Small Scale Military Headquarters

Hi All,
Well, you cant say people are no longer interested in obtaining some of the more coveted Dragon Armor pieces. Case in point, the recently introduced StuG III commanded by Georg Bose and made available at the recently concluded Dragon Euro Expo '07.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=003

Admittedly, this is for a signed version of the vehicle, but still in all, it shows the lengths and costs some people are willing to endure to pick up some of the more sought after releases. As someone else pointed out, the upcoming winterized StuG due out shortly, is in some ways nicer than the Bose version, since it boasts kill markings on its superstructure. But, tack on a name of a WWII veteran, hype it a little bit, and you get princely sums of money for some of the scarcer releases. Mind blowing...

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

seems tame after some of the prices we've been seeing of late for XD armour and planes. Granted this one is only 3 inches long.


I just can't believe the prices stuff like this is commanding all of a sudden......isn't this one of the 7 signs of the end of the world approaching?

What blows my mind is that people would pay so much for a plastic kit that is prepainted and prebuilt for you. Not like Admiral, FOV or Hobby Master where they are made specifically for the diecast market and not able to be purchased any other way. Dragon Armor is nothing more than the Dragon plastic kits sold in hobby shops around the world. The signature is the only real value I see there, but even that only goes so far.

I know model painters that charge about $50 and you get painting and weathering that blows away anything achieved on an assembly line like Dragon Armor. Maybe making custom tanks and throwing on the "exclusive" title is where the money is.

Then again people collect some very strange things.....I've heard of a toilet tissue collector.

Yes, that and the disappearance of bees, purportedly ascribed to Albert Einstein (<i>Akademie Olympia</i>). Frankly, when the Dragon 1:72 Jagdtiger with tarp and Maus without a gun hits $100, I think we can all plan our obits. Two beasties that never should have seen the light of day when so many other vehicles need replication...

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

Hello Tshintl,
Frankly, that's where marketing comes in. So many people bash Dragon for their marketing tactics, but I for one take my hat off to 'em. When you get people spending that kind of money for what you eloquently described as a plastic kit, then we're talking marketing genius.

Yes, others can produce a more aesthetically pleasing replica and still others can produce something with more intrinsic value. But when you offer something with some extra hype behind it, dovetail it within a line of plastic vehicles, and get someone of note to sign it, then you're hitting on all cylinders.

Imagine what a Carius Cyberhobby tank would fetch with Herr Carius signature on it?

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

Those Cyber Hobby Carius tanks already go for quite a bit. If it included his signature I can only imagine several hundred dollars. Limit them to just a dozen or so and I bet certain collectors would pay $500.

Marketing as you say is the difference here. If it were by any other manufacturer where the tank was only sold as diecast and not in an alternative form (like a disassembled plastic kit), I'd understand more. But we're literally talking about something that is sold as a plastic model kit in addition to prebuilt form, there's nothing original about that (Dragon Armor).

I don't understand some of their Dragon Armor releases like the tarped Jagdtiger, but you have to give it to them with marketing this AFV.

Hi,
I'll go you one better. How long before we see a Michael Wittmann StuG in the Cyberhobby line? Getting him to sign it is going to prove difficult and you might want to disupte the authenticity of a "signed" Michael Wittmann StuG if it rears its upgly head on the bay.

Anyway, if Dragon was smart, they'd go back to the decorative tin line, release maybe 1,000 pieces of a Wittmann StuG (you know its going to come out in myriad configurations) and go back to basics, thus increasing the relative value of the line. I dont think anyone will bark over a plastic M. Wittmann StuG, especially if its presented in the old format that made the line so popular in the first place.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

IIRC DML has a Wittmann StuG ausf A or B(Short barrel in LAH 1941, Russia) kit in 1/35 already.

So there is the start.

I only dabble in 1/72 because 1/32 is less expensive but here is my take on Dragon:

1) I am too unskilled to build them myself
2) I am too lazy to take the time to build my modelling skills
3) Buying pre-built equals instant gratification
4) Dragon by far has the best quality around. I saw a recently released german halftrack mortar carrier which absolutely blew me away (Sdkf 251/4?).

All that being said the only pieces I have were obtained at a steep discout as $25 each is too steep for what I get. But I do understand the marketing genius behind it and the people who swear by Dragon.

olifant wrote: 4) Dragon by far has the best quality around.

Check out Hobby Master 1/72 diecast tanks, easily just as good as Dragon Armor.

Sdfkz 251/2 and Sdkfz 250/7 are the 8cm Gernatwerfer 34 carriers.

Sdkfz.251/4 is a Prime mover/gun mover