DX'06 Dragon Armor

Tshintl · Post by **Tshintl** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 3:40 pm

The DX'06 1/72 Dragon Armor release is (drum roll please)...............A King Tiger!!! What a surprise.

It's times like this that I'm truely glad for companies like Admiral Toys that make (soon enough) truely unique tanks.

Tshintl · Post by **Tshintl** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 3:43 pm

60233 - 1/72 King Tiger Henschel Turret featuring Mr. Alfred Kurzmaul's (DX'07 VIP) tank

lightning2000 · Post by **lightning2000** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:46 am

Hi,
Seems kind of strange to release a 1:35 scale kit and a 1:72 scale diecast replica of Alfred Kurzmaul's tank at DX '06 then have him come to the following year's expo. Essentially, if you want him to sign either product, you have to buy it now then bring it back the following year!

My guess, and this is only a guess, is that he was probably supposed to attend DX '06 but couldnt, perhaps for reasons of health or something else along those lines. They'll probably have a 1:6 scale replica of Mr. Kurzmaul for next year's show so attendees can at least have something signed by him of some significance. Maybe signed 1:72 scale replicas of his tank will be worth more than Huber's tank if people have to go to the Shows twice just to accomplish this feat!

As for another King Tiger, well, what can I say? Nearly all of the other exclusives are based upon a German weapon or historical figure, so this doesnt come as a shock. Its a disappointment for sure, when alot of people, including myself, were expecting a new vehicle type. C'est la guerre!

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

digger · Post by **digger** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:57 am

what if they will have a 1/35 diecast replica next year..

Tshintl · Post by **Tshintl** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 9:43 am

lightning2000 wrote:Nearly all of the other exclusives are based upon a German weapon or historical figure, so this doesnt come as a shock.

I'm not against German armor, just do something new. How many German King Tigers, Tigers, Sturmtigers do we really need. I hear collectors all over the place complaining about it and many don't buy Dragon Armor anymore because of it.

Their marketing dept. must be completely clueless to think people want more of something they've already done to death. They're shooting themselves in their own foot doing this. Unless it's got some completely new diorama base and all sorts of little extras included on the tank, than who cares. At least last year their Dragon Armor release was something new and never done before.

lightning2000 · Post by **lightning2000** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:59 am

Hi,
What strikes me as strange is why they totally ignore the Japanese equipment or figures. I've heard the argument that they're a Chinese company deeply affected by what the Japanese did to them during the war but why come out with Zeros then or model kits? Why such a preponderance of German stuff year after year?

If you look at their list of exclusives, premiere items and CH stuff, everything is German save the Paolo Arnesi figure? I'm beginning to think that only Germany was involved in WWII according to their product portfolio!

As for the King Tiger, Tiger I, Sturmtiger, Ferdinand, etc. I dont know what to make of it. People are begging for allied stuff, especially a Sherman, which leaves the door wide open for other manufacturers to fill the void. I guess they have their reasons for this strategy...

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

Tshintl · Post by **Tshintl** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 11:52 am

lightning2000 wrote:Why such a preponderance of German stuff year after year?

I guess they have their reasons for this strategy...

The Chinese overall have an obsession with Nazi Germany. I read an article a while back about this...

To many Hong Kongers, Nazis represent the epitome of desirability. Their tanks were made by Mercedes and Porsche; their uniforms were original Hugo Boss. Twenty years after the last British skinhead tired of the joke, it’s still not unusual to see a Hong Kong teen in an Adolph Hitler European Tour t-shirt.

As to strategy, I've heard over and over people saying they've stopped buying Dragon Armor because of this. The local hobby stores used to not be able to keep Dragon Armor on the shelf, now alot sit there. I think many still buy Dragon Armor, but no longer buy every release just to have them and instead only buy the ones they want. This compared to a while ago before Dragon rereleased a rerelease of a release over and over again and people were still wanting everything they made. I think those days are long gone for Dragon until they change their current trend.

