Dragon's Sd.Kfz. 251 Ausf.c fit problems!

I have always wondered why Dragon kits are so much cheaper than Tamiya kits. I may have just figured it out. I am working on their Sd.Kfz. 251 Ausf.C (Kit #6224), and it is aweful. The fit problems have me on the verge of contacting Dragon and demanding a new kit, or I will never buy another one of their products again. The model simply does not fit together without major adjustments to the plastic. I don’t even have the appropriate tools to make the adjustments necessary (such as a power tool). I am very disappointed with this kit.

Has anybody else had a problem with this kit? Perhaps I just have a bad mold or something. They surely did not release this thing the way it is now.

Hocking,

I have had problems with a DML halftrack kit. I was working on the SdKfz 251/6 Ausf C, the command version with all the radio equipment. Anyhow, the biggest problem I had was the top half of the hull wouldn’t fit to the lower half without shaving down almost half of the dash board area. I really detailed the instruments and gear shifts around the steering wheel, and it really took away from all my work to have to cut away so much to make the top half fit. I got so frustrated, I put the kit away and started on other kits, and haven’t worked on the 251 for, geez, almost 10 months now.

I’ve also built the 1/72 scale version of the DML SdKfz 251, and ran into a similar fit problem, but it was an easier fix due to the smaller scale. I have built many Dragon kits and have never had fit problems like I did with the halftracks, so I don’t think it’s a problem with the mold or DML in general.

Stick with it and don’t let it beat you. I know I plan to finish mine someday. [;)] Or, move on, and good luck with your future projects. Don’t let one bad apple spoil the Dragon bunch. There really are some kick-ass kits out there well worth more than what you pay for them.

-Sid

Hocking,

You are one of many who have realized that the Dragon 251’s have hull/side, side/floor fit up which is challenging. The problem is not really a “no build situation”, but one that surprises most builders who expect the instructions to alert them after floor/chassis construction that disaster awaits if great care is not taken in dry fitting components (hull floor to sides etc.)

While I sympathize with your plight, the kits are not defective, IMHO. Those who expect “shake and bake” Tamiya like construction from the Dragon offerings are likely to be dissapointed. Your “demands” to Dragon may go unheeded, since thier new catalogue features new release 251’s flawlessly built by Vinnie Brannigan (Armorama), and raves from most German light skin armor builders world wide. I would encourage you to read kit reviews from the Perth site as well before critisizing the kits too much…they will build into very nice models-

I built this Drilling last year, and before I tackled it, I read many a review from reputable sites giving advice on the best methods to construct these challenging but rewarding models. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not patronizing your skill level, but look around, if these kits were that bad, the whole community would be waving red flags everywhere. Perhaps a small bite of humble pie, and a little research is in order to reverse the bad luck you’ve experienced. I’m sure your 251 is fixable.

regards,

Steve

I am glad to hear that these fit problems with Dragon’s Half Tracks are mainly limited to their Half-Tracks. The problem that I am having is with getting the upper hull to fit correctly with the side walls. I painted the side-walls, and installed them to the already painted floor of the vehicle. I then finished detailing the inside of the vehicle, and I am now attempting to attach the upper-hull to the lower hull. The fit was simply awful. I did the best I could dry-fitting everything in the beginning, but it just wasnt going to happen regardless of what I did. It seems like the problem is with the side walls not fitting very well to the floor of the vehicle. If you don’t get that done perfectly, you are obviously going to be off to the races when you try to fit the upper hull on later. There were gaps everywhere.

This is only my fourth model since I started modeling late last year. This is my first major problem, but I think I have found a solution. I applied some putty, and some Zap-A-Gap to get everything as snug as possible and I managed to eliminate all of the gaps. I am painting now, and I will have some patchy areas where I could not sand the excess putty down any further without knocking everything back out of alignment. I intend on turning these small putty raised surfaces into “Caked on Mud” with some MIG powders to try to save the model the best I can. I think I will be able to pull it off with this alternative method of fixing something with weathering powders, and then I can claim that I meant to do it all along (Ha!Ha!).

This is my first Dragon model, so I did not know what to expect. I did read some reviews, but did not pick up on the fact that there were major fit problems like what I ran into. Like I said, I am glad to hear that this is common with Dragon Half-Tracks, and not their other models. I am pretty excited about several other Dragon Armor models that I would like to build, especially some of their more recently released German Armor models. I already have their T-34/76 and Firefly Vc in the “On-Deck” circle ready to go. I hope I do not have these kinds of issues when putting those models together.

