Just finishing building the Tamiya. I have returned to modelling after 40 years! Over the last 3 years have built about 37 kits. Rockets, piston and jet planes, subs, ships, cars, tanks, helicopters from Airfix, Revell, Hobby Boss, Trumpeter, Italeri and Tamiya and a few other brands. Some kits come to gether quite well with few headaches while others seem to fight you all the way. These types of kits can turn modelling into a chore and you just want them finished. Usually without fail the Tamiya kits just come together beautifully again and again. Others like Revell you open the box in trepidation not sure of what you will get....like flash central! Tamiya kits inspire me to do my very best without issues. The result is a consistent good build. Of course experienced modellers can overcome kit problems and produce great results. Some experienced modellers at times seem to happy to accept some very average kits and see them as a challenge. I have heard some say that Tamiya kits can be too easy to put together and the fit is sort of too good...wow. Sort of not buying a Lexus because it is too well put together. I admire and envy the work of great modellers. I will never be as good as them but I get great enjoyment out of models that just go together well. I am 70 and modelling has given me a new fantastically enjoyable experience that I never dreamed of so late in life. Your Dragon Tamiya video...really hit home.
I was just about to go to bed and I get a notification you uploaded. Fuck. Now, regarding the tracks, I don't think they look too bad with the extra link. On the Pz IV F did they also give one extra link? I find it suspicious that they give you exactly one extra track link per side that you end up needing despite the instructions. You forgot to mention it but the Tamiya kit also has the proper return roller supports (welded instead of cast) for this vehicle and Dragon has the wrong type due to reusing a hull from an existing kit. Tamiya Pz 38(t) next? Oh and I love the thumbnail 😂 thanks for the comparison of the two kits.
Oh I never even read this, my dude. I seriously got a case of hide from the attention anxiety. OK so. The F i iust checked and it is done differently but also contains one extra, ans the Marder did have am extra link. And I used it, and then realized I hadn't pushed the links in to the sprocket enough, and fixed it so that both sides used the exact amount. So this confirms my suspicion that I was crewed up not Tamiya. You have to put those on tight. And the extra is likely there in case you're an idiot like me. I don't and didn't even know about the fender supports. Unless I forgot. And Marder I now. My honest apologies. Attention weird m outm but I made the video partially for you. I'm a dick.
Funny I've never had a problem with any Dragon kit I've built and always found the detail much better, I guess everyone to their own but I would choose Dragon every time. I think I was put off by the Tamiya rubber band tracks and gimmick motorised offerings of the older tank kits.😅
Hi Adam Great little comparison review. As a diehard Dragon fan, or rather was….I’m getting really ticked off with their ridiculous instruction sheets, crappy fitting issues and crazy fitting options that you have no idea what to use without spending more money on reference books! I’m just so very disappointed and getting more and more disillusioned about buying any more of their kits. I’m starting to move across to Border models offerings now. Still hard to beat a Tamiya build and just buy the aftermarket kits to upgrade them in my humble opinion. Thanks once again for sharing your review mate ❤😊 So sick of paying too many $$$ for a hit and miss build. OS. I only said to someone else the other day, it would be interesting to see Dragon actually building their own kits b4 they throw them out in the market place!!
@@ragganyc Hi mate Yes, I’ve got a collection of Stug III and Pz.Kpfw.IV’s. I’ve even started buying German armour Ryefield, Takom and Meng kits. It’s very frustrating especially when you have a pile of Dragon kits to get through, and they aren’t old, but a lot of their newer models.
@@michaeldean1289 That’s cool..I’ve only seen videos and others commenting on them. Especially the different types of Stug-3 and Pz.Kpfw-4 that you mentioned.. Yeah there’s so many great companies out there making German armour. I can understand feeling a little guilty when you already have some really cool kits from Dragon. But at same time how can you say no to them😺
Hi mate I’ve got so many kits Tamiya, Academy, AFV, Asuka etc etc I really love Dragon’s kits, and I prefer the high parts count. Probably cos I’m an old ex heavy commercial mechanic lol Just pisses me off when they just seem not to give a rats arse about their customer base trying to put the shit together! Keep on modelling bro lol
I quit building Dragon kits for the very same reasons you covered AND the high parts count. Tamiya is now my go-to manufacturer. I don't have the patience anymore. Good review.
Trumpter is just as bad. Bought a LAV-25 Kit from them and spent more time cutting, modifying, filling and shaping then I did building. You literally have to build every piece of the suspension. Sticking to Tamiya or Meng from now on.
Tamiya are a pleasure to build in every aspect . The engineering , the fit , the figures , the box art , instructions and yes l like rubber band tracks when they are of the quality Tamiya supply . Dragon are good but unlike Tamiya have never found construction of their kits to be problem free . Tamiya are far and away the best .
