Dragon's 1/35 pre-painted figure sets are they any good???

AMERICAN_GRENADIER · Post by **AMERICAN_GRENADIER** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 7:50 pm

I have begun to buy Dragon 1/35 tanks and they are very well done. but how good are the 1/35 figures and what is a fair price?

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:33 pm

they are DS, dragon styrene, soft bendable plastic..and larger than 1/35 figures..about 1/32..paint is good, I got some for playing modded ASL wargaming..but the range is limited and looks like it died on the vine.

although the wintercombat and HG troops were useful for me as visual referance for painting snow suits(esp adding shading/defining creases and seams and not making it look like just a white statue) and LW camo on the real DML kits.

for what they are, they aren't bad..also the weapons are underscale compared to 1/35 weapons(esp the K98ks) and I swapped all mine out with stuff from the sparesbox, in the case of the WinterCombat Mp40 firing guy I can't stand a MP40 without a extended stock so I replaced that..the original just doesn't look right again too small compared to normal DML weapons, both gen1 and gen2...I gave the MP40 HG troop a Mk42(H), the precursor to the Mp44/StG44..and a MG15 to the HG MG troop as the MG 34 he came with doesn't have a drum or bipod...I got all the weapons from DML's German Weapons Set 1 or Set 2...but the Tamiya Weapon Sets will work just as well since the dragon sets are harder to find..but DML's has more foreign weapons(Hungarian,Czech,Finn plus pre-Mp40 SMGs, rarer light machine guns like ZB26(t), MG15s plus the early assault rifles and G41s) although the Tamiya set has the AA mount for the MG34..which I've only seen in one dragon kit, a old railwagon from the 90s...Sorry a bit off-topic there

also due to their softness, the HG troops esp droop on their baseplates if not glued down to them...the NCO and MG toop are the worst offenders, the ammo bearer and overcoat trooper in my set don't have the issue, but no matter how many times I shift the other two's stance the peg/center of gravity will have them lop-sided in a day or so. only way to fix it I'm thinking is to glue both feet to the base and hope for the best...but I really haven't bothered since having the baseplates..they are for display more than anything..if I want to have troops for build/diorama or something I'll just spend a weekend with a kit, some brushes and some Andrea and Vallejo paints..and some good referance photos of what I am working on.

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:22 am

Personally I think they are excellent, but if you display them in close proximity to the 32X figures from 21C they are slightly shorter in stature. For the most part I haven't found this to be a really big issue, but it's something you should be aware of. I got all my sets thru an outfit called action collector... http://www.actioncollector.com/list.asp ... rer=Dragon they have a great selection and the prices are pretty reasonable, although you might be able to find them a bit cheaper if you search hard enough. Click the thumbnail image to enlarge....

Meskary1 · Post by **Meskary1** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 10:43 am

They are really well done, better than I can do for sure. They go for about 4.00 each, for the standard issue, the special issues guys can be hard to find and can be expensive. I have them all and wish they would do more.

ketelone · Post by **ketelone** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:56 am

They are nice. They truly are 1/35. If you put them next to Conte or San Diego Toy Soldier they are dwarfed.
You can get away with either 21st Century or old Airfix. They also go well with Tamiya 1/35 figures. (I paint plastics.)

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:36 am

If you put them next a DML Kit figure vs Can.do..the can.do is thicker, bulkier, not taller I should have said...least when I compared the PanzerLehr Grenadier(Kit) figure vs the loading ammo winter combat figure...they just seem off in scale when compared together.

hotrodrock · Post by **hotrodrock** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:02 am

I recently picked up 10 of them for $12 off ebay. Just have to look every day and you can find them. They work well with 21st and FOV 1/32 vehicles if you don't mix figures. The white clad winter figures are very well done.

AlloySkull · Post by **AlloySkull** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:25 pm

Do they have just regular infantry? Particularly in relaxed poses. 21st's soldiers get old in their eternal battle poses. Although I have some older ones that are relaxed and quite nice for dioramas. Also, what about gun crew, that I could use for my Marder III? I'm gonna keep a lookout for these guys.

Oh, Panzer, on the weapon sets, I see a lot of the Tamiya ones at Hobby Lobby, but I'm guessing you're talking about some that are a little higher quality? An MG34 with the AA tripod would be nice as filler.

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:32 pm

LW troops/HG troops are the most relaxed with on march poses

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:43 pm

Dragon weapons set A and B are what I use, I don't care for Tamiya's figures nor their weapon sets.

The sets include
A:
K98k
K43 w/ZF
K98k with folding stock
G43
G33/40
Mp40 with the stock folded
MKB 42(h)..early assault rifle by Henschel
MKB 42(w)..same by Walther
StG.44
VG 1-5
MG34
MG42
MG15 ground
FG42 late w/ZF.4 scope
ZB-26(t) light machine gun
Mauser C96 M1932
Mauser HSc
Walther 2.7cm Flare pistol with Wur.361 gernade loaded

B:
Panzerfaust 30k
Panzerfaust 30m
Panzerfaust 60m
Panzerbüshe 39(PzB 39)
MG34S < MG34 modded for heavy fire before the MG42. 1200+ rd/min
FG42 early
Mp28
Mp34
Mp Erma
Mp41
Hungarian M39M SMG
ZK 383 Czech SMG
Suomi M 1931 SMG
G41(Mauser)
G41(Walther)
K98k w gernade cup
StG.45(M)
Walther PPK