With the Nuremberg Toy Fair serving as a backdrop, Dragon today announced plans to model the German Sd. Kfz. 260 kleiner panzerfunkwagen as part of its 2013 range (DRA60605). Modeled with all the attendant detail and realism collectors have come to expect from the Dragon Armor range, this new vehicle will likely be released in the spring with no doubt other liveries right behind it.
At long last, Dragon has finally hauled its 88mm gun into position to take aim at the collector market. Their first FLaK gun (#DRA60630) comes in a simple, early war grey finish and represents a gun that saw action in Stalingrad, Russia, during late 1942. According to Dragon, their first gun is being allocated to its dealers, which means they hope to fill our order in two installments over the coming weeks. This, in turn, means we will be filling our earliest orders first, until our first allocation has been exhausted.
According to Dragon, their first ever Flakpanzer 341 anti-aircraft vehicle is now being distributed to its dealers. Painted in a two-t0ne summer camouflage pattern and reportedly attached to an unidentified unit, then deployed to Nuremberg, Germany, during 1945 (#DRR60594) this is the latest 1:72 scale addition to their Ultimate Armor range, which will no doubt be featured prominently at the upcoming Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany later this month.
With scant hours to go before the ball drops in Times Square, Dragon has indicated that two long awaited items are now shipping out to their dealer network. The first item expected is their fourth take on the German Flakpanzer Coelian anti-aircraft vehicle (#DRA60593), thus completing the quartet of Flakpanzers already envisaged. Also on the truck is a USAF Northrop XB-35 Experimental Heavy Bomber, first announced several months ago but finally taking wing. Loads of other Dragon Armor and Dragon Warbirds pieces announced months ago are purportedly in the works, although no solid release dates are appearing on the manufacturer’s latest shipping manifest.
Images have now been posted for Dragon’s second take on its 1:72 scale Ka-Mi amphibious tank. Painted in a light ocean blue pattern, their latest Imperial Japanese Navy tank represents a vehicle tied to the 27th Naval Special Ground Base Guard, then located at Aitape, New Guinea, during July-August 1944 (DRA60584). Dragon is claiming a February release, even though their first look at the Ka-Mi has yet to hit the surf.
Despite falling behind schedule, Dragon is continuing to show off lots of new 1:72 scale armor, no doubt as part of their grand offensive in 2013. Among the new introductions is this Ersatz M10 tank destroyer, which, in effect, is a modified Panther tank featuring bolted on armor around the superstructure to make it look like a US M10 tank destroyer (DRR60529). Also shown for the first time is a FLaK 37 88mm anti-aircraft gun, used in the harsh urban environs of Stalingrad in late 1942. Finally, up for consideration is a British Churchill Mk. III infantry tank, painted in a mottled summer camouflage pattern to reflect its usage in the mountains of Tunisia during 1943.
Sometimes, we’re left scratching our heads. Case in point, Dragon. The Company continues to debut more and more new pre-assembled replicas on their web sites, such as this 88mm FLaK gun, but with every new product announcement the actual product pipeline seems to be growing drier and drier. Its been almost a year since their Sherman ‘Easy Eight’ medium tank (DRA60555) was shown, yet we still have no firm release date for this item. Likewise, there’s several Panzer IIIs, Ka-Mi amphibious tanks, 88mm FLaK guns, and other hotly anticipated new items that seem to have never made it off the drawing board leaving collectors and dealers in a lurch.
Frankly, we’re not certain as to why any diecast manufacturer would continue to announce new items when so many are still on the back burner. This observation isn’t designed to point the finger at any one particular manufacturer that routinely seems to adopt this strategy, since several companies are guilty of this disturbing trend. In the end, however, it sours the consumer leaving them wondering why a manufacturer would, in effect, turn a blind eye to their collector base when more and more competitors appear to be nipping at their heels.