Hey Adam, nice and thank you! I had always wanted to do this variant. Interesting to see what the kit difference is between the Brummbar release (Tam.) .. speaking of track fitment, when the idler is locked shaft, you can drill the receiving hole out (to remove the internal flat spot), and if you do it with a slightly undersize drill bit you get a tight friction rotation from the idler arm and you can fine tune the position to fit just right. Works on Friuls, MK, etc. too. (Same solution for all their Pzr IV kits). Def use the Dragon one for a paint mule ;)
Hey Adam, welcome back! It is good to see you back at the work bench. I built the Dragon kit a few years ago. It was a headache. Especially the schurzen. Anyway, ever since I watched and enjoyed your Tigers for Dummies video, I was hoping you would do an updated version with the number of tiger kits available. Once again, I am glad you're back. Keep up with the great info!
Adam, Agree with you about Dragon Panzer IV Smart, 3 in 1series, Sharnhorst battheship, the company made their models so overcomplicated and their instructions are very confusing, unclear, price are expensive.
Great video!Tamiya's models always provide good balance between details and building pleasure. Other brands often try to offer "value of money" through some over engineering models with tons of details even for hidden parts, which make modellers' spending much more time for a similar finished model. This may be one of the factors that Tamiya is still one of the most popular model brands today.
I'm in process of assembling the Dragon Stug IIII Ausf. G Concrete armored, and true to Dragon kits it's causing me much vexation with the vague instructions, wrong call out of parts, and frustrating fit issues....I will persevere, since I spent considerable money on the kit, but, geez, it's testing my patience.....I have MS, so it is hard for me because of tremors in my hands, and they're just fumbly as heck, but I love building kits as a pastime. I have too much difficulty painting now, and have since donated my airbrush and accessories to my sister, who is an aspiring artist, and can make better use of everything. Thanks for the build video, I had my eye on that Tamiya kit.
@@AdamMann3D its just that with dragon . . .if you follow the instructions . . well you have to figure out a completely different build sequence, and on some kits i still cant line up everything properly. I thought hey tamiya is the same, but one kit, the IS-2, i just followed their instructions, same order, used their jig for the tracks, was amazed everything was on point at the end. This was not the experience i had with the i-152 from tamiya, which i built first, where i had fit issues but i did not follow instructions as closely. Dragon though, for all their faults, looks amazing and detailed, in the end.
@@AdamMann3D🛵 One trick is to enlarge a hole or thin a pin so that there's a little movement with the idler wheel 🛞. Of course you need to glue it well to the tracks.
Great video, thanx! Just finished the Tamiya and about to make a video review of the build and the pos-action analysis. My observations were similar at places and I took some steps aside from the instructions to guarantee the proper outcome with the tracks. But pretty much on the same page - Tamiya rulz. Looking to see what are Border about to say.
Adam I gotta say that most issues you talk about on the Dragon kit are user problems/ lack of skill. Warped parts{which came from how the kit was stored} can be easily fixed with a bath of hot water ,then cold water much like we used to deal with resin parts. I totally agree that Dragons instructions are terrible and not for a beginner. That said Tamiya kits are beginner kits as ease of building comes with chunky details tho this is seen differently person to person. I replace nearly everything with P.E.and 3D printed details including tracks tho I enjoy metal replacements over resin 3D etc.. Thank you for sharing your builds.
Hi Adam ! have not seen a newer video from you for a long time. You have always been the king in comparison vid. Totally awesome. Did a ryefield firefly and gave up on the bullshit. every step was an issue. Panzermeister did a great vid on a ryefield stud I believe and he loved it. Then again, he is great with ill fitting photo etch and I am not. Really love your vids. THANKS!
Hi Adam! Good to see you back. I always feel the weakness with Dragon kits is the poor quality of the instructions,. On the tracks, remember that sag should be between the drive sprocket and the first roadwheel. look at film of the real vehicle and you will see what I mean. It shows up most obviously on panthers. I appreciate your views on the Tamiya kit and I think I will go ahead and build one myself! Cheers!
Thanks for doing the comparison Adam. The Tamiya kit certainly looks like it goes together well. I’ve had a similar issue with the other three Tamiya kit I’ve built with link and length tracks… too short and an extra link required, and then too long or bulging in the wrong place. I’m 100% convinced that Tamiya expects you to glue the track parts onto the wheels during assembly. This is really unfortunate in my mind, as you then have to paint the kit with the tracks on. Regarding the Dragon kit I had almost none of the issues you did. No warping, and the superstructure went together seamlessly. No issues with wheel alignment, and no problems with fine parts. I did have the same issue with snugging the superstructure down onto the fenders though, but for me getting the PE frames to bend around the mesh successfully was the biggest issue.
Yes I agree and as a modeller I don't mind the odd challenge, Some Tamiya kits are so wrong on their dimensions, look at the Hanomag kit with figures lol.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with the two different brands. If I didnt know what colour plastic Tamiya uses I would have been very confused throughout the video what is what. Maybe you could be clearer and mention more often which model is from which brand. Its all a bit confusing (just like the Dragon kit ;-)). Anyway dont want to be nagative just constructive criticism. Thank you for invaluable contribution.
