Dragon 1:35 Sdkfz 251/22 ausf D

[thecookiam]

http://cdn3.volusion.com/hefpe.jgpkc/v/ ... 1398064905

Hi all

so Ive had experience making 1:35 armour but I've never made a dragon 251 before, I've heard there are some things to look out for, if anyone could identify these to me that would be very helpful!

The kits still in post but I'm sure some of you will be familiar with whats in box, let me know if you want pics though.

Thanks to MarkVerploeg for his help with the late war stripe colour scheme I'm gonna go with!

[ForbesHutton]

Dragon's halftracks can be a problem with the fit of the side pieces and rear. Go ahead and mount all the small stuff on the inside of the side and rear panels and do the floor of the interior (seats, etc). When ready put the interior floor, both sides and rear on the tub at the same time and glue them in. Dry fit the top section at this point. There's some play in how all the main parts fit together and doing them one at a time can result in misalignment. Getting it all fitted at the same time will get it fitted right. Don't glue the top on, you'll want to leave that off until the paints done, but you need to make sure the other panels are lining up with it.
The tracks are the other part that can cause fits unless you have a system of sorts. First, you will need a thick glue (as opposed to liquids and extra thin). I use Humbrol from the yellow bottle with the metal needle. Even with the needle it will put out too much glue to be used directly. I put a small amount of glue on a throw away surface (some masking tape) and then use a toothpick (cocktail stick) to put a tiny drop of glue in the correct spot. I also only fit two links together at a time. Join the two links together and work them a little to smooth the contact surfaces a bit, then apply the tiny drop of glue and then put the pad on that locks everything together. Leave them flat while they dry. Once the glue has dried I'll work the links back and forth to make sure the joint is still working as a hinge, then I'll join two pairs together and set that string of 4 links aside until the glue is set and then continue to add sets to the growing length of track. If you work carefully the whole track will remain workable. If you get a pair that the glue got into the "hinge" portion, save that and put that at one end of the other with any others that are frozen straight and use the straight section for the bottom of the track. I most models you might get away with throwing out or destroying 2 or 3 links, any more than that and one or both track will not be long enough for any sag, if you can't use more than 5 or 6 of the links you're not going to have enough track.
If you do bugger up the tracks, or don't even want to try, AFV Club makes a set of rubber band tracks, along with aftermarket plastic individual links. The individual links go together the same as the Dragon tracks, but you get more spares in case of a mistake.

[youtube]cKz6849h8zA[/youtube]

[MarkVerploeg]

Good luck with the build once you get the kit
If you want you can post the photo's of the sprues in this thread or make a full review if that hasn't been done already
There are a lot of kits in the reviewsection these days so there is a chance some one already made one
I will be looking forward to you build
Cheers Mark

[thecookiam]

Many thanks to Forbes Hutton, I heard something about how that can ruin the whole build so Ill keep your advice in mind while building!
I don't usually do aftermarket but for this case I might have to get Afv club F/M track set that ForbesHutton recommended as I can't stand track assembly, so Im going to make it easy on myself.

Would it bother any of you if I used early tracks on a late war halftrack?

Thank you mark, I might not go to full lengths to do a review but I will definitely give a verdict at the end of the build, Ill show you guys the dragon card and the extra stuff that the kit comes with!

[mannloon]

Forbes Smash!

[thecookiam]

Forbes Smash!

Oh no:(
It would have made a cool wreck, if you rusted it up and buried half of it in dirt!

Oh hey Adam, I love your vids, keep up the good work!

[mannloon]

Forbes Smash!

Oh no:(
It would have made a cool wreck, if you rusted it up and buried half of it in dirt!

Oh hey Adam, I love your vids, keep up the good work!

Thank you.

[thecookiam]

Sorry for the late pics guys!

Having troubles uploading onto editor so I will use google +




There should be 5 pics if you scroll from right to left.

I was fiddling about a bit to much on making the outside look good and considering its gonna be painted over it was a bit silly, but hey it was fun!

The upper hull was only dry fitted so that the lower hull pieces could dry in the right position. (thanks for the tips once again guys)

If you guys could provide some interior pics of this 251 variant I'd be grateful!

More pics coming your way!

[thecookiam]

So I've given the interior a dusting using chalk pastels, when I have finished the interior I will start with the camouflage!

[MarkVerploeg]

Good to see you have started the build
As for the interior color i have no idea
In the early days the driver and commander part was sometimes painted cremeweiss or creme white
Later on the often used dark yellow on both the interior and exterior but in the final months they sometimes even skipped that step and rushed vehicles to the front with barely any paint on the interior
But maybe you could try a photobucket account
This way your photo's are in the post right away and not in a link wich makes it nicer to watch as a whole
If you have trouble with that there is a vid on the ISM youtube channel where Paul explains how this all works

[Stokesy44]

I'd recommend Photobucket too. First time I ever tried this sort of thing and it was easy peasy to use.

[thecookiam]

Thanks guys.
So I've finished the build and I'm super happy with it!!!
I also handmade a autumn themed diorama
Collage assignment has been getting gin the way so sorry for the late reply.

Pics will be up soon
and ill make a Photobucket account thanks

[thecookiam]

Thanks for the info Mark, I have an account and I will watch the video, thanks!
here the link to my account while I do that: http://s827.photobucket.com/user/thecookiam/profile/