Juneau@1 · Post by **Juneau@1** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:32 pm

I think the biggest reason for the focus on German armor is that this is an area of greatest interest to collectors. German armor has always held a special appeal, because of the reputation and that their armor was pretty neat. Also, understand that Dragon has to appeal to a global market, not just a U.S. market. I don't think it is necessarly a good assumption to attribute it to some sort of Nazis beliefs. I think the biggest reason for some of the drop off in Dragon is that they released so many Jagdtigers, Sturmtigers, and Ferdinands. Especially annoying were the Maus and E-100 super tank variation. These tanks, while neat, don't have the following among collectors. You can probably release a whole bunch of Panthers, Tigers, and King Tiger variations and sell them, as the fan base for them is probably much higher.
I don't mind the King Tiger being the Dragon Expo tank, but that is because it is my favorite. That being said, I really had hoped that the special would be a Stug III. Last year's Jagdpanzer is still one of my favorites and it is the first such tank Dragon released.
The up-side is that there appears to be a lot of varity in the very near future. Dragon will probably have a sherman on the way along with the already announced Stug III, German halftracks, Hornisee, and Brumbar. If the 1/144 Dragon Cando is any indication, a Hetzer and Mauders could be here someday! Admiral Toys has announced American, Russian, and Japanese tanks. Forces of Valor has the a number of new 1/72 tanks that should be out in June or July. Altaya also has a pretty good list.
We could sit around and complain, but why? We are in a golden age!
Eric

Tshintl · Post by **Tshintl** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 5:12 pm

Juneau@1 wrote: We could sit around and complain, but why? We are in a golden age!
Eric

I think it's more like expressing disappointment in what many hoped would be an all new DX'06 release.

theToyFederation · Post by **theToyFederation** » Thu May 04, 2006 12:09 pm

Here are the DRAGON ARMOR world premieres debuting at DX06
DRR60218
1/72 German T-34/76 w/side skirts, 2.Panzer Division "Das Reich", Operation Citadel, Kursk 1943
I love this PC world where you can't even write SS to correctly identify the unit it belongs too

http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/p ... d=DRR60218

DRR60229
1/72 Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf. C, Infantry Division "Grobdeutschland", Eastern Front 1942 - 1st From Dragon!

Dragon's 1st ever pre-assembled Sd.Kfz. 251!!! This version features an Ausf. C version that actually fought on the Eastern Front in 1942. It wears a "panzer grey" paint scheme and includes markings from the Großdeutschland division.

http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/p ... d=DRR60229

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Fri May 05, 2006 10:41 am

I suspect that the Japanese are still getting over the disappointment of never receiving their Tiger tank. Paid for but never delivered. Dragon is a Chinese company and I suspect that they are selling a lot across the Sea of Japan if not as much across the Pacific. I also suspect that they are still smarting over Japanese occupation in WW2.

nfafan · Post by **nfafan** » Wed May 10, 2006 7:02 pm

ltcbj wrote:I suspect that the Japanese are still getting over the disappointment of never receiving their Tiger tank. Paid for but never delivered. Dragon is a Chinese company and I suspect that they are selling a lot across the Sea of Japan if not as much across the Pacific. I also suspect that they are still smarting over Japanese occupation in WW2.

That may explain why we never see Jap. armor from DML. And why it took forever and a day before 21C offered a Zero.

But nothing to explain why DML or 21C haven't turned their extraordinary talents towards non-German armor. Or WWI armor. Except for the Asian passion for the swastika.

digger · Post by **digger** » Thu May 11, 2006 4:06 am

The popularity of WWII v. Great War is about 5 fold.

The popularity of German armor v. all the rest is ten fold...

cheesecake · Post by **cheesecake** » Fri May 12, 2006 1:03 am

Personally, i began collecting Dragon armor because i like WW2 and of course, WW2 tanks.
But, i'm interested by modern stuff...
Dragon make ones, but like for WW2 for germans, only US and brit stuff !!

But, T-80 (and all the modern series), Leclerc (cocorico

), the very pretty Merkava from israël...

About WW2, SPW should arrive (i hope), russian T34 are available...
but no sherman, TDM10, churchill...
however, there are things to make with the allied stuff (1st DB polish, 2nd DB french, etc...)

Small Scale Military Headquarters

DX'06 Dragon Armor

DX'06 Dragon Armor

Kurzmaul's Replicas

could be, but..

Re: Kurzmaul's Replicas

German Equipment

Re: German Equipment

Dragon's German focus

Re: Dragon's German focus

Japanese love Germans

Re: Japanese love Germans

armor