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Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Dragon Models - Toy Soldiers

Dragon Models is a firm based out of Hong Kong. They got started in 1987 and have been going strong since then. Their initial focus was 1/35 model kits for figures and ground vehicles. Since then they have diversified in many directions. They added aircraft to their model kits, they introduced plastic figures, 12" action figures, remote controlled vehicles, diecast vehicles in 1/72, and many other items. They do not sell directly to the public, and in some cases they allow other companies like Revell or Italeri to resell their products under their own brands. In terms of 1/32 WWII plastic, they have not really addressed that segment of the market. They have released a few WWII plastic figures under the Can.Do brand which are essentially whole figure versions of their plastic kits, but even those are 1/35. However they are close enough in size that they could be combined with some smaller 1/32 guys. Their level of detail is actually very good and they come factory painted. The only thing not to like about them are the bases which are a bit oversized, perhaps because they wanted to make the figures taller and easier to combine with 1/32. I only have a few of the sets which they released. Hopefully I can get a few more sets over time. Let's take a look.

Dragon German Infantry - Approach to Stalingrad
Dragon German Infantry - Approach to Stalingrad
These are the basic 4 poses. There is a 5th pose with each set which is much harder to find. Seems like they intentionally produced it in smaller quantities to make it a more appealing collectible. As you can see, the figures are very well detailed and the paint work is done quite nicely. I bought these guys as a set of 12 figures which had 3 of each pose. 

Dragon German Infantry - Barbarossa 1941
Dragon German Infantry - Barbarossa 1941
The weapons and the bases have to be glued to the figures. As you can see, some of the bases have a slight grade on them and might make the figure seem like it is not standing straight. Also the thickness of the bases is not ideal in my opinion. These guys do not depict much action, but other sets do have poses in fighting poses.

Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat
Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat - Part I
Here's another nice set from Dragon. It is missing one of the basic figures -the man aiming his sub MG from a standing position- as well as the 'special' pose -each set has a pose that is only present about 2% of the time-. I have to say that I really like the detail, the quality of the sculpting and even the paint job. I am still not a big fan of the bulky bases. Will probably replace them at some point. One thing to note though is that the bayonet attached to the waist is a bit brittle. As I was inserting the men to their bases one of them broke off just from me holding the figure a bit tightly. 

Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat
Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat - Part II
I managed to find the fourth guy of the basic poses in the Winter Combat set. Another very well done figure by Dragon. One intersting thing is the lighter color for his leather subMG magazine pouches. It's possible that was done intentionally for cammo purposes. Now I just need some Siberian troops to go against these guys!

Dragon German Infantry - Krakhov 1943
Dragon German Infantry - Krakhov 1943 
This time I managed to get my hands on all five poses of the set. To my surprise, the fifth 'special', & rare pose is just one of the other poses in a different paint scheme. He is the second one from the left, wearing the cammo smock. Again, as with the other sets from Dragon, the detail is really nice. The poses could use a bit more action, but they are still a notch better than just marching or standing guys. At least these guys have their weapons ready. About the bases, I won't say anything anymore. 

Dragon CanDo Tiger Aces
Dragon CanDo Tiger Aces
This is a special set from Dragon. They represent famous Tiger commanders such as Michael Wittman (in black standing on the turret). There's also Hans sitting up front, Georg stand off to the side wearing an officer's cap. Kurt (Knispel) - the most prolific Panzer ace-  standing opposite him with a regular cap (that's the only difference between him and Georg), Woll to the right of Wittman, and Karlheinz resting his arm around the tank's gun. These guys are now not so easy to find and they can be a bit pricey of you do run into them. That's particularly true of Kurt who was only manufactured 4 times out of every 100 figures in the set. If you can find them they are a great complement to the FOV and 21C panzers.