Dragon 1/35 scale SdKfz 186 Jagdtiger

Kit: No. 6285
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Dragon, from Dragon Models USA, 626-968-0322, www.dragonmodelsusa.com
Price: $37.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 653 parts (12 cast metal, 44 photoetched), decals
Pros: Typical aftermarket parts provided, including photoetched details, turned-aluminum gun barrel; good detail
Cons: Lots of tiny parts, heavy gun barrel drops in trunions, brackets must be made for exterior tools and cable

Not content with a straight reissue of its popular Henschel-suspension Jagdtiger, Dragon has taken the opportunity to include many improved parts. Molded in light-gray plastic, the parts show excellent detail, especially the texture on the rolled-steel-plate hull and the cast parts of the mantlet. Included are newly tooled road wheels, turned-metal barrel, clear plastic periscopes, and metal tow shackles, pins, and cables. You also get Dragon's new "Magic Tracks," individual-link tracks that require almost no cleanup and fit tightly enough to install before gluing them together. There is a new set of pioneer tools molded without latches, although no photoetched latches are provided in the kit.

Markings are shown for six vehicles, but enough numbers and national insignias are provided for several different vehicles.

Except for the basic gun breech, this Jagtiger has no interior and no crew figures. The rear hatch on the hull can be positioned open or closed, but you'll need to add more of an interior if you leave them open. When installing the spare track hangers, it's helpful to have a track set built to test fit its position.

A few parts are mislabeled on the instructions, but they are easily identified. The fit of the front plate (D38) required a bit of filler. To make it easier to install the tracks, I didn't glue the upper and lower hulls together before painting, but I did install the fenders to the upper hull.

I used a mix of Tamiya desert yellow, dark yellow, and white for the base color, then applied wavy bands of lightened Tamiya olive green. The painting guide only shows one side of the vehicle I decided to model, so I had to invent the pattern for the other side.

When the paint dried, I installed the running gear. I used 48 pairs of track links per side, then glued the hull halves together. I had to grind the gun mantlet (D37) where it attaches to the breech assembly to get it to fit.

One of the complaints about Dragon's original Jagdtiger was that the gun barrel was too short. Dragon's new turned-aluminum barrel is also too short, but you can extend it about 4mm from the mantlet when you glue it to correct the length. The barrel was a loose fit in the breech, so I shimmed it with paper and attached it with five-minute epoxy. The heavier metal barrel caused the gun to droop, so I had to glue the breech at a fixed elevation.
The finished model matches the dimensions in the Standard Catalog of German Military Vehicles by David Doyle. Some experience in handling small parts will be required in building this kit. I spent about 19 hours building my Jagdtiger. Dragon's original kit was good, but the addition of the extras at this price makes this new version a bargain.

- John Plzak