dragon created "DML" and then "Cyber Hobby" to get around the literal wording of these exclusionary business deals.

Phil, those kits were that much back then. I think I recall seeing some even in the $100 range.

Bish, indeed it is not new to have zimm molded on kits, merely resurrected. I had a couple of Monogram 1/32 kits the Jagdpanzer IV and Brummbar that both had it,

and an Aurora 1/48 kit as well, a King Tiger I think

stikpusher

Yes that Jagdpanther dates from roughly 20 years ago, give or take a few. Some of the Imperial Series kits are actually originally Hasegawa or Gunze molds that were released under those labels as multimedia kits in the mid to late 80's. When Dragon issued them, the PE and white metal parts were replaced with styrene parts made by Dragon. I do beleive that your Jagdpanther is one of those.

Yep, the Jagdpanther was originally by Gunze Sangyo. It was one of the first "all in one box" multimedia kits, containing PE, cast metal parts, turned barrel and MK tracks. IIRC, the price tag in 1986(?) dollars was around $80-$90, but I may be mistaken.

The Imperial Series Pz.III, Pz.IV and Panther families all originate from Gunze tooling and the Imperial Series Shermans can be traced back to Italeri origins.

I never realised they had molded on Zimm that far back. I thought Dragon were the first to do it.

You learn something new every day.

attila1@earthlink.net

Thanks for the info guys, I just never bought one before. Just wish the cover art

didn't have zimm on it cause its not on the model.

Jeff

Likely the box art is depicting the actual vehicle in service, as many model boxes do. A few companies did it on models back in the 70s- Aurora, Monogram, then molded on zim fell out of favor. Italeri brought it back on a few kits in the 90's, but it is Dragon who only in the past 5 or so years that has run with it. Otherwise it is do it yourself or get AM help.

No, it is a bit deceptive. If the kit is ready Zimmed, it will say Zimmerite on the box

Thanks for the info guys, I just never bought one before. Just wish the cover art

didn't have zimm on it cause its not on the model.

Jeff

Indeed they are one in the same. When they first started out they were known as DML. Later they expanded the label to the Dragon name.

Yes that Jagdpanther dates from roughly 20 years ago, give or take a few. Some of the Imperial Series kits are actually originally Hasegawa or Gunze molds that were released under those labels as multimedia kits in the mid to late 80's. When Dragon issued them, the PE and white metal parts were replaced with styrene parts made by Dragon. I do beleive that your Jagdpanther is one of those.

They are one and the same.

DML= Dragon Models Limited. The Imperial series are the very old kits and are ofen not as accurate as the newer ones but can still build into nice kits.

O, and Cyber Hobby is also Dragon.