This is a really good video style! Ive alawys been curious in how some of dragons offerings would compare with dear old tamiyas. I would love to see a comparison of the panzer iv gs from both tamiya and dragon. Both kits looks stunning and would love to see the difference between the 2. In terms of the panzer iv 70s, i dont think the breach is much of an issue as i doubt many will keep that section open. Great video!
All my concern is the joy of building a kit; not fixing or figuring out annoying stupid issues solutions. Tamiya has the Japanese culture of philosophy and precision. 🎉
Great review. I just finished up the Tamiya and I agree with your negatives. Overall though this was one of the funnest kits I’ve built in a long time. The engineering is amazing.
I have both of those kits but it sounds as though I would be better off adding the Dragon Schurzen PE to the Tamiya kit along with the magic tracks and any other finer parts and keeping the Dragon wheels for another kit.
I really like the dragon one over the Tamaya kit .I have the Tamaya kit and I think some of the parts are not to scale .I built a few of the dragon kits and had no problems with it at all .now 90% of my kits I use Metal track or some 3d tracks .I think you are being very hard on the dragon kits .don't take this the wrong way but the dragon kit might have been to much of a kit to get back into modeling. Dragon kits you have to take your time and not rush them or you will have problems. Don't give up keep building. Keep your videos coming.
Oh I don't take it the wrong way, I said as much in the review. You have to remember I was known for being so hard on Dragon I got armorama banned from getting review samples. I have a love gate with Dragon.
And this is why I quit building models. The fun of building for the pleasure of it don't exist . Nobody does videos of easy enjoyable builds. Even online forums can be nasty too. One group told me if i'm not going to build to be realistic this hobby is not for you and were not interest in your build, try a beginners group. Its just me, have fun building as you please
No I enjoy the hobby. It’s just sometimes you really don’t understand the time some people put into a single kit. Nobody other than the wife will see them. I don’t keep them. I’ll finish a kit and it will sit on a shelf and when I’m done with the next kit the one on the shelf goes into the trash.
Fantastic video Adam 👍 I can say I built 🤣🤯 a dragon L 70, it was there first one the imperial kit, I had to go to therapy after. It's in a box in the garage. Anyway awesome seeing you back my friend 👍👍 God bless
I recently bought the Hobby Boss (Tristar re-pop) kit, before the Tamiya one came out. Should be quite OK, far better than the Dragon one. It has plastic mesh for the Schürzen so some effort needed there but i like that much better than the flat PE Tamiya ones...you should have put the Dragon mesh on the Tamiya model.
Have you ever thought of making "destroyed" versions of the tanks with the kits you didn't like? I'm thinking smoke damage, shell holes blown in them, tracks blown off, etc.
Oh, I love this style of video, I'm so tempted to compare a bunch of T-34 kits just for my own amusement. I've kind of given up on taking the hobby "seriously" myself and just enjoy tinkering with interesting kits, I can't be stressed to go all out painting and weathering.
Maybe take a shot at turning the Dragon one into damaged and abandoned vehicle, or a post-war target range hulk. It would work with the uneven suspension, missing periscopes and the broken wheel holder pins. You'd just have to add some shell impacts and spalling. Anyway, nice comparison!
Hi Adam, good comparison, but like most manufacturers you have good and bad kits, some of my Dragon kits have very soft details,but in the same case Tamiya don't always have mesh engine cover grills, I generally build Tamiya if I want a quick and hassle free build, but will build Dragon or other model company kits if I want something that takes a bit longer and has more parts.
Great review. I've just begun painting my copy and did not encounter the same track issues you did. I do really wish they included polly caps for the wheels though.
My first experience with a Dragon Kit was when their Maus came out in 1993, which was an excellent kit for the time. I then got the Nashorn (their very 1st 1:35 armor kit issued a year before and binned it pretty soon).
To me there's no comparison . Tamiya were and are the best knocking the competition into a cocked hat . Not saying the others are'nt good but Tamiya were always ahead of the market .
Your revue reinforced what I saw in the photos of the Tamiya kit. The schurzen is really crappy. You can barely see through it. I would definitely have to replace that mesh to even consider that kit.
No I haven't done the Dragon skirts but the curve on the example you showed made me cringe. I don't know whether annealing would be the solution to that or would cause a bigger issue.
Thanks for the comparisons which were very enlightening. I have the Hobbyboss version in my stash and wonder whether anyone has any views on it, better or worse?
I built the Hobby Boss kit recently, and while it is a great kit, there some issues with fit, etc., that you will come across. I also had a lot of issues with the way the shurtzen (sic) is set up. However, that may be my inexperience showing through. The the finished model looks great overall, and it certainly does not have the issues that Adam has described with the Dragon kit. You should enjoy the build. Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺!
@@garylawless3608 Thanks for the heads-up, much appreciated. I was thinking on ET Models PE for the Shurtzen and generally although designed for the Dragon kit as it looks like separate sheets and metal tube rails - which should be fun!
