Earlier today we were surprised to see that Dragon will be bringing back an old favorite from the diecast graveyard. Marketed under their Cyber Hobby sub brand, DRR63281 is a departure of sorts for this model maker, since it resurrects one of their most popular Dragon Armor subjects that was originally released way back in 2005.
For those of you unfamiliar with this release, it contains a 1:72 scale King Tiger heavy tank that sits atop a circular display plinth which simply says DRAGON across the rim. Additionally, there are seven Fallschirmjager figures in varying poses that can be placed atop the tank to signify that they are being transported into battle. “Yellow 222”, as we’ve come to call it, was a German Sd. Kfz. 182 PzKpfw VI King Tiger Ausf. B Heavy Tank that was attached to schwere Panzerabteilung 501 — an integral part of the “Wacht am Rhein” operation — better known as the Battle of the Bulge Ardennes counteroffensive of December 1944.
For now, we will hold off listing this item on our web site since we aren’t certain if our distributor will be able to obtain this item and in any significant numbers. Moreover, we aren’t able to ascertain its price just yet, considering the vehicles comes bundled with a handsome display base and several pre-painted figures. The original set is listed on our site for $149.99 so its a fair bet this new iteration will retail for quite a bit more.
Finally, we aren’t sure if Dragon plans on re-releasing more previously available dioramas in the near- and long-term and how they will come packaged. Its clear they are trying to differentiate this new set from its predecessor by changing up the base and will more than likely alter the outer packaging to further distinguish the past from the present. Beyond that, we aren’t sure where this line will take us or the hobby down the road and how it will impact the prices of their former releases. As a guess, their next set of releases will involve the King Tiger heavy tank – likely produced in both Ausf. A and B variants — painted in a wide variety of schemes and attached to a great many heavy tank detachments that appeared on both the eastern and western fronts. So, don’t get your hopes dashed if the first few offerings aren’t your cup of tea since there will quite likely a lot scheduled for release on the horizon.