hi, have just got back into modelling after 25yr break, stumbled across some pics on internet of dioramas and was blown away by the quility! like everything in life i guess the products and shared information really moves things on, it all looks so different since i was a teenager. anyway got myself a few tamiya figures and afv and have made a not so bad job i reckon. have scratch built a couple dioramas and really enjoying it. All have been tamiya up to now but just started a dragon kit, (flammpanzer 3) finding it not the best of fits with alot of the parts and lots of cleaning up. is this normal with dragon products? any advice on what kit makers to use?

Hi There,i have to admire your pluck for taking on a Dragon kit after a such a long break !.I have been modelling since I was nine (I`m now fourty-four) and there`s no way I`d recommend these to a "newbie ",I`m now fighting my way through a Dragon M1A2 SEP Abrams and it`s a DOG !.
If I were in your shoes I`d stick with the Tamiya stuff and then progress to Trumpeter`s newer stuff - an easier build with more detail (my own opinion) `til you`ve found your feet,then hit the Dragon stuff.
I hope this helps and keep popping back here coz the guys (and gals) here are genius`s at giving advice - I`m still learning myself so this is the first place I come to for advice.

cheers for your reply mate, i got on to the painting part on dragon model now, was abit of a pig in places in the building. will take your advice and stick with the tamiya for now. getting some real good enjoyment frm my born again hobby! some of the pics i veiw are just fantastic! dont no if i will ever get anywhere near some of these but its great trying.

I have found that newer Dragon kits are well engineered and have very little clean up,thet do tend to have a hifgh parts count because of superb detail.Of course with any company you may find a clunker with fit.

Italeri kits are a fairly simple build. What they make up for in ease of construction, is a general lack of accuracy. I would recommend starting with their line of armored cars and work your way in to the tracked vehicles. I am currently a Dragon modeller, but have to build an old Italeri kit from time to time.

The problem Dragon has, as I see it, is they intentionally create more parts for more realistic detail. That is a double edged sword though. It complicates the build (some enjoy that aspect) especally when the part count is over 600. To me a big problem beginners face is keeping the geometry of the large parts perfect. As an example when the basic hull is in multiple pieces they can easily get slightly misalligned when glueing them together. When you notice it after it's dried your screwed. With kits like Tamiya the lower hull is one piece and the the upper hull is one piece so there is fewer fit problems. For beginners to want to comtinue in the hobby they need to feel good about the build (not fustrated) and like how the final product turned out. My rule of thumb is Tamiya for the beginners and Dragon for the advanced.

That's where the online reviews come in so handy. Just have to temper your decisions on how experienced the reviewer is. Some reviewers don't want an easy project. Get a hundred models under your belt and you seek a challenge.

Can't blame them. Nature of the beast.

I still prefer a kit that fits well. The less carving.....filing.....and sanding.....the better.

Still......a lot of builders will sand the whole thing down and rescribe by hand. Crazy!

Lol

Winter

Well put Greg. I usually make a mess of the painting process, so the detail of the build is what I tend to enjoy. You can go wrong with the quality of a Tamiya kit though, especially their 1/48 scale armor.