Small Scale Military Headquarters

I guess one of the fun things about collecting diecast is trying to track down those hard-to-find models, or hunting around for the cheapest bargains on easier-to-find models.

My best (or perhaps luckiest) purchase came from an eBay seller in Czechoslovakia. He was selling an unboxed 1:72 Dragon Armor Tiger, but the description was rather lacking, and the photo was so blurry that you couldn't really make out which variant it was, let alone what condition it was in. Nonetheless, it's sometimes worth a punt if the price is right, and I ended up winning the auction for just £1.20, and the postage was not much more. Despite some rather poor packaging (it was just placed loose in a box with no padding!) it miraculously survived the journey to the UK without anything breaking.

The model seemed slightly inferior to some of the other Dragon Armor Tigers I had already started collecting, so I thought at first that it might have been made by someone else - I certainly didn't recognise it among anything that Dragon Armor was currently selling. The turret also seemed to be made of metal rather than plastic. I put it on a shelf and forgot about it for the past few months.

Anyway, I've just had another look at it and realised it's #60002 in the Dragon Armor range (back when they were made out of metal). Okay, so it doesn't have its original box, but I feel quite pleased about getting it so cheaply (and inadvertently!). Boxed versions seem to go for £60-£80 on eBay at the moment!

Congratulation on finding the gem for such a low price!

I do have most of 1/72 Dragon Armors, including the first 10 models, 60001-60010. If you look at those old armors versus recent offering, they look like they were made by a different company. Those old models have do have heft diecast content.

I actually found that 60002 tiger on ebay as well, as a buy it now for $25 a few months ago. However shipping is $10, and I do not like the tank that much. I decided not to buy it becuase I do not want to get into all the investment thing.

Nevertheless, I did find the 60004 king tiger in China for about $12.99 barely 2 years ago. It is one of my favorite pieces in all the dragon line. Excellent camo and heavy weight. I did a review on it a few weeks back on the board.

The best FOV purchase is the $25 zundapp I bought a year or so ago

That's an interesting point - I don't think I'd be interested in any of the first 10 Dragon Armor tanks (60001 - 60010) if it weren't for their rarity and perceived value. As models, I don't particularly like them! If I saw a cheap one, however, I'd certainly be tempted to buy it and sell it on later.

By chance, I recently got most of the first 10 for about £7 each (just missing 60001 and 60003 I think). The Jagdpanthers are actually quite good, but the others look a bit unusual, mostly due to the bright paintwork.

To be honest, I don't understand why anyone would pay silly amounts for these rare ones, unless they have absolutely every other tank in the Dragon Armor range!

I just remembered, I also managed to find a very cheap Dragon Armor 60009 (German Panther G, #IN3, PzRgt 15, 11 Pz Div, Southern France, 1944) a few months ago. Can't remember the exact price, but I think it was about £1.20 again.

Why so cheap? One of the wheels was missing. No problem, I just got a pair of pliers, took the whole thing apart, and turned it into a dug-in Panther using its own display case.



Taking it apart was a rather interesting experience in itself. I'm not sure what the underside was made of. It looked like metal on the surface, but crumbled apart with just the use of pliers (maybe it was some kind of resin?). I took photos of the whole process, including making the mini diorama, if anyone's interested. It was quite fun to make, and I wasn't too worried about ruining it at that price

Welcome to the forum, paulmerton.

I'm assuming you are mostly an armour guy?

In regards to "best purchase" lots of guys will probably talk about picking up cheap 21 Century models on clearance at Walmart. But those are mostly 1/18 aircraft.

Being this is the 1/32 and smaller section, that doesn't really apply.

I have picked up some great bargains along the way, but never got a $100 model for $5 kind of thing.

Some of my better ones.

Picked up a CW F-14 Sundowners, and got a free CW F-8.

1/32 Hobby Master Dauntless, "Lexington" for $50, from the Mule on a very limited special. Only lasted for a couple of hours. Normally sold for $150.

Snake, yeah, I'm mostly into the armor (or armour as we call it in the UK - that difference alone can lead to some bargains on eBay!)

I used to build aircraft from kits when I was younger, but most of them have been thrown away now. I just have a few of the better-made ones left, all in 1:72 scale, which is probably why I prefer that scale for tanks now.

Not sure why, but I'm not really interested in aircraft any more. Tanks are also easier to store, with most being rectangular with a sticky-out bit You can pack quite a few loose tanks into a shallow box without worrying about anything breaking (which is something I occasionally do, as I have far too many to put on display at the same time).

As well as collecting die cast tanks, I was lucky enough to buy a very reasonably priced batch of professionally made German armour last year. Most of them were made from Dragon kits with photoetch parts and have an amazing airbrushed finish. Not only did they work out cheaper than the Dragon Armor equivalents, but they look much better and are definitely one of a kind - especially the ones that aren't available in the Dragon Armor range yet.

paulmerton wrote: Taking it apart was a rather interesting experience in itself. I'm not sure what the underside was made of. It looked like metal on the surface, but crumbled apart with just the use of pliers (maybe it was some kind of resin?). I took photos of the whole process, including making the mini diorama, if anyone's interested. It was quite fun to make, and I wasn't too worried about ruining it at that price

Hi PaulMerton and welcome

That's very interesting, could You please post some photos of dissection

Cheers

Luke

StormyThoughts wrote:Hi PaulMerton and welcome

That's very interesting, could You please post some photos of dissection

Cheers

Luke

Sure, I'll try and dig them out tonight.

Let's see, my best purchase was (insert drumroll here)...
A Forces of Valor Normandy Jagdpanther for $55.
I'm really suprised I got this. I purchased it in 2010, when they were getting hard to find. But the thing that shocked me the most was the price.
I got a rare piece for $55, while they had a halftrack for $70. Go figure.
BTW, nice dio paulmenton, I hope you have more in store.

GI546 wrote:BTW, nice dio paulmenton, I hope you have more in store.

If I can find the time! I've been building a model railway layout inside my coffee table lately. Something I did in the past though was making a pink panzer out of an Easy Model Maus (yeah, don't ask ):



And I made a few bigger dioramas that fit snugly inside some glass display units I've got. Here's one of them, with a 1:72 Italeri coastal bunker: