Dragon

1/35 King Tiger Henschel Turret w/Zimmerit

Kit Number: DRR 61011

Reviewed by  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $79.99 ($72.00 on the street) www.dragonmodelsusa.com One of the areas of modeling/detailing that has been attracting a growing following is prepainted models. When this trend started, most of the kits were diecast, but that has started to change. Lately, a group of very high quality plastic prepaints has come out and leading the way in armor is Dragon. The 1/35 King Tiger with Zimmerit is similar to the kit which has been issued very recently. It includes the following features: True to 1/35 scale Full coat of zimmerit on hull and turret Accurate two-tone camouflage scheme with weathering Accurate tracks with appropriate level of sag Includes a display base. While earlier die cast were more toy like with lots of moving parts and features for children, this is not for kids. The only moving parts on the kit are the turret, which traverses, and both the main gun and machine guns, which elevate. The paint job is excellent and the kit is mildly weathered including washes and dry brushing. The tracks are not movable and are nicely done. The grills for the engine intakes are photo etched. Two do come separately but are painted to match the camouflage on the tank and I added mine with a little white glue. This is a beautiful rendition of a very neat tank. While I know that prepaints are not every modeler's cup of tea, I think they offer some advantages. First, they draw in more people and help educate them on history. Second, they can be redone and repainted so there is no worry about building, sanding, filling- just painting and weathering and finishing. Last, you can get a beautiful display model of an interesting subject. Dragon has put out a premium quality product and I can, without reservation, recommend it to everyone interested in German armor.

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