Dragon PLATZ Panzer 4 Ausf D

[RichardT]

Hi,

are Dragon producing the Platz line as another money saving exercise or targeting those starting the hobby or trying to compete directly with Tamiya for those who want a quick build with less accuracy.

I don't know what the kits are/will be selling for - but the whole point of purchasing Dragon kits was the accuracy and complexity.
The 2005 Panzer 4 Ausf D was a superkit and considered by many to be one of the best military kits ever produced.

What is going on here ? Are they going to produce these quick build kits right across the lines ? Is the future for dragon ?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Richard

[digger303]

Well if I was them I would produce both in order to get new customers into the hobby...plus make a buck...Lure the young ones in with cheap easy to build kits and then let them discover the more advanced kits...hook them for life.
However I think this line of kits is to mostly target the Japanese market with there love of everything anime....hobbylink japan were selling the Maus for $52 usd, but no longer.

[RichardT]

i have been told they could be producing a line of tiger 1 tanks starting with the berg tiger.

if this line brings a new generation of modellers into the fold then great - but to me it sounds
like a way to compete with tamiya for the business relating to those modellers who want to build a half decent kit over the weekend.

Maybe i am wrong but after 2005 Dragon have been undergoing a process of reducing all the goodies/extras and still charging high prices.
The smart kits are just this. Where are the metal barrels ? where are the magic tracks ? are we now eventually going to be faced with reduced and simplified part counts because styrene costs are increasing?

Look at what Takom and RMF are doing.

I am paying a small fortune now for Dragon kits - looks like the Cyberhobby and Dragon super kits really will soon be worth the mega money asked on ebay etc.

[SergioSolo]

I'm excited about this new line! Modern molding technology now allows more accuracy with less pieces, so they might not be too bad

[RichardT]

Sergio,
i hope you are right- its about getting the right balance between detail and cost.

ps are you producing a film of the RMF KIT 5003 - Tiger 1 with interior - i would like to see this.



cheers,
Richard

[RobertK]

I saw a build video on youtube, think it was andy's hobby headquarters, and it looked pretty good.
If they can keep the costs down it will attract lots of people who wants a quick build and still have a good representation of the real thing.

[SteelScooter]

I will repeat here what I commented on Andy's YouTube video.

Platz are a Japanese model manufacturer/distributor and this kit has plastic from their Girls und Panzer (Anime series) Pz IV D along with some plastic and tracks from Dragon's Pz IV line. The Girls und Panzer series of tank models were designed for the new or occasional modeller so have fewer parts and some nice slide molding. Dragon have provided some of the detail parts like tools to spruce it up. There are lots of other Platz Girls und Panzer tank models like Stug and M3 Lee so expect some more collaborations.

So to reiterate the only Dragon parts in this kit are the tools and tracks. However the Platz parts are nicely molded and much nicer than Dragon's older Imperial series they often use for Cyberhobby value kits etc.

[RobertK]

Aha, thanks for the info