Thanks for your posts, and that is a very nice looking 251 Crockett. I will have to write this problem off to my lack of experience with dealing with major fit issues. I still don’t really know what I could have done differently with this kit to avoid this issue. Maybe I should have fit the upper-hull to the lower side walls first, and then fit the the entire unit to the floor. At least then the fit issue would be located in an area hidden from view by the tracks on the vehicle.

Do you know if their are still fit issues with Dragon’s more recently released German Half-Tracks?

I have had a similar problem with the construction of my 251. The upper hull would not join the lower properly, but the kit is far from unbuildable. It is not shake and bake like Tamiya, but the detail and parts count is far greater. They overall are great kits, and build up very nicely, albeit with some patience. Stick with it. Use differing glues, clams, tape, rubber bands,whatever you can. Shave off to get a better fit. You can make it work, and afterwords you’ll have the satisfaction of having a great model. IMHO, their 251 series of kits are just great, with a boxload of stuff and fantastic details.

Be careful with that Firefly. It builds up in a really nice kit, but I had some fit issues. I had to do a lot of work to get the transmission cover to fit properly on to the hull. Some cutting, and a lot of puttying and sanding.

hey, fellas!! i have all of the present dml halftracks i have built 2 of them so far!! the floor needs to be glued down and then the 2 sides, then the upper hall! if you go to armorama’s site and vinnie(teacher) does the step by step builds on the dragon halftracks!! i followed his advice and had no problems!! not trying to steer anybody away from this site but the answers to your questins will be answered by his review!!

Hi guys. Could somebody post the link to this site. I’m starting a battle plan to start this kit. It looks like big fun.

Since the box doesn’t say Tamiya on it, I have my acrylic filler and CA filler ready. [;)]

Grant

Hocking,
If you are not well armed with your tools, dont try to do Dragon.
Instead with your limited tools, do Tamiya.

I have also post my thought about the Dragon kit I tried to build here;
http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/588107/ShowPost.aspx

Another thing that I found out later on with my Dragon T34 is that the hole on the inner track wheel with the outer wheel and the hub cap did not align. This is very frustrating because I end up drilling a slightly larger hole and end up breaking a drive axle.

Ben

The link is www.armorama.com. Go to the armor section, and look under features. Vinnie-aka teacher, has built quite a few of DML’s 251 range. I built one as well, didn’t have any fit problems, the key is getting the floor plate in exactly right. If your off in any direction, just a little, it’s going to throw everything else off. Do a lot of dry fitting, and you should be fine. Hope this helps,

Brian

btw-armorama is getting a new server and some things are not available at this time. Should be fixed soon.

I have to agree with Brian. The key to getting everything to fit on these 251 kits is making sure the floor is correctly positioned. There is alot of play in the attachment points and you must make sure you have the same gap all the way around the floor when you attach it to the hull. And one other thing regarding the floor. Since Dragon makes several versions of the 251 with the same parts, they put partial locating holes for interior items such as benches and gun mounts in the underside of the part and the modeller must locate the holes that he needs to use and drill them the rest of the way through the floor part. The problem is, they don’t mention this in the instructions! The best advice I can give for building any Dragon kit is to go over the instructions very carefully before even taking the cap off the glue. The instructions are the weakest part of Dragon kits, but if you take your time you can end up with a very nice result.

Thanks for everybody’s input. The only question that I have left is, why doesnt Dragon do anything about fixing some of their deficiencies. I know they make great kits, with great details, and throw in alot of great extra stuff. Why do they fail to do the two most obvious things that we should expect from model companies: 1) give us good directions, and 2) give us parts that fit properly without a bunch of drilling, sanding, puttying, ect… It would be like BMW delivering a perfect car with all the interior details and extra features, and then give you an engine that doesn’t work. Having a car with a working engine should have been the first thing BMW should have addressed when making the car.

This really has me confused as to why Dragon doesn’t fix these basic problems when they everthing else they do is so great. Perhaps their new “SuperKits” will address these issues. I will obviously continue to buy Dragon kits and just take the positives with the negatives.

I’ve run into these kinds of problems with some Hasegawa, Dragon, Academy and yep even Tamiya. I’ve taken to reading over the instructions and looking for potential problem areas. Sometimes they are hidden or hard to see. But a great many of them can be spotted or anticipated.

I don’t know if you’d call it a difference in policies or styles but I’m with the others. Tamiya engineering and instructions are really straightforward while some of the other manufacturers aren’t quite on the same level.